How threatened is the Old Boy Network by Barack Obama?

[Fridays Child]

How does the entrenched, white male, power establishment in this country view Senator Obama's possible presidency? What does he represent to them? And, if they fear the changes that they believe he could bring to the way business is done in this country, what will they be willing to do to stop him?

It's real, now, and I'm approaching this election with equal parts of exhilaration and dread.

[Speck Tater]

1. I'm sure they are confident

that they can corrupt him and bring him into the fold.

They may be in for a surprise.

[Fridays Child]

5. Is that how it works?

If so, they WILL be in for that surprise you speak of.

[Skink]

2. Look at how many Republican Senators are retiring

[papau]

3. they are not threatened - their power does not depend on Obama's blessing

[melody]

4. Here's how frightening he is --

Those they can't buy off, they threaten,
Those they can't buy, blackmail or threaten, they kill.
They can't kill Presidents or Presidential nominees any longer (it makes them into martryrs).

They are VERY afraid of Obama. And they should be.

[Berry Cool]

7. You forgot "Those they can't buy, blackmail or threaten, they swiftboat."

That's the biggest danger here. The swiftboat. The Willie Horton. Yeah, they did already run through the best of their sorry ammunition during primary season, to little effect, and there's a chance that that particular form of gun is now empty. But you can bet that they'll be looking desperately for something to fill it with between now and November.

[melody]

8. Swiftboating is part of regular politics and can be dealt with

With $5 a gallon gas, food prices skyrocketing, and everything else, Willie Horton type ads are going to have
very little impact.

[blm]

18. Yep - 2008 is a whole different climate than the manipulated air of 2000-2005.

Katrina blew that away.

[blm]

6. Interesting you mention that...January seems so long ago, but I remember clearly the endorsement

of Obama by John Kerry. He spoke to your exact point.

>>>>
“Who better than Barack Obama to bring new credibility to America’s role in the world and help restore our moral authority?” Mr. Kerry said, speaking at a large rally here. “Who better than Barack Obama to turn a new page in American politics, so that Democrats, independents and Republicans alike can look to the leadership that unites to find common ground?”

As the Democratic presidential race moves into a nationwide primary fight, the timing of Mr. Kerry’s endorsement was intended to send a message by Mr. Obama’s campaign that some Democratic leaders are coalescing around his candidacy, despite a loss in New Hampshire to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York. The battle between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton intensified as the field narrowed Thursday, with Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico dropping out of the race.

Mr. Kerry, of Massachusetts, who was the party’s nominee four years ago, did not mention Mrs. Clinton or John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator who was Mr. Kerry’s running mate in 2004. Mr. Kerry said he respected their candidacies, but he said Mr. Obama “has a superb talent, as all of you know, to communicate the best of our hopes and aspirations for America and the world.”

At an outdoor rally where about 1,000 people stood beneath magnolia trees at the College of Charleston, the warm introduction of Mr. Obama by Mr. Kerry brought the relationship of the men full circle. It was Mr. Kerry who selected Mr. Obama, of Illinois, to deliver the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention, an opportunity that hastened Mr. Obama’s political ascent.

The endorsement announced Thursday was months in the making, beginning with a private dinner in March. Mr. Kerry has remained out of the glare of the presidential campaign but has frequently talked to Mr. Obama by telephone and at the Capitol. During a trip to Africa in November, aides said, Mr. Kerry concluded that the tarnished view of the United States could only be repaired by a president like Mr. Obama.

“Since the birth of our nation, change has been won by young presidents and young leaders who have shown that experience is defined not by time in Washington or years in office, but by wisdom, instinct and vision,” Mr. Kerry said of Mr. Obama, who is 46. The practical effect of Mr. Kerry’s backing, like any other high-profile endorsement, remains an open question. Mr. Kerry holds one of the largest lists of active Democrats — three million names — and Mr. Obama will send an appeal to those Democrats on Friday for financial and political support.
>>>

In the wake of the New Hampshire primary, where Mr. Obama was repeatedly criticized as not ready to be president by Mrs. Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, Mr. Kerry sought to validate Mr. Obama’s electability, readiness and strength for the job. At the same time, the endorsement was intended to call other Democrats to action.

“Sometimes the hardest thing for the established political world to do is make a clean break with the past, to readily embrace new thinking and a new beginning,” Mr. Kerry said. “The old guard sometimes has a hard time acknowledging an individual who breaks the mold.”
>>>>>


Kerry knew it HAD to be said out loud, as he has faced obstruction and ostracization from the same old guard powerstructure over the years, and even many of those in his own party. Open government Democrats are rarely popular. But our time is NOW.

