Barack Obama Shows True Colors

[krome2ez]

Barack Obama Shows True Colors in Awarding Medal of Freedom to Socialist

posted on June 5, 2012 by Giacomo

Once again, Barack Obama (I truly dislike calling him President Obama) has shown his true colors and where his political and social views lie. It’s been no secret, especially on this website, that Obama is a socialist. Growing up he was schooled and mentored by them. In his political career, including his invasion of the White House, he has surrounded himself with Marxists and socialists.

If you had any doubts about his loyalty to socialism, allow me to open your eyes to his latest flaunting of it by awarding the Medal of Freedom to Delores Huerta.

Have you ever heard of Delores Huerta? She not only is an extreme left-wing labor activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union, she is also the honorary chairperson of the Democratic Socialists of America. The DSA is purported to be to be the largest socialist organization in America. They are also affiliated with Socialist International.

The Democratic Socialists of America is an organization that works with labor unions and college campuses to promote socialistic ideology. Michael Harrington, former executive board member of the Socialist Party of America, helped organize and map out the ideology and policies of the DSA in its early years. One of his goals was to reorganize the Democratic Party to officially make it the principle party of the left. DSA publishes a quarterly newsletter called, Democratic Left and runs a youth section known as Young Democratic Socialists.

I hope you note how often socialists use the terms or names Democrat or Democratic in association to Socialists. When you take time to read about many of them, you will quickly see that in their eyes, Democrat and Socialist are the same thing and can be used interchangeably.

Obama’s awarding the Medal of Freedom to Huerta signifies his embracing of others involved in socialist activities in the US. It is also raising concerns among a number of people including The Heritage Foundation. Israel Ortega, the Foundation’s spokesman for the Hispanic speaking sector offered the following remarks to One News Now,

“It’s quite surprising that someone would get a Medal of Freedom when she’s been praising a system of government that is anything but freedom-valuing. Particularly disturbing are some audio clips of her praising Hugo Chavez’s government and some of the practices, including taking private property.”

“I think clearly there was some calculus by the White House that he had to have someone who is part of a labor union, part of that kind of progressive side of politics, and I think obviously the fact that she is Hispanic was also a consideration.”

Like so many other things Obama has taken something that is supposed to be used to honestly honor someone or something and turned it into a political campaign event. He did the same thing with Memorial Day, Easter and every other holiday. It has always been about him and not the day, event or medal.

Since Obama has been wallowing in the mud so as to sling as much of it at Romney as possible, I would hope and pray that the Romney campaign would make some campaign ads exposing his socialist agenda and use Huerta and the Medal of Freedom as an example. The American people need to see the socialist wolf for what he really is. If Romney started running ads emphasizing Obama’s socialist agenda, homosexual agenda, anti-US Constitution agenda, anti-middle class agenda, he would have a better chance of sending the ravenous wolf scurrying with his tail between his legs come November.

Read more: http://godfatherpolitics.com/5506/barack-obama-shows-true-colors-in-awarding-medal-of-freedom-to-socialist/#ixzz1x0eJzwaN

Edited June 6, 2012 by krome2ez

[TPSprayduster]

Barack Obama Shows True Colors in Awarding Medal of Freedom to Socialist

posted on June 5, 2012 by Giacomo

Once again, Barack Obama (I truly dislike calling him President Obama) has shown his true colors and where his political and social views lie. It’s been no secret, especially on this website, that Obama is a socialist. Growing up he was schooled and mentored by them. In his political career, including his invasion of the White House, he has surrounded himself with Marxists and socialists.

If you had any doubts about his loyalty to socialism, allow me to open your eyes to his latest flaunting of it by awarding the Medal of Freedom to Delores Huerta.

Have you ever heard of Delores Huerta? She not only is an extreme left-wing labor activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union, she is also the honorary chairperson of the Democratic Socialists of America. The DSA is purported to be to be the largest socialist organization in America. They are also affiliated with Socialist International.

The Democratic Socialists of America is an organization that works with labor unions and college campuses to promote socialistic ideology. Michael Harrington, former executive board member of the Socialist Party of America, helped organize and map out the ideology and policies of the DSA in its early years. One of his goals was to reorganize the Democratic Party to officially make it the principle party of the left. DSA publishes a quarterly newsletter called, Democratic Left and runs a youth section known as Young Democratic Socialists.

I hope you note how often socialists use the terms or names Democrat or Democratic in association to Socialists. When you take time to read about many of them, you will quickly see that in their eyes, Democrat and Socialist are the same thing and can be used interchangeably.

Obama’s awarding the Medal of Freedom to Huerta signifies his embracing of others involved in socialist activities in the US. It is also raising concerns among a number of people including The Heritage Foundation. Israel Ortega, the Foundation’s spokesman for the Hispanic speaking sector offered the following remarks to One News Now,

“It’s quite surprising that someone would get a Medal of Freedom when she’s been praising a system of government that is anything but freedom-valuing. Particularly disturbing are some audio clips of her praising Hugo Chavez’s government and some of the practices, including taking private property.”

“I think clearly there was some calculus by the White House that he had to have someone who is part of a labor union, part of that kind of progressive side of politics, and I think obviously the fact that she is Hispanic was also a consideration.”

Like so many other things Obama has taken something that is supposed to be used to honestly honor someone or something and turned it into a political campaign event. He did the same thing with Memorial Day, Easter and every other holiday. It has always been about him and not the day, event or medal.

Since Obama has been wallowing in the mud so as to sling as much of it at Romney as possible, I would hope and pray that the Romney campaign would make some campaign ads exposing his socialist agenda and use Huerta and the Medal of Freedom as an example. The American people need to see the socialist wolf for what he really is. If Romney started running ads emphasizing Obama’s socialist agenda, homosexual agenda, anti-US Constitution agenda, anti-middle class agenda, he would have a better chance of sending the ravenous wolf scurrying with his tail between his legs come November.

Read more: http://godfatherpolitics.com/5506/barack-obama-shows-true-colors-in-awarding-medal-of-freedom-to-socialist/#ixzz1x0eJzwaN

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Huerta

Didn't see anything about being the president of a socialist group. Only that the SFPD beat her down and they had to pay a large settlement. Rest of your post is speculation sir. i think the reason for the medal is to recognize her work to help those to better themselves than to be treated like dung.

[Shabibilicious]

Social, socialist, socialism or a form thereof......20 times.

GO RV, then BV

[krome2ez]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Huerta

Didn't see anything about being the president of a socialist group. Only that the SFPD beat her down and they had to pay a large settlement. Rest of your post is speculation sir. i think the reason for the medal is to recognize her work to help those to better themselves than to be treated like dung.

Read it again...

Dolores Huerta is an Honorary Chair of Democratic Socialists of America[21] and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Equality California.[22]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Huerta

Our mission is to create a network of organized communities pursuing social justice through systemic and structural transformation.

http://www.doloreshuerta.org/about

"Social Justice" is code word for Socialism

[TPSprayduster]

Read it again...

Dolores Huerta is an Honorary Chair of Democratic Socialists of America[21] and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Equality California.[22]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Huerta

Our mission is to create a network of organized communities pursuing social justice through systemic and structural transformation.

http://www.doloreshuerta.org/about

"Social Justice" is code word for Socialism

So if i use the work social or in any form then is it safe to say it is socialism? If i am wrong then please correct me. I was not aware if using social justice is considered socialism i think of it as an opinion.

