So it pained me yesterday after seeing Barack Obama voted Yea in passing the FISA Bill (here’s the voting breakdown) after voting twice just moments earlier in favor of amendments that strip or curtail immunity against telecommunication companies who helped the government illegally wiretap customers. (FYI: John McCain who has flipped-flopped about a million times on this issue was one of the three Senators who did not vote on the matter because obviously he doesn’t think it’s important enough).
It might have been a calculated political move by his campaign to once again switch on a position rather than stand firmly on an issue I still think he believes on. Maybe this was to stop Republican attacks saying he is soft on terrorism or some other security issue to keep our country safe but did he really have to choose this bill to support? He has taken hits on everything from religion to race to his wife, so why buckle here?
Obama needs to go back to being the candidate of change and listen to the millions of voice of regular people who brought him up to this point and stop running his campaign like the usual insiders of Washington we see where they try to play damage control on every little issue regardless of what it says about where they stand on critical issues.
I let Obama slide when he chose to go back on his word regarding the Campaign Finance laws. I chose to forgive him when he constantly says “I am not a Muslim” but refuses to stand next to or campaign with Muslims or even acknowledge that it is not a crime even if he was a Muslim. Yea that one hurts a little more than the others but when he starts supporting legislation that rip the Constitution to shreds – one that virtually gives the lame duck President, who is on his way out with about 7 months left, that is really disappointing.
What happened to the candidate who wanted to bring about change, who stood up for the average American when he first started running for office? It has turned more into defensive campaigning instead of being aggressive and attacking McBush and his cronies. He is the quickest to denounce his own (cue Gen. Wesley Clark), yet is very afraid to say anything about anyone other than McBush. He needs to remember the people who brought him here and stop turning into the politican everyone turns into in Washington that is power hungry and will get it, no matter what the sacrifice maybe – be it their position on critical legislation or turning their back on their own supporters.
Little by little, the Democrats have given President Bush everything he has wanted and it certainly shows with Congress’ rating in single digits and with the President just ahead of them. Although I see the Democrats picking up more seats in the House and maybe a couple more in the Senate, you would hope that a Democratic Presidency might turn back all these expansive powers that this administration has given themselves and maybe, just maybe he will hold some people accountable. Obama needs to stop giving into what he thinks the conservatives or Republicans want to hear from him because if you cave in on one issue, they will certainly find another issue to attack on – whether it is legitimate or not.
He needs to keep his beliefs at the forefront, the reason why he ran for Office. He said he didn’t run for power, to be part of the inner circle in Washington, to cozy up with lobbyists or bow down to special interest groups – he ran because he wanted to bring out fundamental change and day after day, the rest of his supporters are seeing that fundamental change dwindle away to nothing more than an average politican. He still has a lead across the board and he can still pull away Reagan style or he can certainly fall apart like some of the past Democratic candidates we have seen but giving into issues if the Republicans call you out on it is no way to go.
Stand up once again for the issues you believe in. Give us the reasons to keep supporting Change We Can Believe In and not just blindly follow a candidate because the alternative is quite worse. A Democratic candidate ran on a platform like that four years ago and the entire country saw what happened. Not only will you lose the Presidency at a time when the stakes couldn’t be any higher but you let an opportunity slip away to bring about some fundamental change by implementing your ideas and those of your supporters.
Don’t fail me now, Barack Obama. I am sure there are hundreds of thousands of people if not millions out there who are baffled by your support for FISA but you still have plenty of time to get back on the right track and stop dropping the ball in attempts to score a few political points but undermine your entire campaign and throw away the chance at the Presidency.
Don’t fail me now, Barack Obama.
