Republican Party to make race an issue: Obama

[Dutch Pimp]

I'm confused?

Is everyone saying that Obama is playing the "Uncle Tom" card?....well ...it worked in the past...it will work in the future...

north and south.

[LegalizeTheGreen]

While I admit I am pretty biased against the repubs for what they have turned this country into, I made sure to keep my bias out of my reply. You admit that McCain is changing not only his beliefs, but his stances as well, to align himself with the right wing conservatives (forgive the name dropping, lol), ie. the people that kept bush in office for 8 years. That to me sounds as if he is trying to become W jr. He may have been moderate, but we can all see how that has changed as of the election.

As for unity, when you can unite a country against an illegal war, political corruption (even if he is a little corrupt himself), health care, governmental reform, green energy and reducing our dependance on oil (not just foreign), and it all happens to be the opposite of what the other side is saying, what would you do? The current republican views are what got us into the situation, and I have a hard time voting (or even liking) a person so willing to immitate them, and find myself drawn to the person that shares my disgust with our countries current direction, and wants to change it.

[daihashi]

While I admit I am pretty biased against the repubs for what they have turned this country into, I made sure to keep my bias out of my reply. You admit that McCain is changing not only his beliefs, but his stances as well, to align himself with the right wing conservatives (forgive the name dropping, lol), ie. the people that kept bush in office for 8 years. That to me sounds as if he is trying to become W jr. He may have been moderate, but we can all see how that has changed as of the election.

You act as if politicians never change their stance in order to gain favor within their own party. Obama has done it often this election. Taking bits and pieces from Hillary Clinton.

If you know anything about politics then you know that come presidential election time that a number of politician will change their stance/flip flop. If you can't win your party over then you definitely won't become the next president of the united states. That doesn't mean that they will continue to hold these stances. It's a momentary thing.. whatever it takes to get elected and it happens on both sides of the isle.

As for unity, when you can unite a country against an illegal war, political corruption (even if he is a little corrupt himself), health care, governmental reform, green energy and reducing our dependance on oil (not just foreign), and it all happens to be the opposite of what the other side is saying, what would you do? The current republican views are what got us into the situation, and I have a hard time voting (or even liking) a person so willing to immitate them, and find myself drawn to the person that shares my disgust with our countries current direction, and wants to change it.

When was this war illegal? It was passed by both major parties and we still had an executive order open from the first Bush that allowed us to go into Iraq. Really congressional approval was never needed.. even then it still passed.

As far as healthcare.. maybe you haven't seen the healthcare plan that Mccain has proposed. Really Obama's plan and McCain's plan have many benefits/features that overlap with each other. Go read up.

Really? The republicans got us into this mess?

hrm.. that's interesting because:


On October 11, 2002, the United States Senate voted 77-23 in favor of Joint Resolution 114 â?? the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002.

It takes two to tango. Open up your eyes. The Dems are just as guilty as the next guy.

At least the republicans don't tell me someone else is entitled to my paycheck :wtf: Beyond that both parties are the same. They just go about accomplishing their corrupt goals in different ways.

Also your precious democrats also supported the opening of Guantanamo bay as well as our involvement into going to afghanistan.

Up until the last two years Bush's approval rating have been above 60%.

With that said, I don't like bush, have never liked Bush... however I won't be blind to the fact that it was not just him that pushed all the buttons to make this happen.

All politicians are the same. They're all rich.. and they're all out of touch. The point I was trying to make is that you're bias to republicans for the wrong reasons. You're biased because of your assumption that Republicans are responsible for all that is wrong in this country. The democrats are equally responsible and can be shown if you go look at facts and voting records.

[LegalizeTheGreen]

While the democrats are guilty of some pretty stupid things, there is a difference between leading the charge, and being forced to go along with it. It wasn't a democrat that told us there were WMD's and Al Queda in Iraq, though they did agree to go along with it. But thats the difference, when you're lied to, and supplied false information, should you really be held fully accountable?

As for the Illegality of the war, I was refering to the global aspect, not the national one. Again, it isn't hard to sell a war to some scared shitless countrymen, especially when you use lies.

Finally, while I agree politicians are almost always guilty of flip flopping (god i hate that term though), there is a difference between flopping around with similar ideals (those shared by Obama and Clinton are pretty much the same, just spun differently, they are members of the same party after all), and a supposedly moderate person flopping towards the shadow of our current president, which is somthing I hope no one wants to see.

[daihashi]

While the democrats are guilty of some pretty stupid things, there is a difference between leading the charge, and being forced to go along with it. It wasn't a democrat that told us there were WMD's and Al Queda in Iraq, though they did agree to go along with it. But thats the difference, when you're lied to, and supplied false information, should you really be held fully accountable?

So you are giving the democrats a free pass? What about Clinton and his statements against Iraq, Kerry and his statements.. Majority of the democratic party that have been quoted as saying that action needs to be taken against Iraq even if it means military force. This was all before George W. Bush's administration. Again you need to do some reading.