[Shabibilicious]

.....then that would mean "social media", such as Facebook is socialism..........maybe that's the reason that stock crashed.

GO RV, then BV

[krome2ez]

So if i use the work social or in any form then is it safe to say it is socialism? If i am wrong then please correct me. I was not aware if using social justice is considered socialism i think of it as an opinion.

Yes, Social Justice, is a code word used for Socialism.

Here's one explanation:

[Mongo]

Obama is an OXYMORON.............. and so is giving a medal of ..FREEDOM....to a ...SOCIALIST

Socialism: Read your history book(if you can read) find out what Socialism has done for other countries

it's not a pretty picture, ask the people if they were free, did the countries prosper

Socialism and social networks,.....two different meanings

[krome2ez]

.....then that would mean "social media", such as Facebook is socialism..........maybe that's the reason that stock crashed.

GO RV, then BV

Ignoring the truth,

does not make it go away.

[Shabibilicious]

Ignoring the truth,

does not make it go away.

Embrace the truth....and it will go away. Got it.

GO RV, then BV

[blugrass60]

There are usually three sides to the truth. Yours. Mine. And, The Truth. There are differing and conflicting pieces and definitions of socialism used today. I think some people get it a bit skewed, and others wrong. Some nail it on the head. I really don't care one way or the other. I'm not turning a blind eye.. it's just that this is not where the problem(s) lies, whether the person occupying the white house is socialist or not. I don't really know if he is or not.. it is hard to say no one day, then perhaps on another it is an easy sell. The problems this nation faces is not this conflict.. it's stemming from a lot of things, but rest assured this is not the big one. It's just not big enough in the right way. I liken the fear of 'social-' anything to how so many politicians rail against *** marriage, and so many say allowing it would be the undoing of the USA.. when there is a +/- 16 trillion dollar deficit, high unemployment, endless external conflict, overflowing prisons, drastic racial tension, cost of living constantly going up.. need I continue?

It is almost like a form of misdirection, people are so worked up about something they have only briefly had enter their conscience that they don't really know what they are rallying for or against. I am not implying that is the mindset of members here on DV. You all seem very well informed.. whichi is a great thing but unfortunately a minority thing. I think there are diffent agendas at work with the 'socialists' and 'marxists.' I believe that there are some who really just want to make a change for the better in American society, they may be socialist or not, idk. It needs it.. badly. Others likely have an agenda that fits either what they desire, or what someone else behind the curtain wants.. whether it's good or bad remains to be seen. The same things can be said about captialism, democracy, theocracy, etc. But their whole problem is that they are sticking to old out dated concepts. I've never understood why no one comes up with a new system.. something that draws on the postives from all aspects. And leaves the bad scary things behind. There really is no more original thought I suppose.

Bottom line, does o look like a 'socialist?' Yeah, i suppose, but it's hard to know what to think lol.. isn't it? So, now what?

[Lorre]

Wow Bluegrass60... Sadly you are correct... In a world so full full of corruption and deceit it is very hard to figure out where even to begin. Nothing is ever just face value and those of us who are sincere in our thoughts and actions are seen to be the weak link. A mans word is no longer his bond but a gesture which is apt to change at any moment and blamed on an innocent parties actions. Aka "The devil made me do it"... The good are made to be evil and the evil-justified...

I make strides to live and lead by example, unfortunately that comes with the price of hard work, responsibility for my own actions, and the admission of guilt should I fail..... It has become difficult to find followers so I find I walk alone more often than I would like..

[Black Swan]

Hmmmm...socialism, where exactly does one draw the line?

Seems to me we have many social services that would, under the strict definition, be considered socialism including:

*military

*police

*firefighters

*voting

*Medicare

*Medicaid

*Social Security

*healthcare (via emergency room, for people who can't pay)

*public libraries

*public schools

*government college grants, scholarships, and loans

*roads (except toll roads)

*the FDA

*the EPA

Sewage treatment,

the FCC

Fema

Parks and Recreation,

EBT/ Foodstamps

Zoning Laws (so your house isn't next to a giant building or in an area where it is unsafe for a house)

Airport Security

Considering nearly half of Americans don't pay income tax, that seems to indicated, half of us are already socialist. Just saying.

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/19/chart-of-the-week-nearly-half-of-all-americans-dont-pay-income-taxes/

[BrokeNoMore]

Hmmmm...socialism, where exactly does one draw the line?

Seems to me we have many social services that would, under the strict definition, be considered socialism including:

*military

*police

*firefighters

*voting

*Medicare

*Medicaid

*Social Security

*healthcare (via emergency room, for people who can't pay)

*public libraries

*public schools

*government college grants, scholarships, and loans

*roads (except toll roads)

*the FDA

*the EPA

Sewage treatment,

the FCC

Fema

Parks and Recreation,

EBT/ Foodstamps

Zoning Laws (so your house isn't next to a giant building or in an area where it is unsafe for a house)

Airport Security

Considering nearly half of Americans don't pay income tax, that seems to indicated, half of us are already socialist. Just saying.

http://blog.heritage.org/2012/02/19/chart-of-the-week-nearly-half-of-all-americans-dont-pay-income-taxes/

You NAILED it!

We do live in an ever increasing socialistic economy.

Almost ALL of these services should not be paid for by a forced national tax of the American people.

The ones I would keep would be the Military to defend our borders, and everything else should either not exist or be funded by private organizations, or managed locally by locally chosen authorities. There would have been far more freedom-preserving ways of going about providing for many of these services, such as police and fire, without taxing federally to get it done. Federal Taxation is THEFT.

Amazing!!! Someone gets it!!! :)

[hame55]

Barack Obama Shows True Colors in Awarding Medal of Freedom to Socialist

posted on June 5, 2012 by Giacomo

Once again, Barack Obama (I truly dislike calling him President Obama) has shown his true colors and where his political and social views lie. It’s been no secret, especially on this website, that Obama is a socialist. Growing up he was schooled and mentored by them. In his political career, including his invasion of the White House, he has surrounded himself with Marxists and socialists.

If you had any doubts about his loyalty to socialism, allow me to open your eyes to his latest flaunting of it by awarding the Medal of Freedom to Delores Huerta.

Have you ever heard of Delores Huerta? She not only is an extreme left-wing labor activist and co-founder of the United Farm Workers Union, she is also the honorary chairperson of the Democratic Socialists of America. The DSA is purported to be to be the largest socialist organization in America. They are also affiliated with Socialist International.

The Democratic Socialists of America is an organization that works with labor unions and college campuses to promote socialistic ideology. Michael Harrington, former executive board member of the Socialist Party of America, helped organize and map out the ideology and policies of the DSA in its early years. One of his goals was to reorganize the Democratic Party to officially make it the principle party of the left. DSA publishes a quarterly newsletter called, Democratic Left and runs a youth section known as Young Democratic Socialists.

I hope you note how often socialists use the terms or names Democrat or Democratic in association to Socialists. When you take time to read about many of them, you will quickly see that in their eyes, Democrat and Socialist are the same thing and can be used interchangeably.