[Gabi Hayes]

10. agreed on that, but what's your take on why he didn't fight the theft in OHio, despite

having, supposedly a multimillion dollar fund set up for that? too long of a time span before any solid evidence?

did he have month/months before votes were certified? can't remember. 2000 seems 1000 years ago.

[blm]

16. McAuliffe's DNC made sure the RNC had all the room in the world to control the process in Ohio

and the Dem party in Ohio was so collapsed and weak RNC had no trouble gaining control of the election process at every level where the votes are allowed, cast and counted.

Did the Dem PARTY infrastructure in Ohio perform in any competent way so the Dem nominee could tap into its infrastructure?

TWO people screwed up Ohio for Dems - McAuliffe who refused to secure the election process the entire 4 years after 2000s theft, and Carville who sabotaged Ohio Dem voters on election night. Who were they both working for?

The THEFT was institutionalized in the four years before election night, and THAT is why we have a new DNC Chair working overtime since 2005 to rebuild all those party infrastructures state by state in all those states where they had been neglected and collapsed for over a decade. Like Ohio.

Blaming Kerry for the theft when the math was against him and the legal evidence to make a case in court was never there has always been a baseless and useless attack.


And, actually, I'm surprised you posted it considering the subject of the thread. The old guard worked against Kerry in 2004 - Bushes and Clintons. They didn't want an open government Democrat, ESPECIALLY Kerry in the WH with access to documents he had sought for years.

There are those in our party who long sought to marginalize the voices of the truthtellers. I'm surprised you haven't stepped back to see the large picture of 2004, and smearing Kerry constantly after was also a necessary step for the old guard.

Why the backstabbing as mentioned by historian Douglas Brinkley?
http://www.depauw.edu/news/index.asp?id=13354

Why the summer2004 booktour repeatedly defending Bush from the attacks Kerry aimed at him?
http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/06/19/clinton.iraq/

Why the Carville sabotage of Ohio Dem voters?
http://www.tpmcafe.com/blog/coffeehouse/2006/oct/07/did_carville_tip_bush_off_to_kerry_strategy_woodward


Why?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk1k0nUWEQg

Because they sided with secrecy and privilege long ago.
http://consortiumnews.com/2006/111106.html

[Gabi Hayes]

21. hey! take it easy....I didn't know the answer, was looking for a reasonable explanation.

if I'd known, I wouldn't have asked

thanks for the info

[blm]

24. heh...Gabi that wasn't hard.... ;) that was a straight correction reply.

I may sound tough at times, but would never harsh you, GH. ;)

[Fire Walk With Me]

9. There are a couple of states which still fly the confederate flag at their capitals, yes?

[Fridays Child]

11. I think you're right about that.

[BeeBoppinLula]

12. not at all; they put him where he is. it could not be any other way. reality. nt

[babylonsister]

17. ??? Bullshit. Opinion is not fact. Prove it. nt

[blm]

23. Yeah, BFEE always seeks out community organizers to do their work for them. Sheesh.

.

[Selatius]

13. If Obama's policies are viewed as an attack by bankers and industrialists, he will be ripped down.

They will use every mechanism that they control including the corporate news outlets to rip him down. Whether Obama can endure the onslaught and deal with it is up to Obama and his supporters.

[ellie]

14. While this may sound weird,

I am looking forward to the repukes revealing their true colors. Underneath it all, they are racists and they won't be able to help themselves by spewing their hate on a national stage. Their upcoming performance should remove all doubt in the public's mind about their intentions. Oh, they will lie in future campaigns about how their party is a big tent, but we will have already seen the truth.

Bring it.

[The2ndWheel]

15. I'd say the real network has no color, or gender, or ideology for that matter

The real network is the consolidated one. It's the one where white, black, male, female, American, Chinese, East, West, religious, atheist, fat, thin, up, down, forward, backward, light, dark, make no difference. It's the network that is able to use protest songs to sell a new car. It's the network that is able to say it practices diversity as it makes more and more people do the same things at an ever earlier age through to an ever later age.

The Old Boy Network might be threatened, but the Old Boy Network is increasingly becoming part of the real network.

[blm]

20. No denying it - what you say is true. WalMart and Chinese financiers

arranged thru BCCI dirty deals is an example of that.

[babylonsister]

19. They should feel threatened, but lots of 'ole boys' are welcoming

the breath of fresh air.

[blm]

22. Well said - SOME old guard lungs are likely sick of the rancid air from BushInc at this point.

.

[undeterred]

25. The old boys already in power are not threatened by him.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

26. They're accusing him of terrorist fist bumps.

That's how threatened they are.