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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Obama’s Third-Party History" (National Review) - expect to hear this
Googling "Obama Third Party" brings up 3,587 articles from all the BIG LIE choir.
This is legend and lore in rightwing circles already I am sure - Rush lead with it at noon today.
I just wanted to give you all a heads up on this. The assertion by Kurtz about ACORN below is laughable.
THIS is something I have no understanding of - "from the updated records of Illinois ACORN at the Wisconsin Historical Society " Why would Illinois ACORN records be in the Wisconsin Historical Society?
http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/302031/obamas-third-party-history-stanley-kurtz?pg=1
June 7, 2012 4:00 A.M.
By Stanley Kurtz
Recently obtained evidence from the updated records of Illinois ACORN at the Wisconsin Historical Society now definitively establishes that Obama was a member of the New Party. He also signed a contract promising to publicly support and associate himself with the New Party while in office.
Why did Obama deny his ties to ACORN? The group was notorious in 2008 for thug tactics, fraudulent voter registrations, and its role in popularizing risky subprime lending. Admitting that he had helped to fund ACORNs voter-registration efforts and train some of their organizers would doubtless have been an embarrassment but not likely a crippling blow to his campaign. So why not simply confess the tie and make light of it? The problem for Obama was ACORNs political arm, the New Party.
Minutes of the meeting on January 11, 1996, of the New Partys Chicago chapter read as follows:
Barack Obama, candidate for State Senate in the 13th Legislative District, gave a statement to the membership and answered questions. He signed the New Party Candidate Contract and requested an endorsement from the New Party. He also joined the New Party.
SoutherDem
(2,307 posts)What is New Party? Never heard of it.
Luminous Animal
(27,310 posts)We worked on cross-endorsing progressive lefty candidates as well as left issues.
A person could be a New Party without registering to vote as New Party voter (I'm not even sure they had ballot status in California) member AND a member of another party.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Party_%28United_States%29
Paulie
(8,462 posts)In Chicago where I met Paul Wellstone. I think I was a Chicago DSA member by then. But there was still talk about fusion in the lower end elected positions like school board and alderman.
Besides the Harold Washington party there hasn't been a strong 3rd party that I recall in Chicagoland recently.
Drunken Irishman
(34,857 posts)underpants
(182,828 posts)since Wisconsin they have tried to blow Obama out of the water.
This - the "raised more money"- etc.
They started this - and the MSM went right along as usual - with how the campaign "got a slow start". See Obama has an M.O. ...open big, rope-a-dope and let the opposition flail itself out (Hillary, McCain, Healthcare, etc.) and then....CLOSE
They HAVE to stop the fire and they are doing a great job of it. Hold on brother, this is going to get rough.
Drunken Irishman
(34,857 posts)No one cares. It will continue to be about the economy. If the improvements we're seeing continue, Obama will be fine, regardless of the media spin.
MindOverMatters
(1 post)Voters don't care that much about third parties, particularly in this case since it was never a successful separate party per se. The issue will be the 2008 campaign's categorical denials that Obama ever joined the NP or sought the NP's endorsement. Basically the minutes of the Chicago NP meeting record that Obama did in fact join the membership, that he asked for their endorsement, and also signed a "Candidate Contract" to support the NP if he was successfully elected.
My opinion -- Obama had best deal with this quickly and honestly so he can consider it a closed issue in the debates.
Tsiyu
(18,186 posts)Good post.
JHB
(37,160 posts)I have to keep pointing out to these people that ACORN tended to annoy the real estate interests in (usually Democratic) cities, and their registration drives (and things like the New Party) stood to upset local politicians' applecarts. The upshot of this is that they had no friends in high places. So when the wingnuts targeted it, it was real easy for the Democratic establishment to just jettison it.
The Great and Powerful ACORN of their imaginations was just the scary projected shadow of a mouse. But they're not the reality-based community, are they?
sabrina 1
(62,325 posts)he would not deny it.
TheKentuckian
(25,026 posts)Bolo Boffin
(23,796 posts)Was this meant to turn Republicans against him? No, they already are.
Would this make Democrats think twice? Umm, why?
So this is just blowing smoke up their readers' asses to keep selling magazines and cruise vacation packages. Fuck em.
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(108,031 posts)But the right tries anyway.