Obama’s awarding the Medal of Freedom to Huerta signifies his embracing of others involved in socialist activities in the US. It is also raising concerns among a number of people including The Heritage Foundation. Israel Ortega, the Foundation’s spokesman for the Hispanic speaking sector offered the following remarks to One News Now,

“It’s quite surprising that someone would get a Medal of Freedom when she’s been praising a system of government that is anything but freedom-valuing. Particularly disturbing are some audio clips of her praising Hugo Chavez’s government and some of the practices, including taking private property.”

“I think clearly there was some calculus by the White House that he had to have someone who is part of a labor union, part of that kind of progressive side of politics, and I think obviously the fact that she is Hispanic was also a consideration.”

Like so many other things Obama has taken something that is supposed to be used to honestly honor someone or something and turned it into a political campaign event. He did the same thing with Memorial Day, Easter and every other holiday. It has always been about him and not the day, event or medal.

Since Obama has been wallowing in the mud so as to sling as much of it at Romney as possible, I would hope and pray that the Romney campaign would make some campaign ads exposing his socialist agenda and use Huerta and the Medal of Freedom as an example. The American people need to see the socialist wolf for what he really is. If Romney started running ads emphasizing Obama’s socialist agenda, homosexual agenda, anti-US Constitution agenda, anti-middle class agenda, he would have a better chance of sending the ravenous wolf scurrying with his tail between his legs come November.

Read more: http://godfatherpolitics.com/5506/barack-obama-shows-true-colors-in-awarding-medal-of-freedom-to-socialist/#ixzz1x0eJzwaN

LET'S SEE....

Obama is a socialist............ because saved the bankers after 2008? He's a socialist because most of his election funding came from Goldman Sachs?

Gee, hasn't he been kissing the arses of the bankers for four years? No real bank regulations, talks a good line, but no real action against those who brought down our economy...yet you call him a socialist?

He's surrounded himself with Geithner and Larry Summers and Rubin, all Wall Street insiders (Boy what a bunch of Commies!!!!) and reappointed the Defense Secretary, continued Bush oil wars in the ME and saved the private health care industry?

He's a socialist?

Been watching FOX? (What a question..of course...)

You have got to be kidding...get a life and stop making a fool of yourself and READ.

[krome2ez]

He's a socialist?

Been watching FOX? (What a question..of course...)

You have got to be kidding...get a life and stop making a fool of yourself and READ.

Maybe you should take your own advise.

Again, Ignoring the Truth does not make it go away.

so·cial·ism   /ˈsoʊʃəˌlɪzəm/ [soh-shuh-liz-uhm] noun

1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.

3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

1. Obama's Father Wrote About Socialism - His father wrote a paper called "Problems With Our Socialism" that advocates 100% taxation of the rich, communal ownership of land and the forced confiscation of privately controlled land. Source: Greg Ransom, PrestoPundit

2. Obama's Mother Was a "Communist Sympathizer" - " Friends describe her as a "fellow traveler", that is, a communist sympathizer, from her youth, according to a March 27, 2007, Chicago Tribune report" Source: Spengler, Asia Times "The values she taught me continue to be my touchstone when it comes to how I go about the world of politics - Barack Obama" Source: Tim Jones, Chicago Tribune

3. Obama's Parents Met in a Russian Class (Back then it was the Communist USSR) - "His mother, Stanley Ann Dunham (her father always wanted a son), was white and just 18 when they met in a Russian class" Source: Sharon Cohen, St Louis Times

4. Obama's Teen Mentor was Frank Marshall Davis (a known CPUSA member) - "...through Frank Marshall Davis, Obama had an admitted relationship with someone who was publicly identified as a member of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA). The record shows that Obama was in Hawaii from 1971-1979, where, at some point in time, he developed a close relationship, almost like a son, with Davis, listening to his poetry and getting advice on his career path. But Obama, in his book, Dreams From My Father, refers to him repeatedly as just Frank." Source: Cliff Kincaid, Accuracy in the Media "Kathryn Takara of the University of Hawaii, who wrote a dissertation on the life of Frank Marshall Davis, confirming Davis was a significant influence on Obama when the senator attended Punahou prep school in Hawaii from 1975 to 1979" Source: Jim Corsi, WorldNetDaily based on Communism in Hawaii and the Obama Connection (Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein)

5. Obama's Brother Roy and Cousin Odinga are Marxists - "Barack Obama's older brother, Abongo "Roy" Obama. He is a Luo activist. militant Muslim and a Marxist." Source: Barbara Busby, 180people.com “The person who made me proudest of all,” Obama wrote, “was Roy Source: Bill Sammon, The Examiner "Odinga is a Marxist who reportedly has made a pact with a hard-line Islamic group in Kenya to establish Shariah courts throughout the country" Source: Invenstor's Business Daily

6. Obama Attended Socialist Conferences at Cooper Union - "He went to socialist conferences at Cooper Union and African cultural fairs in Brooklyn and started lecturing his relatives until they worried he'd become "one of those freaks you see on the streets around here." Source: H Kennedy, NY Daily News

7. Obama Was Hand Picked by Alice Palmer to Succeed Her in the Illinois State Senate - "Nine years before Palmer picked Obama to be her successor, she was the only African-American journalist to travel to the Soviet Union to attend the 27th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, according to an article Palmer wrote in the CPUSA newspaper, People's Daily World, June 19, 1986." Source: Jim Corsi, WorldNetDaily based on Communism in Chicago and the Obama Connection (Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein)

8. Obama's Run for the Illinois State Senate was Launched by a Fundraiser Organized at Bill Ayers' and Bernardine Dorhn's Chicago Home - Ayers and Dorhn are former terrorists from the Weather Underground who's SDS organization received financial contributions from the CPUSA. "Obama's run for the Illinois state Senate was launched by a fundraiser organized at Ayers' and Dorhn's Chicago home by Alice Palmer. Palmer had named Obama to succeed her in the state Senate in 1995, when she decided to run for a U.S. congressional seat." Source: Jim Corsi, WorldNetDaily based on Communism in Chicago and the Obama Connection (Cliff Kincaid and Herbert Romerstein)

9. Obama Had a Close Relationship with the "Anti-Capitalist" Group ACORN - "Obama has had an intimate and long-term association with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (Acorn)...Chicago Acorn appears to have played a major role in Obama’s political advance...Acorn’s radical agenda sometimes shifts toward “undisguised authoritarian socialism.” Source: Stanley Kurtz, National Review

10. Obama Attended Several Meetings with the Democratic Socialists in Chicago and Was even Endorsed by Them - "Obama’s socialist backing goes back at least to 1996, when he received the endorsement of the Chicago branch of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) for an Illinois state senate seat. Later, the Chicago DSA newsletter reported that Obama, as a state senator, showed up to eulogize Saul Mendelson, one of the “champions” of “Chicago’s democratic left” and a long-time socialist activist. Obama’s stint as a “community organizer” in Chicago has gotten some attention, but his relationship with the DSA socialists, who groomed and backed him, has been generally ignored." Source: Cliff Kincaid, Accuracy in the Media "In its broadest sense, democratic socialism could refer to any attempts to bring about socialism through democratic means as opposed to violent insurrection." Source: Wikipedia

11. Obama Endorsed Openly Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders - Video " "Sanders is the first self-described socialist to be elected to the U.S. Senate." Source: Wikipedia

And Pres. Obama is not the ONLY one!!!

American Socialists Release Names of 70 Congressional Democrats in Their Ranks

Posted by Jim Hoft on Friday, August 13, 2010, 4:16 PM

The Socialist Party of America announced in their October 2009 newsletter that 70 Congressional democrats currently belong to their caucus.