Secondly, if you don't believe in war and you let someone bully you around so you change your vote in their favor.. then that is really pathetic. If you believe in something then you should stand up and shout it. If the democrats did not want to go to war then they should've been united and stopped it when they had the chance. For years they showed support for the war. Even after no WMD's were found.

As for the Illegality of the war, I was refering to the global aspect, not the national one. Again, it isn't hard to sell a war to some scared shitless countrymen, especially when you use lies.

We have no global governing body. Technically no laws were broken. The legality of the war is all perception on a global scale. We were supported by mass number of nations. Really the only people who were against it were China, Russia and France who all had their grubby little hands in Iraq. Again, go read up.

Finally, while I agree politicians are almost always guilty of flip flopping (god i hate that term though), there is a difference between flopping around with similar ideals (those shared by Obama and Clinton are pretty much the same, just spun differently, they are members of the same party after all), and a supposedly moderate person flopping towards the shadow of our current president, which is somthing I hope no one wants to see.

Again, you give the democrats a free pass for doing something you criticize the republicans for. That is hypocrisy at it's best

Blame is on both sides. If you want I can go back and talk about what Clinton could've done in his administration to stop this. I can bring up a multitude of intelligence that could've stopped any of this from happening during his administration.

I can also go back to Bush senior and point out the flaws there. Point being is that it is our Fault as Americans for letting this go on and on. People are so uninformed now with the media today. They spoon feed us drama and spin the truth.

We should expect that all politicians are going to lie and manipulate. It is OUR job to fight against it and see through the masks they put on. Democrats or Republicans, neither are innocent.

Good day sir. :thumbsup:

[dragonrider]

What I hate about articles like this is that they say a candidate said something, but they don't give the quote. It's sloppy journalism. Why should I believe how some Australian website characterized what Obama said, if they can't even provide the quote of him saying it? It's worse than a soundbite taken out of context, because it doesn't even pretend to give the candidate's actual words. Why not just print what he said and let me decide what it means, rather than say what they think it means and not give the words. It's lazy and sloppy, and it's the same thing people do when they are lying about what candidate stands for. Not saying they are lying --- just saying that's how it is done. Now we get everyone in this thread piling in on this issue about how if that's what Obama thinks, then Obama is playing the race card. What a load of crap. Personally, I'd like to see a quote in context before I just accept how the Australian Broadcasting Company characterized his comments. They could be saying anything.

So, sloppy journalism aside. I do think race will be an issue in this election. Sad but true. And if either side thinks they can get some traction with a racially charged issue, but do it in a way they can deny racism, I expect they will try to do it. The one example that immediately comes to mind is the Willie Horton ads agaisnt Dukakis years ago. That ad was not overtly racist --- it was about a furlough program. But it played on racist fears because the ad was about a very scary looking black man who was released on furlough and either raped or murdered a white woman. There are a million ways to bring race into the campaign without overtly saying "Don't vote for the guy because he is black" --- of course no one would be that stupid. Fortunately I think MOST people are beyond that kind of thinking now.

[LegalizeTheGreen]

Again, there is a diffence between saying Iraq was a messed up place, and "somebody should do somthing", and saying they have WMD's and might use them on us, and that they are best buds with Al Queda. I am not giving anyone a "free pass", i am just saying that they were mislead, so while stupid, I don't have a hard time moving past that for them.

Secondly, when it was discovered they were lied too, we were already locked into the damn war, lol. Everyone is always saying "oh noes, we cant pull out!", and thats because yes, once we got stuck in there, we cant just do an about face, we have to do an orderly, multi staged withdrawl of troops, somthing that should have happened years ago.

Thirdly, for someone that keeps telling me to read, and acting like I'm ignorant, you really dont know much about politics and world events do you? No global organized ruling body? UN much? Also, that "mass alliance" you say we had was actually the UK, and like 200 people from canada, and like 10 from Austrailia. In case you missed it, the UN security council voted us down on the war, and we went anyway, ie. Illegal.

[BigWeed]

US Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama says he expects Republicans to highlight the fact that he is black as part of an effort to make voters afraid of him.

He told a Florida fundraiser that the Republicans have already shown their cards and they are likely to make race an issue.

However, Senator Obama says he is confident that the American people will realise that tactics like these are divisive and bad for the nation.
Republican Party to make race an issue: Obama - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Statements like this just reaffirm his connections with those like Rev. Wright. All them white boys at the GOP are going to attack him on his color? It would be an act of POLITICAL SUICIDE!!! He's the ONLY one talking about the race issue here. So what's behind this type of statement? Vote for me or your a bigot?

I'm sure that Condi Rice and Collin Powell have a different view of the GOP.....

