Obama Web Site Protest Grows
Online protest has continued to grow against Senator Obama's decision to support legislation granting legal immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated with the Bush administration's program of wiretapping without warrants.
As I wrote about yesterday, the protest is taking place on the Obama campaign's social networking site, MyBarackObama.com. The site allows Obama supporters to create online IDs for themselves, and blog and network in a manner similar to Facebook and MySpace.
The largest group on the site now is called "Senator Obama -- Please, No Telecom Immunity and Get FISA Right." When I wrote yesterday, it had 12,261 members. As I write this it is approaching 18,000. Many members of the group are actively recruiting new members, with the objective of making the group as large as possible by the time of the FISA vote next week.
The protest comes at a particularly awkward time for Senator Obama. Half of his campaign money thus far has come from small online donors, who are closely associated with the MyBarackObama site. While the campaign is counting on many of these donors to continue contributing in small amounts through November, since becoming the presumptive nominee the campaign has shifted gears to focus more on traditional big-donor fundraising.
The New York Times reports that last week the campaign ran an event in Colorado Springs for $1,000 per person, and two events in Chicago and one in Los Angeles for $28,500 per person. Next week will include several more events with entrance tags of $20,000 or more, including a private dinner with Obama for a minimum donation of $33,100.
A good deal of this activity is the result of the Obama campaign welcoming Hillary Clinton's core funders on board. These are folks who give lots and lots of money. But the sharp turn to big-dollar fundraising comes directly on the heels of Obama's sharp move to the right on a number of issues that small-donor activists care about deeply.
In previous years, that wouldn't mean much because small donors had no way of knowing who each other were or what each other thought. But, as Senator Obama likes to say in his speeches, "not this time." This time they have MyBarackObama.com, and they are using it.
One big unanswered question (it has never come up before) is what kind of numbers a Web protest like this will have to have to achieve significant impact the real political world. Are 18,000 people in the protest group a lot or a little? They are a tiny sliver of the hundreds of thousands of the site's members, but many members are people who were given an account when they gave an online donation and never returned. It is a much small number who actually use the site in the way the Obama campaign hoped: networking online to do offline organizing. As deputy campaign manager Steve Hildebrand said "We said to our online supporters, 'We love you, but we need you to actually go to work in your neighborhood.' Their online support was only great if we could translate it into activity within their community." The power users of MyBarackObama.com are those people. They may not be able to throw down $33,100 for a dinner with their candidate, but they have had a lot to do with him being the one eating all that haute cuisine.
Predictably, there were many comments to my post yesterday. Many were thoughtful, and they were fairly divided pro and con concerning the online protest. The most interesting by far came from Barack Obama himself, by way of a comment pointing me to an interview Obama did with Rolling Stone last March:
This is where the Internet is so powerful. One of the things that surprised me in this campaign is how well we were able to use technology to organize people. There's enormous promise ... The Internet gives young people a tool to be informed continuously. It gives them an opportunity to speak to each other and mobilize themselves. It gives them the opportunity to hold me accountable when I'm not following through on promises that I've made.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Yeah, Obama could spend the next four years doing nothing but prosecuting Bush. I'd rather he didn't. I'd rather he spend his time trying to repair the damage done by the Bush administration. His vote on FISA was a vote for expanded oversight on domestic surveillance. His vote addresses the holes that Bush punched in the decades-old bill.
Stop whining about the telecoms. I'm frankly pleased that he's not sucking up to the far left on this issue, which is just as goofy as the far right. As far as I'm concerned, the people that are looking for the next president to exercise a little goddamned common sense constitute Obama's base, not the people that are out for blood at the expense of all the other problems facing this country right now.
Priorities, folks.
operation chaos continues.
Obama started with a grass-roots movement when he didn't have a chance at the nomination. He knew what was wrong with the country, and he said it. And millions of us heard him and stood up. We, the little people, got him the nomination. You know it, he knows it, we know it. And we got it for him and would have worked just as hard to trample McCain. We hit the streets, worked phone banks, donated much more than we could afford, and talked to everyone we knew. Everyone knows we need change, but we were out convincing everyone we saw that THIS WAS THE MAN WHO WOULD BRING IT. We were , and may still, give him both housed of congress in what is a REAL mandate from We the People about how WE want OUR country run.
It IS our country, and it IS our right to elect leaders who will listen to us, not Big oil and Halliburton. And one of the things Obama promised, was that he would stand up and block FISA. He can; he is the presumptive leader of the Democratic party. He already has the power to do that. The FISA legislation isn't important. KEEPING HIS WORD is what's important. This just a test to see if he will. If he does, he will be a rock-star again. If he caves, he is no better than Clinton.