This admission was recently posted on Scribd.com:

American Socialist Voter–

Q: How many members of the U.S. Congress are also members of the DSA?

A: Seventy

Q: How many of the DSA members sit on the Judiciary Committee?

A: Eleven: John Conyers [Chairman of the Judiciary Committee], Tammy Baldwin, Jerrold Nadler, Luis Gutierrez,

Melvin Watt, Maxine Waters, Hank Johnson, Steve Cohen, Barbara Lee, Robert Wexler, Linda Sanchez [there are 23 Democrats on the Judiciary Committee of which eleven, almost half, are now members of the DSA].

Q: Who are these members of 111th Congress?

A: See the listing below

Co-Chairs

Hon. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07)

Hon. Lynn Woolsey (CA-06)

Vice Chairs

Hon. Diane Watson (CA-33)

Hon. Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18)

Hon. Mazie Hirono (HI-02)

Hon. Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)

Senate Members

Hon. Bernie Sanders (VT)

House Members

Hon. Neil Abercrombie (HI-01)

Hon. Tammy Baldwin (WI-02)

Hon. Xavier Becerra (CA-31)

Hon. Madeleine Bordallo (GU-AL)

Hon. Robert Brady (PA-01)

Hon. Corrine Brown (FL-03)

Hon. Michael Capuano (MA-08)

Hon. André Carson (IN-07)

Hon. Donna Christensen (VI-AL)

Hon. Yvette Clarke (NY-11)

Hon. William “Lacy” Clay (MO-01)

Hon. Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05)

Hon. Steve Cohen (TN-09)

Hon. John Conyers (MI-14)

Hon. Elijah Cummings (MD-07)

Hon. Danny Davis (IL-07)

Hon. Peter DeFazio (OR-04)

Hon. Rosa DeLauro (CT-03)

Rep. Donna F. Edwards (MD-04)

Hon. Keith Ellison (MN-05)

Hon. Sam Farr (CA-17)

Hon. Chaka Fattah (PA-02)

Hon. Bob Filner (CA-51)

Hon. Barney Frank (MA-04)

Hon. Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11)

Hon. Alan Grayson (FL-08)

Hon. Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)

Hon. John Hall (NY-19)

Hon. Phil Hare (IL-17)

Hon. Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)

Hon. Michael Honda (CA-15)

Hon. Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02)

Hon. Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)

Hon. Hank Johnson (GA-04)

Hon. Marcy Kaptur (OH-09)

Hon. Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI-13)

Hon. Barbara Lee (CA-09)

Hon. John Lewis (GA-05)

Hon. David Loebsack (IA-02)

Hon. Ben R. Lujan (NM-3)

Hon. Carolyn Maloney (NY-14)

Hon. Ed Markey (MA-07)

Hon. Jim McDermott (WA-07)

Hon. James McGovern (MA-03)

Hon. George Miller (CA-07)

Hon. Gwen Moore (WI-04)

Hon. Jerrold Nadler (NY-08)

Hon. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (DC-AL)

Hon. John Olver (MA-01)

Hon. Ed Pastor (AZ-04)

Hon. Donald Payne (NJ-10)

Hon. Chellie Pingree (ME-01)

Hon. Charles Rangel (NY-15)

Hon. Laura Richardson (CA-37)

Hon. Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34)

Hon. Bobby Rush (IL-01)

Hon. Linda Sánchez (CA-47)

Hon. Jan Schakowsky (IL-09)

Hon. José Serrano (NY-16)

Hon. Louise Slaughter (NY-28)

Hon. Pete Stark (CA-13)

Hon. Bennie Thompson (MS-02)

Hon. John Tierney (MA-06)

Hon. Nydia Velazquez (NY-12)

Hon. Maxine Waters (CA-35)

Hon. Mel Watt (NC-12)

Hon. Henry Waxman (CA-30)

Hon. Peter Welch (VT-AL)

Hon. Robert Wexler (FL-19)

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2010/08/american-socialists-release-names-of-70-congressional-democrats-in-their-caucus/

[64jaguar]

There are usually three sides to the truth. Yours. Mine. And, The Truth. There are differing and conflicting pieces and definitions of socialism used today. I think some people get it a bit skewed, and others wrong. Some nail it on the head. I really don't care one way or the other. I'm not turning a blind eye.. it's just that this is not where the problem(s) lies, whether the person occupying the white house is socialist or not. I don't really know if he is or not.. it is hard to say no one day, then perhaps on another it is an easy sell. The problems this nation faces is not this conflict.. it's stemming from a lot of things, but rest assured this is not the big one. It's just not big enough in the right way. I liken the fear of 'social-' anything to how so many politicians rail against *** marriage, and so many say allowing it would be the undoing of the USA.. when there is a +/- 16 trillion dollar deficit, high unemployment, endless external conflict, overflowing prisons, drastic racial tension, cost of living constantly going up.. need I continue?

It is almost like a form of misdirection, people are so worked up about something they have only briefly had enter their conscience that they don't really know what they are rallying for or against. I am not implying that is the mindset of members here on DV. You all seem very well informed.. whichi is a great thing but unfortunately a minority thing. I think there are diffent agendas at work with the 'socialists' and 'marxists.' I believe that there are some who really just want to make a change for the better in American society, they may be socialist or not, idk. It needs it.. badly. Others likely have an agenda that fits either what they desire, or what someone else behind the curtain wants.. whether it's good or bad remains to be seen. The same things can be said about captialism, democracy, theocracy, etc. But their whole problem is that they are sticking to old out dated concepts. I've never understood why no one comes up with a new system.. something that draws on the postives from all aspects. And leaves the bad scary things behind. There really is no more original thought I suppose.

Bottom line, does o look like a 'socialist?' Yeah, i suppose, but it's hard to know what to think lol.. isn't it? So, now what?

Why would the people who run the show, the Elite bankers, the Rothschilds, the Morgans, the Rockefellers want to change the system ??? The real problem is the people don't get it, they've been lied to so for long nobody knows what freedom is anymore. The Founding Fathers never used "Democratic" in any of their writings or philosophies. This country was meant to be a republic. The Founders knew that Democracy was a prelude to socialism and they made that abundantly clear. If you don't think Obama is a socialist , you seriously need your head examined, but he's not really in charge of anything but the U.S. Corporation. You can all argue about Democrat - republican, socialist or whatever but this system will collapse eventually because it is Democratic and that leads to socialism and eventual overwhelming Debt and collapse, IMO.

[krome2ez]

Barack Obama and Democratic Socialists of America

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President Barack Obama

44th President of the United States

Assumed office: January 20, 2009

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Born August 4, 1961

Birth name Barack Hussein Obama II

Nationality American

Political party Democratic Party

Spouse Michelle Obama (m. 1992)

Political party Democratic Party

Religion Christian Liberation Theology

Signature

This article is part of a series about

Barack Obama

Biography • Political Career • Controversial and Radical Associates • Radical Appointments • Ties to Islam • Presidency

Invovlement with: Democratic Socialists of America • New Party/Progressive Chicago • Communist Party • Committees of Correspondence • Labor Movement • ACORN & Project Vote • more...