Have a good one!:s4:

Hey man I have to disagree on this. There will be some fools that will play the race card and that will happen. John Mccain wont do it and his campain team wont do it that would be suicide for him your right on that. But the 527 groups will and they will paint him as a angry black man. For your comment on hes just like those Rev Wright types. I grew up with men and women That have and still hold the anger inside them on how they were treated as black men and women in the 50sand 60s. I had to listen to my father and grandfather and hear it at church about how things where and still are. But if it wasnt for them paving the way for me and my kids Ill be going through the same thing. I not saying what Rev Wright said was right I just wish he had said it in a different way thats more uplifting than the way he said it. I love all you guys on here just be careful about how you bring Race into this. Peace and stay High.:rasta::rastasmoke:imp:

[daihashi]

Thirdly, for someone that keeps telling me to read, and acting like I'm ignorant, you really dont know much about politics and world events do you? No global organized ruling body? UN much? Also, that "mass alliance" you say we had was actually the UK, and like 200 people from canada, and like 10 from Austrailia. In case you missed it, the UN security council voted us down on the war, and we went anyway, ie. Illegal.

Wow.. rofl. The UN does not rule the world. it is a group of governing bodies that cooperate together to work towards peace. The UN is not a government.

All they can do is impose sanctions on you with the cooperation of participating countries. They will try to use force if necessary but the UN is a joke and refuses to enforce it's own sanctions.

Regarding UN approval for Iraq

Secretary of State Addresses the U.N. Security Council

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Again, the only three in opposition were France, Russia and China.

You've yet to site any factual data. As I said before, and this wasn't meant as an insult but rather as something that we should all do as Americans, read and become informed.

And here is the purpose of the United Nations incase you don't believe that it is not a global government:

Introduction to the United Nations

It is an organization of Nations, it is not a ruling/controlling body.

Lastly.. we tried for nearly 12-13 years to get a peaceful resolution with Iraq. They habitually violated sanctions and abused programs that were setup to assist them. This doesn't justify *our* reasoning for going to war but it goes to show you what the U.N. Is able to accomplish. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

I simply told you to read, it was meant as good gesture to make informed opinions not as an attack as you seemingly took it.

I don't make excuses for people. I look into the factual data, I don't listen to what the media spoon feeds the masses. I was suggesting you do the same but instead you decided to come on the attack and try to slam me only to look slightly foolish.

I'm done holding further discussions on this topic with you.

ps: Here's a list of countries that were part of the Iraq Coalition.. It's far more than your pitiful list; further showing how misinformed you are:

Countries which had troops in or supported operations in Iraq at one point but have pulled out since: Nicaragua (Feb. 2004); Spain (late-Apr. 2004); Dominican Republic (early-May 2004); Honduras (late-May 2004); Philippines (~Jul. 19, 2004); Thailand (late-Aug. 2004); New Zealand (late Sep. 2004); Tonga (mid-Dec. 2004) Portugal (mid-Feb. 2005); The Netherlands (Mar. 2005); Hungary (Mar. 2005); Singapore (Mar. 2005); Norway (Oct. 2005); Ukraine (Dec. 2005); Japan (July 17, 2006); Italy (Nov. 2006); Slovakia (Jan 2007).

Countries planning to withdraw from Iraq: Poland had earlier claimed that it would withdraw all soldiers by the end of 2006. It however extended the mandate of its contingent through at least mid-2007. Denmark announced that it would withdraw its troop contingent by August 2007.

Countries which have recently reduced or are planning to reduce their troop commitment: South Korea is planning to withdraw up to 1000 soldiers by the end of 2006. Poland withdrew 700 soldiers in Feb. 2005. Between May 2005 and May 2006, the United Kingdom reduced the size of its contingent by 1,300. The United Kingdom also is planning to reduce significantly the size of its contingent by the end of 2007, with an initial reduction of 1,600 troops followed by an additional 500 troops by end of 2007.

Countries supporting UNAMI: Fiji (150); Georgia (550)

Now with that said let's please get back on topic. This is thread is about Obama and whether Race is an issue or not in this election.

[daihashi]

Hey man I have to disagree on this. There will be some fools that will play the race card and that will happen. John Mccain wont do it and his campain team wont do it that would be suicide for him your right on that. But the 527 groups will and they will paint him as a angry black man. For your comment on hes just like those Rev Wright types. I grew up with men and women That have and still hold the anger inside them on how they were treated as black men and women in the 50sand 60s. I had to listen to my father and grandfather and hear it at church about how things where and still are. But if it wasnt for them paving the way for me and my kids Ill be going through the same thing. I not saying what Rev Wright said was right I just wish he had said it in a different way thats more uplifting than the way he said it. I love all you guys on here just be careful about how you bring Race into this. Peace and stay High.:rasta::rastasmoke:imp:

I agree with you but at what point do you let go of your resentment. There can't be any healing unless you forgive. I'm not saying that they do not have a right to be angry because obviously there is much to be angry about, but as Americans they have to let it go as well. It's to the point to where other races are scared to say anything related to blacks in fear of being hunted down in a modern day witch hunt. It's ridiculous. We should be working together to build a unified nation that is blind to color.

edit: I should note that my response above was in regards to both sides of the equation. Non black people need to understand the hardships that Black americans went through here. Similarly Black Americans need to realize that most of America legitimately is sorry and are wanting to make progress just like they do. We both want the same thing and we should be cooperating to achieve it. I guess that's the point I was trying to make.