Don’t Do It

11:07 am EST June 6th, 2008 | News | 15 Comments

I’m hoping Sen. Obama’s talking about public financing is what is was before: talk. Democrats have a unique opportunity to crush conservatism powered by individual donors. That’s campaign finance reform enough for me.

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15 Responses to “Don’t Do It”

  1. Carl says:
    June 6, 2008 at 11:34 am

    Accepting public financing against the Republicans is suicide. As seen in 2004, the Right will use 527s and the RNC to overwhelm any campaign choosing to hamstring itself in such a way. It is unilateral disarmament and will be a disaster for Obama. I pray he doesn’t take such an approach.

  2. Steve LaBonne says:
    June 6, 2008 at 11:43 am

    Ugh. I was hoping this dumb idea would just stay buried. But Obama sure has known what he was doing up to this point, so I guess I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and see how it plays out.

    The RNC condition is a good negotiating ploy though. (Much better than talking about 527s which McLame might not e able to control even if he wanted to.) They’re sitting on a lot of cash they were hoping to use to supplement Grampy’s own somewhat lackluster fundraising. I doubt they’ll be willing to forego that.

  3. Duros62 says:
    June 6, 2008 at 11:44 am

    He’s way too smart for that.

    Did you like the way he ditched the press yesterday?

  4. Sean D. Martin says:
    June 6, 2008 at 11:53 am

    Favorite comment from that post you linked to:

    Just Some Fuckhead Says: The really cool part is when Obama gets back on the plane after he flies alongside of it for a few minutes grinning at the press contingent through the windows.

    Hee!

  5. revenantive says:
    June 6, 2008 at 11:54 am

    i agree, that would be a total mistake. repuglican PACs are going to very well financed and coordinated, just like 2004. there’s no need for Obama to go with public financing.

    personally, i have problems with the federal government offering public financing in the first place. i think it’s an unnecessary burden on taxpayers. i realize my rejection of public financing is a meme found often in ‘throw the bums out’ parlance. to me, public campaign financing is not the way things should be done during elections. if a politician or political action cause is unable to raise money to support itself and it’s positions, then the free market of ideas and capital have spoken loud and clear. there’s no need for taxpayers to foot the bill while politicians and lobbyists can set legislation and agenda that are often self serving in nature.

    it must be quite disturbing to republicans that the ‘free market forces’ are going elsewhere en masse with political donations and capital this cycle. no wonder mccain is trying to level the playing field, which is what obama would be agreeing to by going with public financing. there’s no need to give up the advantage while it’s there…we all know that if mccain’s campaign was really raking in the bucks that the public financing push would never have seen the light of day.

    is this a sign that ‘a change is gonna come’? i hope so.

  6. SaveFarris says:
    June 6, 2008 at 11:58 am

    Change you can believe in…

  7. Adam says:
    June 6, 2008 at 12:12 pm

    Hah! The RNC condition basically requires the GOP to just give up a $50M advantage, which is even more than Obama’s got on hand right now. They won’t take it, but if they did, it’s not really a lopsided deal, frankly. And now he can say that he was open to it. Good ploy.

  8. Duros62 says:
    June 6, 2008 at 12:26 pm

    Sean: Yeah, man.

  9. somejackass says:
    June 6, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    The means are as important as the ends, otherwise the republicans will employ viler and viler tactics in coming years. So take the public financing. We’ll have a better country for it, even if Obama doesn’t win. But win he will – he’s still a virtual rock star up against an old man with weird tics.

    Town hall debates too, returning lobbyist funds. Hell yeah. That’s exceedingly positive change.

  10. Sean D. Martin says:
    June 6, 2008 at 12:46 pm

    One of the bigger concerns I’ve had about Obama is how well he’d actually do once in office as president given that (current office holder and the rubber stamp Congress we’ve had during his tenure aside) the president doesn’t get to govern by fiat. There will be opposing forces who don’t want to do what he wants and those who will oppose him just because. That is, concerns about, good intentions aside, how effective he’d actually manage to be able to be as president.

    His moves in just the last few days in exerting control over the DNC, dealing (in some small way) with Lieberman and with the press, are really giving me a good feeling that he can actually deliver on the promise.

    My innate cynicism is taking a beating here.

  11. Thad says:
    June 6, 2008 at 12:53 pm

    I’m inclined to agree. I’ve been a strong supporter of public financing in the past, but what I was REALLY supporting was removing corporate influence from politics and giving the power back to the people. Obama’s done that.

    I’m not ready to say the issue is over — Obama could easily be a fluke, and there’s no guarantee that future candidates will have the same grassroots support structure — but it seems to me he should just keep doing what he’s doing.

  12. August J. Pollak says:
    June 6, 2008 at 1:11 pm

    Change you can believe in…

    No, more like large stacks of twenties you can believe in.

    McCain appreciates you searching your couch cushions a second time for him, though.

  13. midderpidge says:
    June 6, 2008 at 1:53 pm

    McCain: Leadership lobbyists can believe in.

  14. Sean D. Martin says:
    June 6, 2008 at 3:10 pm

    No, more like large stacks of twenties you can believe in.

    Better than large stacks of thousands.

  15. Duros62 says:
    June 6, 2008 at 3:35 pm

    Small change you can believe in.