Sen Obama reneges on campaign spending promise

• 06-19-2008 2:52 PM

  polarexpress Joined on 02-14-2007 Posts 713 Points 35

  Sen Obama reneges on campaign spending promise Reply Contact http://politicom.moldova.org/stiri/eng/128312/ Anyone else bothered that Sen. Obama has done a total reverse? He has chosen to use private funds instead of public funds (that have a spending limit) for the general election. Why does this bug me? 1. He indicated during the primaries that he would use federal funds which have a limit---just like all Presidential candidates for the last 30+ years. But now he has changed his mind. Why? MONEY. He has raised more than twice as much money as his opponent and he knows he can raise even more. If  Sen McCain sticks with federal funds he'll have a limit of about $85 million---did you see Sen Obama had raised about $265 million as of May1??? So limits on campaign spending are good---unless I am the one with the clear financial advantage? 2. One of the reasons his lawyer is giving for this change is that because Sen McCain has been essentially unopposed for months then any ads he has run should count toward the general election rather than the primaries. So basically Sen. McCain should have ignored a bunch of states and the fact that he didn't have the necessary number of electors??? HUH? That logic ignores the fact that Sen Obama's protracted primary duel with Sen Clinton gave him TONS of free air time on national networks and in the press. It has been a BIG story and you couldn't watch the news without hearing about the two of them. 3. Saying you want things to be fair and that you'll champion fairness if elected, rings pretty hollow when your actions say "if I can exploit an inequity to my advantage then I will."  The excuse that "the system doesn't work, so I'm not using it" doesn't wash with me.  If you believe that something is the RIGHT thing to do, then you do it.  I had thought Sen. Obama believed that public funding of the general election is the RIGHT thing to do for the country and that choosing our President should be more than a battle of the wallets, but I guess I was wrong. BTW Don't even get me started with the red herrings of how much money the republican national committee has or the possibility of big-spending  PACs. Blech. Bottom line: he said he would use public funding if chosen and if his opponent used public funding and now he isn't. I wonder if he waited until he was sure Sen McCain officially signed off on the federal funds... The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. - Mark Twain, 10/15/1888

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• 06-20-2008 9:24 AM

  In reply to polarexpress

  dgriego Joined on 05-19-2007 New Mexico Posts 1,794 Points 1,100	Re: Sen Obama reneges on campaign spending promise Reply Contact Yes    but are you really suprised by this? Owned by: Gunnar the Bee Eating Vizsla and Hektor the Pig Dawg Dogo Argentino "I had learned not to care. I blew a few smoke rings, remembering those years. Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though. ..." -- Barack Obama
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• 06-20-2008 12:30 PM

  In reply to polarexpress

  FourIsCompany Joined on 07-30-2007 Posts 4,738 Points 1,135

  Re: Sen Obama reneges on campaign spending promise Reply Contact Let's see here...   What did Obama Agree To? "In February 2007, I proposed a novel way to preserve the strength of the public financing system in the 2008 election. My plan requires both major party candidates to agree on a fundraising truce, return excess money from donors, and stay within the public financing system for the general election. [...] The Federal Election Commission ruled the proposal legal, and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has already pledged to accept this fundraising pledge. If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election." So, in Feb of 2007, he made a pledge to use public financing CONTINGENT on McCain also agreeing to use public financing and it seems they both agreed. Then, in February of 2008, John McCain Rejects Public Funding. Republican John McCain has announced that he won't be accepting public financing for his campaign. "The decision will allow McCain to ignore the $54 million spending limit he would have had to observe had he taken public funds, allowing him to train his sights on his eventual Democratic opponent," according to Reuters. Oops! Looks like there isn't an agreement after all, huh? And 4 months later, Obama announces that he will go for private funding and HE gets ALL the blame for breaking a campaign pledge that was contingent on McCain's agreement. Does anyone else find this interesting? They make an agreement, McCain breaks the agreement (we never hear a whisper about it). Obama, being under no obligation to keep his side of an agreement that's already been broken, announces that he, too, will reject public funding, and HE'S the bad guy? Can someone explain this to me? Tell me what I'm missing?   LSTM (Laughing Silently to Myself) Click Daily to Give Free Food and Care to Animals: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

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• 06-20-2008 1:40 PM

  In reply to FourIsCompany

  fuzzy_dogs_mom Joined on 09-10-2007 Davis, CA Posts 6,972 Points 200

  Re: Sen Obama reneges on campaign spending promise Reply Contact Exactly!! McCain breaks the agreement first , so of course Obama gets the blame.  I'm surprised nobody has called McCain on that since he started doing those TV ads about how Obama went back on his word regarding the funding. And why make such a big deal out of it anyway?  Does anyone really care all that much as long as the money isn't coming from an illegal source?  I sure don't. Joyce

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• 06-20-2008 1:47 PM

  In reply to FourIsCompany

  cakana Joined on 09-10-2007 Cathy in Northern CA Posts 7,006 Points 360

  Re: Sen Obama reneges on campaign spending promise Reply Contact FourIsCompany: Can someone explain this to me? Tell me what I'm missing?   I have no clue and don't pay nearly as much attention to the political babble as many others do. I find it interesting that Obama was avoiding talking about it. If it's true that McCain broke his pledge first, wouldn't that be something Obama would want to shout out? Maybe he has and I've just missed it though. I do think people should keep their word  - say what you mean and mean what you say. ~ Cathy ~