We're going to see this week how serious people are about this aren't we. I'll write in Russ Feingold's name come November to show just how I feel about this lie that is FISA. Barack lied. He didn't tack or adjust or reposition. He flat out lied when he said he'd vote no for any new fisa bill and he would filibuster telco immunity. A rose by any other name smells the same. I call em like i see em and many feel the same way. This isn't a policy shift. This is outright flip flopping (another nice term for flat out lying).
Tell me how only around 1-2% of his total donors joining the group is indicative of anything larger than what it really is.
I appreciate this group's sincerity but until they have greater numbers I am going to see them for what they are. A small group discontent with the candidate, not a silent majority or some sweeping force.
Or a couple hundred coordinated FreeRepublic.com-type folks who slyly descended upon my.barackobama.com and posed as what they are not to manipulate others until there was a bit of a pile-on.
I wouldn't count on it diffuser. You're the device that catches the hot breeze of discontent and attempts to dampen it. To calm your uncertainty. People have free will, actually. And most are smarter than this government (Obama? I'm still waiting for you, son) would have you believe. Ya know, if a Rethug came along and said he was against this FISA bill, I'd buy him a beer. Republicans (the people, not the fat toads at the top) don't want this bill either! The corporate media would have you believe that, but then again, they brought on this coming Great Depression Deux through invading Iraq. FISA is a bad bad bill...
Because it is. The rule of thumb is that for every 1 person who actually speaks out there are at least 20 people who don't say anything. Combine those numbers with the latest poll of just Clinton democrats who say they are not voting for O which at last poll was 32% you now have almost 6 million votes lost and growing. Add that number to the Democrats who say they are not sure who or if they will vote and you have about 7 -8 million lost votes. That 1 or 2 % adds up here and there and when you combine them all together you get your answer as to why you lose an election. His disapproval among Democrats is growing and that number does not include a lot of things so that number is only going to rise. When he starts losing Democrats into the double digits even reaching across the aisle and grabbing Republicans is not going to save him.
Your right, I don't post all the time. And like you say, they're only a small percentage of the total donors,but the group is the tyranosaurus rex among the other groups. It is the largest dominant group with teeth. To prick the ears of EVERY one that goes to the site. To remind those that merely read but do not comment that they must keep on eye on Barack Obama, since there is a group (the largest) that want him to go back to what he VOWED. "I will vote NO for new FISA bill and I will filibuster retroactive immunity." I saw and heard it with my two ears (not quite as ponderous). Arousing suspicion by not being consistent isn't good. Discerning people might gaze a moment longer at such behavior and become unsettled. Make the bad FISA go away Barack. Make it go away.
Why do the Democrats always feel they have to swing to the right, but Republicans never feel like they have to swing to the Left?
This was so nice it bears repeating:
from booksnmore4you I'm a Fan of booksnmore4you
"Surely you are not so naive as to think that the seeds of discord come glaring at you. No, they come stroking hurts and showing compassion and solidarity but the intent is to sow discord and plant weed seeds.
This comes in the guise of statements such as:
--"I can't believe Obama is trampling on the Fourth Amendment!" Here the intent is to plant a seed that may not be true, to get you to distrust judgement. Not that such persons never cite specific passages of the FISA Bill and argue from a legal framework how it is unconstitutional. Most have never even read the Bill, lest have the legal education to intelligently discuss it!
--"I'll still support Obama but I'm not going to give money." Here the intent is to help McCain by striking at Obama's money advantage. The idea is to get real Obama supporters to close their wallets, too.
--"This may be a deal breaker with me, yet I'd so strongly supported him before. I'm going to have to look more closely at Nader." Here the idea is to plant doubts and cull away votes so McCain has the advantage."
Well, you see, the problem is if he doesn't understand supporting the FISA bill is wrong and hurtful to the Constitution, then I DO distrust his judgement.
Anyone who actually read http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barack-obama/my-position-on-fisa_b_110789.html would either not be saying this or would be saying it for some sly reason.
On Sean Hannity's site is a discussion you can find on 525,000 web sites. Is John McCain the Anti-Christ?
http://forums.hannity.com/showthread.php?t=534361
Is congress going after the orgone warriors? Sherry Shriner has a huge online network intent on proving that all government officials are really aliens.
http://www.sherryshriner.com/housebill.htm
Are you aware of James Casbolt, a survivor of NSA genetic enhancement and occult warfare projects, speaks out in his autobiography "Agent Buried Alive"?
http://www.conspiracyplanet.com/
I mean, 'I don't like Barack Obama's stand on FISA' is tame compared to most internet interest groups and chats. 18,000 posters using aliases on a web site means that 100 actual people rabidly agree, and have created a cumulative 1,000 sockpuppets... what's an internet group good for if not for sockpuppets? This has attracted trolls, and bloggers who love a good chance to feel important.