Barack Obama and the Democratic Socialists of America

"Obama can be linked to Democratic Socialists of America"

Writing in the radical (and Democratic Socialists of America connected) Chicago magazine In These Times, in March 2008, Joel Bleifuss asserted;

In particular, Obama can be linked to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the Democratic Party-oriented organization that is a member of the Socialist International

Democratic Socialists of America

Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is the largest socialist organization in the US. It is one of two official U.S. affiliates of the Socialist International. It was formed in 1982 from a merger of the Michael Harrington led Democratic Socialist Organizing Committee and the smaller New American Movement.

DSA works inside the Democratic Party and has cross membership with the Communist Party USA, Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, Socialist Party USA and the Green Party USA.

DSA has close ties to the radical Institute for Policy Studies, ACORN, Jobs with Justice, Congressional Progressive Caucus and publications including Dissent, The Nation and The American Prospect.

Marxism

While not overtly so, Democratic Socialists of America is essentially a Marxist organization.

In an article in DSA's Democratic Left, Spring 2007, DSA National political Committee member David Green of Detroit wrote in support of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA)-or "card check".[1]

What distinguishes socialists from other progressives is the theory of surplus value. According to Marx, the secret of surplus value is that workers are a source of more value than they receive in wages. The capitalist is able to capture surplus value through his ownership of the means of production, his right to purchase labor as a commodity, his control over the production process, and his ownership of the final product. Surplus value is the measure of capital’s exploitation of labor

Green went on to write;

Our goal as socialists is to abolish private ownership of the means of production. Our immediate task is to limit the capitalist class’s prerogatives in the workplace...

Socialist Scholars Conferences

Bogdan DenitchBarack Obama makes an apparent reference to the Socialist Scholars Conference in his 1995 autobiography "Dreams From My Father"[2].

Discussing his time studying political science at New York's Columbia University, in the early 80s, Obama reveals that he "went to socialist conferences at Cooper Union and African cultural fairs in Brooklyn.”

"Cooper Union" is the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, a privately funded college in Downtown Manhattan.

For many years, from the early 1980s until 2004, Cooper Union was the usual venue of the annual Socialist Scholars Conference-almost certainly what Obama was referring to.

Socialist Scholars Conference-now known as Left Forum was for many years the largest socialist gathering in the USA, attracting up to 2,000 participants.

Socialist Scholars Conference was founded by a group of radicals from City University of New York led by sociology professor Bogdan Denitch, as well as chairing the Socialist Scholars Conferences since 1980, Denitch is an Honorary Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America and has served as DSA's representative to the Socialist International.

Since DSA's formation in 1982 its City University branch has sponsored and organised the Socialist Scholars Conference.

The bulk of SSC's organising committees were have been DSA members, as were many conference speakers.

Other speakers came from the Communist Party USA and its offshoot, the Committees of Correspondence, the International Socialists and Freedom Road Socialist Organization as well as independent Marxists, Maoists, Trotskyites, black radicals, *** activists and radical feminists.

Barack Obama wrote of "conferences" plural, indicating his attendance was not the result of accident or youthful curiosity.

First known link to Chicago DSA

Lou PardoBarack Obama's first known contact with Chicago Democratic Socialists of America occurred in 1992, shortly after he returned to Chicago, from his studies at Harvard.

Chicago City Clerk Miguel Del Valle, a long time DSA associate, told the 2008 Democratic Party convention of his first meeting with Barack Obama;

I first heard of Barack back in 1992. The year 1992 was a little like 2008. Then, as now, we needed to save the country from the misguided policies of a president named Bush. I was working with my old friend, Lou Pardo, a retired machinist, on an effort to register Latino voters in Chicago. One day, we were talking about how we could reach more voters and cover more ground, but we needed more resources. Lou told me we should go see Barack Obama, who was directing a voter-registration drive called Project Vote. So Lou met with Barack and, without missing a beat, Barack Obama helped us out. Barack Obama made sure that the thousands of Latinos in Chicago were registered to vote. He helped empower the Latino community and ensure that we were full participants in our democracy.

Lou Pardo was a confirmed member of Democratic Socialists of America

An article in Chicago DSA's New Ground November 1994 says[3];

Lou Pardo, a volunteer with Senator del Valle, DSA member and activist with the Midwest-Northeast Voter Registration Education Project, emphasized how important it was to support independent progressive democrats.

DSA forum

Hyde Park Herald, February 1996Barack Obama spoke at a Democratic Socialists of America organized forum at the University of Chicago in early 1996.[4]

Over three hundred people attended the first of two Town Meetings on Economic Insecurity on February 25 in Ida Noyes Hall at the University of Chicago. Entitled "Employment and Survival in Urban America", the meeting was sponsored by the UofC DSA Youth Section, Chicago DSA and University Democrats.

The panelists were Toni Preckwinkle, Alderman of Chicago's 4th Ward, Barack Obama, candidate for the 13th Illinois Senate District, Professor William Julius Wilson, Center for the Study of Urban Inequality at the University of Chicago, Professor Michael Dawson, University of Chicago and Professor Joseph Schwartz, Temple University and a member of DSA's National Political Committee[5].

Barack Obama observed that Martin Luther King's March on Washington in the 1960s wasn't simply about civil rights but "demanded jobs as well".

One of the themes that has emerged in Barack Obama's campaign is "what does it take to create productive communities", not just consumptive communities. It is an issue that joins some of the best instincts of the conservatives with the better instincts of the left."

Obama felt the state government has three constructive roles to play.

The first is "human capital development". By this he meant public education, welfare reform, and a "workforce preparation strategy". Public education requires equality in funding. It's not that "money is the only solution to public education's problems but it's a start toward a solution... A true welfare system would provide for medical care, child care and job training. While Barack Obama did not use this term, it sounded very much like the "social wage" approach used by many social democratic labor parties."

The state government "can also play a role in redistribution, the allocation of wages and jobs. As Barack Obama noted, when someone gets paid $10 million to eliminate 4,000 jobs, the voters in his district know this is an issue of power not economics. The government can use as tools labor law reform, public works and contracts."

Finally, Illinois "needs an industrial strategy. How do we create more jobs for everyone? Illinois has no strategy for encouraging high wage, high productivity jobs".

DSA endorsement

Chicago Democratic Socialists of America endorsements in the March 19th 1995 Primary Election went to Danny K. Davis, Patricia Martin, Willie Delgado and Barack Obama[6].

In Chicago DSA's New Ground, Danny Davis was described only as...[7].

...certainly not foreign to Chicago DSA. From the very beginning, he has always been willing to help: appearing as a speaker with Michael Harrington, serving as a Master of Ceremonies without peer at the annual Debs - Thomas - Harrington Dinner.

...not as the full fledged Democratic Socialists of America member he actually was.

Barack Obama was given an extensive profile that covered his work with Project Vote, Developing Communities Project and Annenberg Challenge Grant, his education, community activities, education and work for Judson Miner.

Barack Obama is running to gain the Democratic ballot line for Illinois Senate 13th District. The 13th District is Alice Palmer's old district, encompassing parts of Hyde Park and South Shore.

Mr. Obama graduated from Columbia University and promptly went into community organizing for the Developing Communities Project in Roseland and Altgeld Gardens on the far south side of Chicago. He went on to Harvard University, where he was editor of the Harvard Law Review. He graduated with a law degree. In 1992, he was Director of Illinois Project Vote, a voter registration campaign that made Carol Moseley Braun's election to the U.S. Senate much easier than it would have been. At present, he practices law in Judson Miner's law firm and is President of the board of the Annenberg Challenge Grant which is distributing some $50 million in grants to public school reform efforts.