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• 06-20-2008 1:50 PM

  In reply to FourIsCompany

  polarexpress Joined on 02-14-2007 Posts 713 Points 35

  Re: Sen Obama reneges on campaign spending promise Reply Contact FourIsCompany: Oops! Looks like there isn't an agreement after all, huh? And 4 months later, Obama announces that he will go for private funding and HE gets ALL the blame for breaking a campaign pledge that was contingent on McCain's agreement. Does anyone else find this interesting? They make an agreement, McCain breaks the agreement (we never hear a whisper about it). Obama, being under no obligation to keep his side of an agreement that's already been broken, announces that he, too, will reject public funding, and HE'S the bad guy? Can someone explain this to me? Tell me what I'm missing?    The thing you are missing is that the articles are about two totally different things that have nothing to do with each other. The public funding referred to in the McCain story is for PRIMARIES. Obama didn't use that funding either and there were no expectations, promises or discussions about candidates vowing to use public funding for the primaries. Senator Clinton, ExGov Romney and ExSen Edwards also chose not to use public funding for the primaries.  The public funding for primaries is run differently and managed differently than the general election fund. Using or not using those funds has nothing to do with the public funding for the general election------aka the public funding that every presidential candidate has used for 30 years.. When Obama said he would use public funding IF HE WERE THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE he was talking about the funding for the general election---so yeah he gets the blame for breaking a campaign pledge because HE is the one that broke it. If there is any "oops, looks like there isn't an agreement after all" that's on Obama because as of yesterday McCain was saying he will stick with public funding. McCain did NOT break any agreements with anyone about using public funding for the general election. So THAT is why Obama is the "bad guy"---because he is going back on what he said he would do and because he is doing something which has not been done since the federal funding system was put in place.    The difference between the almost right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning. - Mark Twain, 10/15/1888

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• 06-20-2008 2:31 PM

  In reply to polarexpress

  FourIsCompany Joined on 07-30-2007 Posts 4,738 Points 1,135

  Re: Sen Obama reneges on campaign spending promise Reply Contact Thanks for the explanation about the different campaigns. Until this came up, I didn't know the difference between public and private financing, what a 527 was (really) or about any discussions between the candidates that had taken place about it. So, it's all brand new to me and I've taken a crash course on campaign finance in the past couple of days. LOL However, according to Obama, What's more, Sen. McCain has, in fact, been running a privately financed general election campaign since February, using private money raised during the primary to attack me and target battleground states. By the time he accepts his party's nomination, Sen. McCain will have run a privately funded general election campaign for seven months. That link is to an NPR story that goes far beyond where I'm interested in going. I do know that there's quite a stir about the legality of McCain's campaign funds. But that's not as important as the fact that an agreement was never reached. A promise was never made and Obama did not break a pledge or promise: polarexpress: When Obama said he would use public funding IF HE WERE THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE he was talking about the funding for the general election What was the pledge he made? (from my first post): "My plan requires both major party candidates to agree on a fundraising truce, return excess money from donors, and stay within the public financing system for the general election. [...] The Federal Election Commission ruled the proposal legal, and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has already pledged to accept this fundraising pledge. If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election." And an agreement was never reached. Source Mr. Obama had pledged to meet with Mr. McCain following the primaries to attempt to work out an agreement on financing the campaigns. That meeting never took place, aides to Mr. Obama said, because a meeting between lawyers for the two sides was not fruitful. “It became clear to me that there wasn’t any basis for future discussion,” said Robert Bauer, the general counsel for Mr. Obama’s campaign. ... In fact, Mr. Obama stopped short of making a flat promise to participate in the public financing system. Asked in a questionnaire whether he would take part if his opponents did the same, Mr. Obama wrote yes. But he added, “If I am the Democratic nominee, I will aggressively pursue an agreement with the Republican nominee to preserve a publicly financed general election.” Mr. Obama has since said that he would only agree to such a deal if Mr. McCain agreed to curtail spending by the Republican Party and independent groups. He promised to pursue an agreement with McCain. An agreement that apparently included curtailing spending by independent groups like the 527s (like Freedom's Watch who spent 15 million to get Bush's "surge" passed). Apparently the lawyers couldn't come to an agreement. Regardless of what McCain did, I don't see where Obama reneged on any promise. LSTM (Laughing Silently to Myself) Click Daily to Give Free Food and Care to Animals: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3

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• 06-20-2008 2:40 PM

  In reply to polarexpress

  cakana Joined on 09-10-2007 Cathy in Northern CA Posts 7,006 Points 360

  Re: Sen Obama reneges on campaign spending promise Reply Contact polarexpress:  The thing you are missing is that the articles are about two totally different things that have nothing to do with each other.   Thank you for clearing that up but it sure does show how things can be spun (even unintentionally) to cast a shadow on any candidate at any time. It's exhausting to sift thru all the rhetoric. That's probably why so many people just vote the party line and hope for the best. ~ Cathy ~

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• 06-20-2008 10:04 PM

  In reply to cakana

  dgriego Joined on 05-19-2007 New Mexico Posts 1,794 Points 1,100

  Re: Sen Obama reneges on campaign spending promise Reply Contact cakana:   Thank you for clearing that up but it sure does show how things can be spun (even unintentionally) to cast a shadow on any candidate at any time. It's exhausting to sift thru all the rhetoric. That's probably why so many people just vote the party line and hope for the best.  You know I must confess that I would love to unite the entire country in writing in "None of the Above" on our tickets. What a wake up call we could send to all the parties when the day after election there is NO winner. Owned by: Gunnar the Bee Eating Vizsla and Hektor the Pig Dawg Dogo Argentino "I had learned not to care. I blew a few smoke rings, remembering those years. Pot had helped, and booze; maybe a little blow when you could afford it. Not smack, though. ..." -- Barack Obama

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