Obama and Biden voted for the Bridge to nowhere, page 2
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ATS Members have flagged this thread 8 times


reply posted on 9-9-2008 @ 05:22 PM by jsobecky
reply to post by SectionEight


Originally posted by SectionEight
Or how about the one defending gang members from ever having to face the death penalty for murdering in the gangs name? That is one I would just love to see him try to defend in the Ohio swingstate during a debate.


Those type of questions would most likely come up in an open Town Hall type of debate, the type that Obama will not agree to. Most likely, all the debates will be moderated, and the questions depend on who the moderator is.


reply to post by maybereal11

Originally posted by maybereal11


It's strange that something McCain opposed strongly...he didn't show up to cast a vote?


Do we know why McCain didn't show up to vote on it? Maybe he was out of the country? He has visited Iraq a number of times, for example.


reply posted on 13-9-2008 @ 09:12 AM by loam
reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


Obama has made many promises with respect to abuses in earmark spending. While I locate the most appropriate one, have a look at this interesting blast from the past.

In February 2006:



Senate War Of Words: McCain Accuses Obama Of 'Partisan Posturing' On Lobbying Reform

There's an unusually angry feud on Capitol Hill between two high-profile senators over the contentious issue of lobbying ethics reform.

Republican Sen. John McCain accused his Democratic colleague Barack Obama of "partisan posturing" on the issue — a charge Obama called puzzling and regrettable.

...

Based on past Obama statements, "I concluded your professed concern for the institution and the public interest was genuine and admirable," McCain wrote in a letter to Obama on Monday. "Thank you for disabusing me of such notions."



[edit on 13-9-2008 by loam]



reply posted on 13-9-2008 @ 10:39 AM by pavil
reply to post by loam



Kinda sounds like Obama is taking credit for stopping that earmark, either that or he is bringing attention to his own vote on that earmark........ which was what again BH? Oh wait how he voted wasn't important, I forgot.


reply posted on 13-9-2008 @ 10:57 AM by pavil
reply to post by loam


I like the title of Loam's article:
Coburn-Obama Effort To Curb Wasteful Federal Spending

When you start reading it who else do you notice introducing it and supporting it......Take a guess?


Obama has teamed with Coburn, Senator Thomas Carper (D-DE), Ranking Member on the FFM Subcommittee, and Senator John S. McCain, III (R-AZ) to introduce S. 2590, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act,


So after voting for these pork barrel earmarks, Obama gets on the bandwagon opposing them, I sense a pattern here.



[edit on 13-9-2008 by pavil]


reply posted on 13-9-2008 @ 11:33 AM by Benevolent Heretic
First, thanks for all the information.

There are 7 versions of this bill. I have no idea what they voted for or why. And I personally don't care.

I do know that the money was slated to go for the bridge and the vote was to redirect that money to go for rebuilding New Orleans (not Katrina relief). There's so much to look at and I'm not really interested in defending this one vote of Obama's, especially considering the following:


GOP Scours Obama Votes for Election Ammunition

Sen. Barack Obama’s short voting record in the upper chamber includes a number of controversial votes likely to surface in national GOP attack ads aimed at taking down the surging Democratic candidate.

Republican researchers are poring over the Illinois Democrat’s three-year Senate voting record, looking for fresh fodder to be used should Obama become the Democratic Party’s nominee.
...
Also, Obama and 81 other senators opposed an amendment in 2005 to strike the infamous $231 million “Bridge to Nowhere” earmark for Alaska and redirect that funding to help with rebuilding New Orleans.

The Senate rarely backs efforts to strike another member’s pet projects.

If Obama faces McCain in a general election, he may be hit over the earmarks issue. Unlike McCain, Obama voted with most of Congress for the 2005 highway bill, which included an eye-popping 6,000 earmarks worth more than $24 billion.


It seems as though even though he has petitioned against wasteful spending, he has supported it, too, as he voted with most of Congress on a lot of them. (Personally, I was against rebuilding New Orleans, myself, so I can understand a vote against diverting funds for something I consider a waste.) But that doesn't address the apparent hypocrisy in Obama's statements.

Still, Obama's not running around getting his party all riled up by lying to them about a project he supposedly "stopped" when he was the one who started it. He did not take credit for stopping it!

So, the GOP found some ammunition and seized on it. Good on ya. That's really my position. No one is claiming that Obama is perfect. He's a human being after all. And a lot better than the alternative.


reply posted on 13-9-2008 @ 12:04 PM by loam
reply to post by mental modulator


Originally posted by mental modulator
The difference is that OBAMA/BIDEN did not make this a central theme in each and every stump speech. PALIN did, she ran with, smiled and lied through her teeth.


You mean her one speech?

Also, was Obama not smiling when he appeared before the Senate Federal Financial Management Subcommittee? Was that the difference?

Originally posted by mental modulator
OBAMA/BIDEN never made this a central positive in their rhetoric...


And need I demonstrate every place where Obama discussed earmark reform as part of his campaign promises?

[edit on 13-9-2008 by loam]


reply posted on 13-9-2008 @ 12:09 PM by loam
reply to post by Benevolent Heretic


I can agree with much of what you said generally, even if I disagree with your conclusions about the specifics.




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