What best characterizes Barack Obama is a quote from an article in Illinois Issues, a retrospective look at his experience as a community organizer while he was completing his degree at Harvard:

"... community organizations and organizers are hampered by their own dogmas about the style and substance of organizing. Most practice ... a 'consumer advocacy' approach, with a focus on wrestling services and resources from outside powers that be. Few are thinking of harnessing the internal productive capacities, both in terms of money and people, that already exist in communities." (Illinois issues, September, 1988)

Luckily, Mr. Obama does not have any opposition in the primary. His opponents have all dropped out or were ruled off the ballot. But if you would like to contribute to his campaign, make the check payable to Friends of Barack Obama, 2154 E. 71st, Chicago, IL 60649.

Saul Mendelson's funeral

Saul MendelsonThe Memorial Service for Chicago Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member Saul Mendelson was held on Sunday, March 29, 1998, at the First Unitarian Church, Chicago[8].

The service was MC'd by a retired colleague, Bob Clark. Carl Shier of DSA, spoke first and was followed by Saul's friend Deborah Meier, "a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient who is now starting a new school in Boston". Amy Isaacs, National Director of the Americans for Democratic Action, spoke of what "Saul had meant on foreign affairs to the ADA".

Other speakers included Communist Party USA aligned Senator Carol Moseley Braun, Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, State SenatorBarack Obama, Illinois House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie and "a good friend from New York", Myra Russell.

The concluding remarks were made by an old friend, Harriet Lefley, a former Trotskyist with Saul Mendelson in the 1940s, who was then Professor of Psychology at the University of Miami Medical School.

Eulogies also came from Quinn Brisben, (Socialist Party USA presidential candidate 1976, 1992) and David McReynolds (Socialist Party USA presidential candidate 1980, 2000).

Both Brisben and McReynolds are also members of Democratic Socialists of America.

Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights

Founded in 1961 and still active, the Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights is one of the Communist Party USA's most successful and enduring creations-playing a major role in the near elimination of police spying against radical organizations.

In the early years Chicago Committee to Defend the Bill of Rights' personnel were virtually, all proven members or sympathisers of the Communist Party USA. In later years, supporters of the New American Movement, Democratic Socialists of America and Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism were more prominent.

In the 1970s, prominent members of the organization included Quentin Young, Timuel Black and Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf.

All three went on to join Democratic Socialists of America. All three went on to become friends and supporters of Barack Obama.

Quentin Young

Quentin Young is a long time member of Chicago Democratic Socialists of America.

In 1995, State Senator Alice Palmer introduced her chosen successor, Barack Obama, at a gathering in the Hyde Park home of former Weather Underground terrorists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn.

“I can remember being one of a small group of people who came to Bill Ayers’ house to learn that Alice Palmer was stepping down from the senate and running for Congress,” said Dr. Quentin Young, of the informal gathering at the home of Ayers and his wife, Dohrn. “[Palmer] identified [Obama] as her successor.” Barack Obama and Alice Palmer “were both there,” he said.

Quentin Young described Obama and Ayers as “friends[9].”

Healthcare influence

Quentin Young is a long time friend and supporter of Barack Obama[10]. He was Obama's personal physician for more than 20 years[11].

Quentin Young, perhaps the most well-known single-payer advocate in America. He was the Rev. Martin Luther King’s doctor when he lived in Chicago and a longtime friend and ally of Barack Obama.

Quentin Young's 80th birthday, 2003In the 1990s Barack Obama and Quentin Young were both supporters of "single payer" health care..

As a state Senator, Obama and another leftist colleague and state representative Willie Delgado presented the The Health Care Justice Act to the Illinois House and Senate.

According to blog Thomas Paine's Corner[12];

Barack Obama is quite familiar with the concepts and the specific merits of single payer. Back in the late 1990s, when he was an Illinois State Senator representing a mostly black district on the south side of Chicago, he took pains to consistently identify himself publicly with his neighbor Dr. Quentin Young.

He signed on as co-sponsor of the Bernardin Amendment, named after Chicago's late Catholic Archbishop, who championed the public policy idea that medical care was a human right, not a commodity. At that time, when it was to his political advantage, Obama didn't mind at all being perceived as an advocate of single payer.

Quentin Young has suported Obama politically for since at least 1995[13].

"I knew him before he was political, I supported him when he ran for state Senate. When he was a state Senator he did say that he supported single payer. Now, he hedges. Now he says, if we were starting from scratch, he would support single payer.”

“Barack’s a smart man, He probably calculated the political cost for being for single payer – the shower of opposition from the big boys – the drug companies and the health insurance companies. And so, like the rest of them, he fashioned a hodge podge of a health insurance plan.”

From a March 2009 Democracy Now! interview with Amy Goodman[14];

AMY GOODMAN: You’ve been a longtime friend of Barack Obama.

DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: How has he changed over the years?

DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Well, Barack Obama, as we know, was a community organizer, a very lofty calling, in my book, and he made the decision, when the opportunity came, that he could get more done politically, and he accepted the nomination for the seat in the State Senate. It’s not that long ago, really. It’s about a six, eight years ago.

Barack Obama, in those early days—influenced, I hope, by me and others—categorically said single payer was the best way, and he would inaugurate it if he could get the support, meaning majorities in both houses, which he’s got, and the presidency, which he’s got. And he said that on more than one occasion, and it represented the very high-grade intelligence we all know Barack has....

AMY GOODMAN: This brouhaha over the last week with the White House healthcare summit, 120 people, there were going to be no single-payer advocates. Congressman Conyers asked to go. At first, he was told no. He directly asked President Obama at a Congressional Black Caucus hearing. He asked to bring you and Marcia Angell—

DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: —former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. You weren’t allowed to go. Do you have President Obama’s ear anymore? You have been an ally of his for years, for decades.

DR. QUENTIN YOUNG: Well, it’s mixed. I think we’re friends, certainly. At this gala that you mentioned, which was embarrassing, he did send a very complimentary letter. And I appreciate that, but I’d much rather have him enact single payer, to tell the truth. And we did—it’s fair to say, after a good deal of protest, I think we were told there was a—phones rang off the hook. They did allow our national president, Dr. Oliver Fein, to attend with Dr. Conyers—Congressman Conyers. That’s fine, but we need many more people representative of the American people at large to get this thing through the Congress, and Baucus, notwithstanding, be overruled.

Timuel Black

Timuel BlackTimuel Black is an historian, activist and nonogenarian icon of the Chicago left. Black is a veteran of the Socialist Party USA and Democratic Socialists of America. For several years he has also served on the Committees of Correspondence advisory board.

Timuel Black's relationship to Barack Obama stretches back until at least the early 1990s[15];

So it’s no surprise that in 1991, when a community organizer named Barack Obama returned to Chicago with a Harvard law degree, he sought advice from Black. Seventeen years later, on November 4, 2008, Black and his wife, Zenobia, watched the election coverage in their home with friends. “When we learned that he had made it, that there was no turning back, the house just went wild

In 1995 Timuel Black attempted to mediate a dispute between Illinois State Senator Alice Palmer and her chosen successor Barack Obama.

Alice Palmer had allegedly promised Obama her State Senate seat if she was successful in a run for the U.S. Congress.

