Obama for America called today asking for my money. I told them no.

Obama For America called today asking for my money. I told them Obama wasn't acting like a progressive Democrat in my opinion and until he does he can't have any of my money and hung up.

Nobody cares.

Obama will get plenty of donations.

In the past two cycles I've typically given around $1000 to the Presidential candidate. Obama can get that thousand dollars from someone else not me.

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I donated and was also a volunteer and a precinct captain.

No way in hell now.

Until someone stands up for US--and not the corporations--I see
no reason to give money or donate.

It's just not a good investment of my time or money.

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granted. The best way to get a politicians attention is withhold money and other support. If he stops listening to you, then you are an idiot to keep supporting him anyways.

You're not a hero.

You're just some guy who's frustrated because he's not getting what HE wants.

Do you want a parade?

It's saying NO I won't go along just to get along when there is something wrong here.

I want a President who practices progressive Democratic politics and stands up for our core principles not one who trades away medicare, medicaid and social security in exchange for nothing.

He has already raised more money at this point than he had in 2008.

Let's see if you can stand in his way.

He HAS to raise more money this time - a LOT more money because of Citizens United and because he isn't running against an unpopular George Bush administration legacy - this time he is the incumbent and has to defend his first term during an economic downturn.

I doubt if he has or will raise much in the way of grassroots money.

You should never really doubt what you're not sure about.

to what he got in 2008, both in terms of percentage and total dollar amounts. By "small donations" I mean donations of $1000 or less.

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if Obama supporters truly believed he doesn't need our votes. The people of the Third Way or whatever the hell they style themselves as are furious that we keep posting and rubbing their noses in what turncoats they are on the traditional values of the Democratic party.

And he doesn't need our votes. If he did, his supporters would be making nice instead of dishing out their bile. The corporations have annointed him and the GOP will put up some sacrificial lamb to just fly the flag and be rewarded with many, many corporate board slots at a hundred thousand per year each.

:shrug:

Its all about the fucking money:puke:

That we won't take this anymore? He's calling on us. If a lot of his withhold money maybe they will wake up. What better time to tell them why you won't donate? They are calling you. I'm still going to vote for Obama, but he still has time to "change" our minds about our donation later. We could be his biggest lobbyist so to speak. It's his choice, it's still not too late to make amends.

Obama needs a Ross Perot moment with charts and graphs and show the American people what is really going on in Washington. He needs to do something that will grab the attention of the people. The charts and graphs will be well criticized and get more attention. He has to make it plain and simple.

Seriously pathetic.

It's hard to believe someone who really wants the President reelected would come in here with 200 posts and pick this fight right now.

I'm sure he is a registered Democrat and believes what he says and is just too focused on liking Obama and not enough on Democratic progressive principles.

You donate to, support, and vote for the guy that shares YOUR ideas??? WTF are you talking about? We voted Obama to advance DEMOCRATIC policies, not sit there and capitulate with the Republicans. Hell, if I had known it was going to play this way, I would have voted for Hillary, because I believe she would support MY VALUES, no patronize me and tell me that she was going to negotiate a psuedo-shitty deal for me because she was smarter than me and knew what was in my best interest.

You know, like leave Social Security the hell alone!

Because to some of you, that's a "pony."

I guess we should just shut the fuck up and eat our peas.

Bake

How does that work?

Supposedly you are also withholding money and support from Republicans.

Yet if they win, your plan does not work.

It just is not logical.

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while at the same time impressing upon people how unimportant any one person's contribution, opinion, or dare I say it, vote would be.

And yes, I noticed this non-answer did not address the question I posed at all.

And now, an Emily Dickinson interlude:

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us -- don't tell!
They'd banish us, you know.

How dreary to be somebody!
How public, like a frog
To tell your name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

especially considering that he donated time and expertise as well as money. Now multiply his response by 1000, 10,000, 100,000...are you going to take up the slack for ALL of them?

I didn't volunteer time or money, but I did vote for Obama. Which I will not do in 2012.

and I am not happy with the with what Pres Obama has done , I haven't given yet, and it looks as if I'd better save every cent I can.

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Ordinary people SHOULD be important to Democratic politicians.

That demographic doesn't even make up the majority of Liberal Democrats, much less ordinary people in general.

mushy middle people don't have passion about politics and aren't activists.

make him CHANGE.

I didn't vote to elect a corporatist DINO.

Doug D.

saying EXACTLY what I told the caller today. You think they are the only 230,000 pissed off progressives in America? Wake up and smell the coffee.

Somehow, I doubt it.

I don't vote for "someone" I vote for some THING. I want policy enacted. I don't particularly care WHO enacts the policy. You are engaged in a cult of personality. I am engaged in a political movement.

as for threatening.. I don't threaten I do - Yoda had good advice: Do or do not.. there is no try.

Threatening is just a form of "try".

Doug D.

Not necessarily what's best for everyone.

What you are is a cult of personality voter not someone who votes based on political principles.