You clowns got what you wanted-and I'm INCLUDING our lady Arianna here in this-now when it comes out that Obama-GASP-is a Politician(!)-and has to give up on some of the high minded liberalish rhetoric of the primary season now that it's over-you guys are all shocked and shaken. Get over it. He'll find his sea-legs and then some. Try supporting him thru the down times as well as the up, alright? It's not like McCain is doing anything great here-3rd major reshuffle of the deck and whatever.
I can't express how angry I am about Obama's flip-flops. He runs up the left side of Hillary during the primary to win and now that he has the nomination in hand he says, "Oh wait, I didn't mean that about Iraq, NAFTA and FISA!" How many would have voted for this guy in the primary if they knew that? Hillary should make him stick to his guns or challenge him on the floor of the convention. PUMA is looking better and better.
I like that idea of HIllary challenging him on his stands.
Maybe her "suspending" her campaign wasn't the wrong move after all, although I still want to hear what she has to say about his flip flops.
Moving to the right for money and votes?
Why does that sound so familiar. Oh yeah, it's what REPUBLICANS DO!
Delegates still have till August to change their minds. Perhaps people need to stop complaining O (since he's not listening anyway) and go to the delegates themselves to show their displeasure.
Maybe if the bloody primaries were not dictated to by the extreme wing we could have an election some of you could understand.
You, both extremes, want all your issues attended to - no expections - at once. I would say most of you are children with not a concept of how things are done.
They are done with more than your support. They are done with the support of many more people - some of which don not hold with all of your demands. Funny, there's a word for it, it's called compromise. Sometimes it's called one step at a time. Often it's recognized as the beginiing of a goal we are reaching for. Stick with you, in my case, left wing demanding babies and sure as whatever we don't win the election. Someone, don't rmember, said we get elected by the people to do what our judgment dictates. (paraphrasing Churchill I think) What you want is an election dictated by a computer. Actually we don't need men and their judgement just have that old computer dictate decisions based upon our input. Trouble is you would lose there also. Again not enough of you of narrow vision to make the difference.
There's compromise and then there is lies. What he did was bold face lie, plain and simple. Yes we all get they have to move on some issues to the center, no one disputes that. What we have seen is not some issues but approaching all issues and not just to the center but hard right. Can't wait to see what else he compromises on. That is the problem of putting someone on a pedal stool that never did anything it is only after the fact do you see what he is truly about and so far I am not liking it very much. At least with Hillary you knew what you were getting, she had a history so no big surprises. If he does win, what compromises can we look forward to when he has real power in office? The last time this happened we got GWB and we all know how well that turned out.
Yea, let's correct this glaring, totally naive error in blog entry.
[SNIP]
The site allows Obama supporters to create online IDs for themselves, and blog and network in a manner similar to Facebook and MySpace.
[ /SNIP]
This *should* say:
The site allows anyone with Internet access, regardless of their real beliefs or actual intentions, to create one or even hundreds of online IDs for themselves, and blog and network in a manner similar to Facebook and MySpace.
Exactly ... that site has Obama, McSame and Hillary Supporters all acting like Disgruntled FISA protesters when in Actuality they are just trying to stir Tensions ... Hopefully in the discourse some one will actually be Educated ...
President Obama '09
You know what? You should be able to distinguish between the people you described here and people who have passionate concern for the constitution and the rule of law in this country. If you were paying attention, that is.
No politician deserves your unquestioning loyalty; you MUST always question.
Eternal vigilance and all that...
Senator Obama knows what he's doing, if some people would really listen to him, then so would they.
I always said.keep the Clintons as far away as possible.Everything about them is a baggage too heavy to carry.Now for the so call UNITY sake,and to clear her so call DEBT,now her corrupt big donors are coming in with their unethical demands.
Why does the Obama campaign needs big donors at all? It can quite comfortably raised the same amount as it raised during the primary and that would be more than enough for the GE
The Obama campaign needs big donors to win the election. Kicking the Clintons and half the Democratic party out of the process is akin to a childish temper tantrum. I have no idea why you think big donors are making unethical demands. Keeping yourself informed and ready to help is the most effective thing you could do to keep this process moving forward successfully.
oh real smart, we need the big donor money and you call them corrupt. Great thank you.
Hey if O did like bush and censored anyone who does not parrot what he said the redumblicans would have to continue writing trash here.
So basically the alleged "problem" is that he's taking money from people who can afford to give it instead of those who can't?
So now are we playing a game where every contribution of more than $200 is going to be seen as a "big money" influence?
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