She wasn't successful, but Obama refused to stand aside and went on to win the seat unopposed-after getting all his opponents (including Palmer) disqualified on voting technicalities.

"I liked Alice Palmer a lot. I thought she was a good public servant," Obama said. "It was very awkward. That part of it I wish had played out entirely differently."

His choice divided veteran Chicago political activists.

"There was friction about the decision he made," said City Colleges of Chicago professor emeritus Timuel Black, who tried to negotiate with Obama on Palmer's behalf. "There were deep disagreements."

Despite the mess, Timuel Black became and remains an admirer of the ambitious young politician.

"My first impression was this was a very, very brilliant young man," Black says.

Black said Obama's biggest obstacle would not be from whites, but from blacks.

"The biggest thing he has to face is the accusations by some blacks that he is not black enough...He has to overcome that without being so black that he alienates potential white supporters."

Timuel Black addressed a largely black audience at the Woodson Regional Library auditorium on Feb. 11, 2007[16].

Speaking of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign he said;

“Obama is the test of how deep racism is in this country...Barack is the recipient of the struggle of other generations...That means that you feel proud of your ancestors, your successes...(Obama), based on the opportunities that were opened to him by others, is in the position to prove to the world whether the United States of America is a true democracy, or is a continuing hypocrisy.”

Timuel Black was involved in Obama's campaign committee during his successful 2004 U.S. Senate race.

In December 2008 Barack Obama sent a note to Timuel Black's 90th birthday celebrations, which read in part[17];

For forty years, he shaped our young men and women into those citizens. And though he may have retired from the teaching profession nearly two decades ago, he never stopped being a teacher. We are all his students in a classroom that never closes.

Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf

In 2000, Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf was named as a member of Democratic Socialists of America in the DSA publication Religious Socialism[18].

In April 2008 Rabbi Wolf sent a "Shalom" to Chicago DSA's 50th annual Eugene V. Debs - Norman Thomas -Michael Harrington Dinner[19].

The famous 1995 meeting In the home of Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, that launched Obama's political career was apparently one of several functions designed to introduce Obama to the Hyde Park set[20].

Around this time, Obama started to attend a series of coffees in the Hyde Park community where he lived, standard operating procedure for political rookies running in the neighborhoods surrounding the University of Chicago.

"I was certainly (hosting) one of the first," said Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf, rabbi emeritus at Chicago's KAM Isaiah Israel

"There were several every week," he recalled... "I remember what I said to him: 'Someday you are going to be vice president of the United States.' He laughed and said, 'Why not president?'

In 2008, Rabbi Wolf was a member of Rabbis for Obama, he has held Obama fundraisers in his home and was a big fan of the then Senator from Illinois[21].

Wolf came to Hyde Park before urban renewal. For 25 years he led the congregation at KAM Isaiah Israel, a synagogue across the street from Obama's mansion[22].

"Barack is perfect for the neighborhood!...You can't say Barack's a product of Hyde Park. He's not really from here. But everybody saw the potential early on. We had a party for him at our house when he was just starting, back in the Nineties. I said right away: 'Here's a guy who could sell our product, and sell it with splendor!' "

On "the product" Obama could sell?[23]

"The thing is, it's not what you might think...It's not radical. It's not extreme. It's a rational, progressive philosophy based on experience. You see it here. This neighborhood is genuinely integrated. We did it here, we really did it! Not just talk about it. Look around. And Barack and his family fit right in. This is their neighborhood."

In March 2008 Wolf told Jewish Week[24];

But it's not neighborly instinct that's led me to support the Obama candidacy: I support Barack Obama because he stands for what I believe, what our tradition demands.

I've worked with Obama for more than a decade, as has my son, a lawyer...

I am very proud to be his neighbor. I hope someday to visit him in the White House.

Danny K.Davis

Davis introduces Obama to Teamsters, Chicago, 2004 Danny K. Davis is the only Democrat remaining in Congress who is open about his membership of Democratic Socialists of America.

Davis' friendship with Barack Obama goes back at least to their days in the DSA influenced New Party in the mid 1990s.

Danny K. Davis joined the Chicago New Party (along with Barack Obama ) during his successful Congressional 1996 campaign on the Democratic Party ticket.

New Party News Spring 1996 page 1, celebrated the Davis’ Congressional victory and went on to say;

"New Party members won three other primaries this Spring in Chicago: Barack Obama (State Senate), Michael Chandler (Democratic Party Committee) and Patricia Martin (Cook County Judiciary)..."these victories prove that small 'd' democracy can work' said Obama".

Most DSA members actively supported[25]Barack Obama in the November 2008 Presidential election;

DSA believes that the possible election of Senator Obama to the presidency in November represents a potential opening for social and labor movements to generate the critical political momentum necessary to implement a progressive political agenda...

An Obama presidency will not on its own force legislation facilitating single-payer health care (at least at the federal level) or truly progressive taxation and major cuts in wasteful and unneeded defense spending. But if DSA and other democratic forces can work in the fall elections to increase the ranks of the Congressional Progressive and Black and La-tino caucuses, progressive legislation (backed by strong social movement mobilization) might well pass the next Congress.

DSA concentrated its forces on where it could serve[26]the Obama cause best;

For the past year, especially following the nomination of Barack Obama, many DSA members worked energetically on the presidential campaign, especially in swing states

Save Our Security Illinois Coalition

In 2005, left opposition to Social Security privatization was organized in Illinois around the Save Our Security Illinois Coalition, which included Chicago Democratic Socialists of America. The Coalition’s first action in Illinois was a 90-person picket line outside the downtown Chicago offices of the Charles Schwab brokerage, a major advocate of privatization. A town hall meeting, with an overflow crowd of 400, on February 28 at Loyola University’s Water Tower campus featured Senators Richard Durbin and Barack Obama and Representative Jan Schakowsky. There was also a major rally in April.[27]

Consulting Eliseo Medina on Immigration

Obama addresses SEIU members, September 17, 2007On September 17, 2007, Obama spoke at the SEIU Member Political Action Conference which was held from September 16 - 18, 2007. At the conference he stated (video to the right),

"Before debating health care, I talked to Andy Stern and SEIU members. Before immigration debates took place in Washington, I talked with Eliseo Medina and SEIU members."

Medina serves as an honorary chair of Democratic Socialists of America.

DSA and Progressives for Obama

Formed in early 2008 Progressives for Obama was desined to unite the main sectors of the U.S. left behind the Obama presidential campaign.

Of the four main founders, two Bill Fletcher, Jr. and Barbara Ehrenreich are senior members of Democratic Socialists of America.

Of the website's endorsersPaul Buhle, Duane Campbell, Peter Dreier, Adam Hochschild, Jay Mazur, Frances Fox Piven, Christine Riddiough, Stanley Sheinbaum, Cornel West and Betty Willhoite have been Democratic Socialists of America members[28].

Supporting Obama in '08

Most Democratic SA locals committed themselves fully[29] to the Obama campaign in 2008.

Sacramento DSA worked intensely on the Obama campaign through Super Tuesday and continues electoral work with the Sacramento Progressive Alliance.

New York DSA members were especially[30]active;

Some got up “at the crack of dawn,” says Jeff Gold, to take buses to support Obama in various locations in Pennsylvania, sometimes side by side with experienced trade unionists from Working America and at other times with first-time campaign volunteers...Another member traveled all the way to south Florida to help turn out Jewish voters for Obama...