Because that's your stated goal.

My stated goal is get rid of the Republican Party and get those past - can't happen as long as Obama is their willing collaborator through all of his unreasonable compromises with unreasonable men.

If my foot hurts, I do not shoot it off to teach it a lesson.

or would you keep telling us how much you love your foot?

:eyes:

It is fine that you support Obama. It is also fine that others
find what he is doing does not fit in with what they believe is
important. You speak of getting things done.

Example: You want a house built. Either you can use block, concrete,
or fill the foundation walls with sand. Just to get the house built
does not make sense to use the cheapest way. Sometimes you have to
spend a little more money to make sure the house stays standing over
the course of time.

I agree it would not pay to have a republican as president. However,
if we are going to loose what the democratic party has fought for over the years
just to get a deal done is a very stupid way to do things. If you can
not hold your head high after a deal then you made a wrong deal.

I once told a politician, after a tax deal during the Raygun term, that it was a shitty
deal, he told me 'it was the beast we could do'. Now look where we are.
Still playing with trickle down economics. And the rich have transfered all that wealth to the top.

Enough is enough...........

some democrats/blue dogs are inching to the right is because of cynicism and disallusion which does not turn out voters. I also think there should be a bigger effort to get youth to vote more regularly not just during presidential elections.

We should be having a 30 year run... but instead, we keep losing the majority or lose ground on political tactics, etc and because of that Republicans keep controlling things due to their long stint and mastery of underhanded bullshit tactics.

I'm sorry, I understand that people are pissed and upset but I also see a reason to keep the pressure on WHILE keeping power in the hands of Democrats.

Anyone who is upset does need a way to put the pressure on but withholding or threatening to withhold votes is NOT doing what is best for the majority and only helps us lose ground again and again.

vote #1

I'll take that bet. Get out of the DU bubble. The vast majority of the American public (including Democrats) wants reason and compromise here. That's the truth.

I highly doubt "The vast majority of the American public" would support cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

does not mean helping the Republicans sell us out to their corporate masters.

can't be progresssives who are unhappy w Obama...let's see that's slightly over 1% and he's saying I'm making it up.. if anything it is probably much larger... especially after we gut SS and Medicare and Medicaid..

:eyes:

I speak only for myself. But I'm guessing I'm not the only one.

Bake

You hear that, guys? Progressives share nothing with ordinary people. I guess we're all just limousine liberals, right? We don't pay taxes? Bills? We don't have anything to lose in this fight? I guess you and/or Obama don't need us then. Thanks for making that explicit.

is the constant refrain from today's centrist Dems, We are not important to them and we can just pay up and shut up

:rofl:

then it will be because progressives stayed home, or voted third party, or wrote in a candidate on the ballot, or wrote something mean on a message board.

n/t

We want to push him back to the left. Just a little. Back to being a DEMOCRAT.

Obviously, you don't know what that means.

WE THE PEOPLE. Not Wall Street. Not Jeff Immelt. THE PEOPLE.

Don't his people look at the fucking polls? Or the recall results in Wisconsin?

He doesn't have to give away the farm. Unless he's happy being "in the house" as opposed to "in the field."

Bake

progressives want to withhold money and votes?


i mean, the centrists have got this shit covered, right?


taking no bullshit from the right!


me? not one penny, not 1 hour of volunteering this time.


MAYBE, a vote.


and not the least bit of guilt.

if he is nobody and his resistance makes not difference.

The truth is prosocial security dem outnumber obama neoliberal ones, according the polling data. You just crowd us out with more money because you represent the wallstreet wing. The trouble for you is that you cant make anyone campaign for him, contribute to him or even vote for him so you hire assholes to harass us. As if being mean will earn our votes.

...one by one. We participate in Democracy by supporting candidates not just with our votes, but with--as we fundraisers say--our time, talent and treasure. Saying that someone is not important because they are just one person is the best way anyone who relies on the support on individuals can lose major ground. Maybe you don't care about the OP's decision, but it is important.

:rofl:

Good, cause he ain't getting mine

In fact, he will not get my vote. For the first time since 1972 I will not be voting straight ticket.

then why bother calling?

That's fine.

Bake

The things I choose to do or not do ARE important,
if only to me...but still important.
It IS important to STAND for certain ideals.
That is what gives me a soul.

And, his decision was important enough for YOU to attack him.
If it wasn't important to YOU,
you would not have bothered to comment.

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You show up 14 days ago and have spent 14 days insulting people. If they didn't care why did they call asking for money? Why bother?

And, that they can regard it as a "shared sacrifice".

I'd love to ask John Edwards for my money back while I was at it.

I've never regretted a dime that I've given to Alan Grayson though!

but she definitely got to hear why.

But mostly so we know not to bother calling that person back.

ha ha..

VAN (votebuilder) has now merged with NGP. So it's possible they have a new integrated system and gave you a score that would imply don't bother calling when they're doing GOTV.