"Progressive" Democrats such as Mary Jo Kilroy also benefitted;

In Columbus, Ohio, DSA members campaigned for both Obama and congressional candidate Mary Jo Kilroy, who, after a suspenseful count of provisional ballots was declared the winner in December, raising the Democrats’ majority in the House to 257.

DSA campaign appointments

During Obama's 2008 presidential cycle at least three DSA connected activists were appointed to important campaign posts.

Harry Boyte Co-chairof the Civic Engagement Group of Barack Obama’s U.S. presidential campaign.

Eliseo Medina Served on Obama's Latino Advisory Council.

Cornel West Served on Obama's National Black Advisory Council.

Jose LaLuz also served as president of Latinos for Obama.

Obama appointments-DSA connected

The Obama administration has appointed several people with Democratic Socialists of America connections to key government positions.

Ron Bloom Manufacturing Czar.

David Bonior Member of the Obama Economic Transition Team-now delegated by president Obama to negotiate the unification of the AFL-CIO and Change to Win labor federations.

Rosa Brooks Senior advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Michele Flournoy.

Carol Browner Energy Czar/Director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy.

Heather Higginbottom Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, formerly with the Obama for America campaign

Samantha Power National Security Council, as director for multilateral affairs.

Hilda Solis Secretary of Labor.

References

http://keywiki.org/index.php/Barack_Obama_and_Democratic_Socialists_of_America

[hame55]

Maybe you should take your own advise.

Again, Ignoring the Truth does not make it go away.

KROME

"Advice" is spelled with a "c" - you used the verb form.

The Social democracies in the EU such as France, Germany etc. have HIGHER standards of living and better freedom of the press than we do (SURPRISE! Krome!)

They are NOT communist - they are social democracies, where they recognize that the gov't has a role to temper the power of big business capitalism - no one else is strong enough to do this.

We do not have this power in this country - Washington is bought and sold to corporations, and they run the country

Sen. Richard Durbin's quote - "Everyone know the bankers run this place..." referring to D.C.

If we had true freedom of the press, you would not be laboring under these delusions that Obama is a Commie - have you ever been to Europe? Even another foreign country? You should see how they live. I have been to the EU four times, months altogether.

Have you studied political history other than watching FOX? Are you paying attention to what Obama DOES as opposed to his history, as written by ideologues bent on destroying him because he is a THREAT to unrestrained capitalism? I have. I minored in Poli Sci.

Can you answer any of these questions without copying a bunch of writings of others?

Edited June 7, 2012 by hame55

[krome2ez]

KROME

"Advice" is spelled with a "c" - you used the verb form.

The Social democracies in the EU such as France, Germany etc. have HIGHER standards of living and better freedom of the press than we do (SURPRISE! Krome!)

They are NOT communist - they are social democracies, where they recognize that the gov't has a role to temper the power of big business capitalism - no one else is strong enough to do this.

We do not have this power in this country - Washington is bought and sold to corporations, and they run the country

Sen. Richard Durbin's quote - "Everyone know the bankers run this place..." referring to D.C.

If we had true freedom of the press, you would not be laboring under these delusions that Obama is a Commie - have you ever been to Europe? Even another foreign country? You should see how they live. I have been to the EU four times, months altogether.

Have you studied political history other than watching FOX? Are you paying attention to what Obama DOES as opposed to his history, as written by ideologues bent on destroying him because he is a THREAT to unrestrained capitalism? I have. I minored in Poli Sci.

Can you answer any of these questions without copying a bunch of writings of others?

Sorry for the miss-spelling.

Not my strong suit.

The cut and pastings are the words of people who are smarter on this subject than me,

and probably smarter than you as well.

They have done the research that neither one of us have.

As far as the "Social Democracies,"

one only has to look in the news

to see how Socialism is turning out for Europe.

All are nearly bankrupt and expecting Germany to bail them out.

Rioting in the streets because the government can no longer afford

the free hand outs that they are accustomed to.

Margret Thatcher stated the the problem with socialism,

is that eventually you run out of other peoples money.

The problem here did not start with Pres Obama.

He mearly fast tracked it.

This has been going on for some time

on both the Dem and Republican sides of the aisle.

There is no problem with true Capitalism.

The market, ie the people/customers, decide winners and loosers.

Croney Capitalism, the government decides who wins.

Then the entire market is skewed.

When the government can pick and choose winners, we are all loosers.

Maybe you trust the government to do the right thing,

but I, like our Forefathers, do not.

The Constitution is in place to LIMIT government,

not the people.

Social Democracy aka State Capitalism

is nothing more than the government controlling every aspect of your life.

Maybe that's ok with you,

but there are a rising number of citizens that think different.

PS....

Please submit any other noted spelling or gramatical errors

to the Office of Who Gives a Rats Patootie.

Don't forget to stamp the envelope, as they will not deliver with out.

[R2D2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Huerta

Didn't see anything about being the president of a socialist group. Only that the SFPD beat her down and they had to pay a large settlement. Rest of your post is speculation sir. i think the reason for the medal is to recognize her work to help those to better themselves than to be treated like dung.

TD maybe you didn't see anything that mentions socialism. You keep your head up an orfice most of us use to dispose of waste.

[hame55]

Sorry for the miss-spelling.

Not my strong suit.

The cut and pastings are the words of people who are smarter on this subject than me,

and probably smarter than you as well.

They have done the research that neither one of us have.

KROME

You are right that our government is owned by the largest capitalists, and is therefore a tool of big business. We agree there, so that's our COMMON GROUND!

We are in this together against the elites who want us to fight with each other - not with them.

IF the gov't can be freed of dirty business money (unions too) then it can do its job to regulate business, but that is not the case now.

By the way, the fix they are in in Europe comes from our crazy Wall St. financial plays in our "Free Market" that have ruined their economy too. It was doing better than ours before 2008 - so get yourself straight on that - free health care, education, six weeks vacation, paid leave for children even for fathers, a real safety net - things we do not have, and right wingers say is impossible.

So can it be paid for by gov't if business won't do it?

YES!

We get tired of conservatives fed on the teat of FOX crying there " isn't enough money to share with the little people"

What do you call the obscenely bloated defense budget of $600 Billion? It's called WELFARE for war profiteering business. More spent on "defense" than every other nation COMBINED with 900 military bases worldwide.

You get that, don't you?

There is a reason the Occupy Movement happened - they realize change will not happen in elections and through this government, as we know it.

FOX prob. told you Occupy is bad. That's their job. They are the capitalist megaphone.

See past it.

[Black Swan]

I think there has to be a middle of the road approach.

Capitalism can feed on itself, if taken to extremes.

While a mature society has safety nets put in place, so that it protects those who were born in less fortunate circumstances.

[BrokeNoMore]

I'm sorry. I know this is an old, dead thread.

I saw the last post and almost threw up.

This rotten excuse for a human being takes a picture like this and then abandons the starving child, and we give him a pulitzer? At least he had the decency to get out of the gene pool.

And nobody sees that this is at the heart of what's wrong in our country, in our world?

Remember the story of the little boy on the beach who was picking up, one at a time, the starfish that had washed ashore, drying in the sun? An adult said to him "how do you think you can make a difference with so many?" The little boy tossed another starfish into the sea and said "I made a difference to that one!"

OMG. So much explained. A picture, finally worth 1,000 words.