Odds are they didn't bother, though. You will probably get a call asking for you to get out and vote next year. And if the field organizer was late entering their data, you may get another call.

What's going to annoy the OFA fundraisers is when they see that I gave THEIR donation to ALAN GRAYSON and to Scott Randolph. ha ha..

I got a call a few months ago from a big wig South Florida steering committee guy who was doing a fundraiser w Obama and told him the same thing. I'm sure they have my name on their mid to large donors list and the message will get through to them because I run into enough of these guys at party functions in Florida.

I'm a teacher. He can kiss my ass.

I told her what I told her.. I wish I could have thought of that at the time though..

:applause:

I'm so proud of you AND DU!!!! Whoopee!!! Wheeeeee!!!! Let's celebrate!!!!

Every time they call I tell them that I'll be making another donation to the ACLU and EFF.

Which is what I've been doing ever since Obama voted for FISA before he got elected.

And yes, of course I still voted for him. I just won't be sending my $$ his way.

both listen to what I have to say and both are progressive Democrats. I'm hoping to help Alan get re-elected to Congress next November. My money will be going to Alan and Scott, not Barack Obama.

:)

to unsubscribe from the group's e-mail list now so you don't have to post about it later.

:rofl:

I'm not changing my mind unless Obama changes his ways. I've got plenty of progressives to help with my limited resources. Not going to waste them on Obama.

or care what you think

:rofl:

SIXTEEN MONTHS before the election is driving some folks a bit crazy. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec11/obama_07-13.html

It must be so difficult to have the utter insignificance and irrelevance of their decisions to stay home/not vote/not work/not donate staring them in the face.

:eyes:

Haven't since 2004.

If people want to donate, that's fine. No problem with that. It's their money.

The DNC, DLC, DCCC and DSCC do not get my money. No middlemen.

It's the nicest thing I can do to tell the truth and wake them up.

But the democrat volunteer will remember that you were rude when you hang up on him/her.

I know 6 current or former US Congressmen and a US Senator. Enough activists like me express this point they WILL get the message.

Oh, that's right. Just shut up and write the check.

Bake

And odds are decent that they are aspiring to a career in political fundraising. In order to advance in such a career they need to learn that people will tell you no, for any number of reasons, and that you need to accept that and move on to the next phone call (preferably as quickly as possible).

The Obama campaign/DNC/DLC phoned/called/emailed asking for donations and I said no/go #@$% yourself/quit being mean to progressives!!

Rinse, lather, repost.

I only post it when it happens which isn't all that often - maybe twice a year.

:P

All the coolest people are not donating and not voting for Dems!!! Gosh, maybe I'll be that cool someday!!!!

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I do respect the moderators here at DU.

on your guitar and pulled out your hanzo steel, right?

:eyes:

:rofl:

being weak and not fighting for everyday Americans is that I personally get to save a lot of time and money supporting him. Has he thought what will happen to his election chances when the Republican nominee offers to restore the soc sec and medicare cutbacks he is trying so hard to push through?

Sid

One less dollar they have to raise to compete. Good Job!

We're supposed to like this why????

Are you a Repuglicking?

:rofl:

Run Palin's coming or is it Bachman?

They have plenty of money and know that he is giving them everything they want.

Is a number with many many zeros to the right of the decimal. Even if you max out. That's why I generally don't give my hard earned money to campaigns that have millions of dollars. In a smaller local race, your large donation may have more of a chance of actually impacting the outcome.

On the other hand, I have in the past volunteered my time for candidates. Not that I believe it will change the outcome of the election. I do it, because it's fun.

intentionally obtuse about it.

The whole point is that there are plenty of people just like me who feel the way that I do and in my case I HAVE made the difference in winning and losing in races here in Orange County Florida for reasons beyond a donation.

Of course, that's not an easy concept to explain to the folks who go around thinking that if Obama loses they will be personally responsible for not having chastised more DUers for threatening to vote third party or not vote at all (again, as though that will make the difference).

Local election are a different story. There have been several cases where they have come down to one or two votes. It's unlikely but it happens and it happens enough that if you don't want to take any vote for granted. It's also the case where a committed volunteer can make the difference.

Paradoxically, it's a lot easier to get people to vote for, volunteer for, or donate to a presidential candidate than it is to get them to vote for, volunteer for, or donate to a local candidate.

Orange County Florida in the 2004 election through literally investing hundreds of hours in writing a sophisticated piece of software and putting together a team to chase those ABV's. It wouldn't have happened if I didn't do it. If I didn't do it, Orange County Florida would have gone for Bush in 2004. Instead it went for Kerry - I didn't carry a whole state but I did make the difference in one of the largest counties in Florida in 2004.

dismayed with him shouldn't vote it won't matter right?

what might happen between now and then.

At least not in a presidential election. So if you want to sit at home or vote third party, I'm not going to spend time arguing with you on DU to try and convince you otherwise since it won't affect the outcome of the election.

Yes if you're a United States Senator your one vote matters a hell of a lot in the United States Senate, where things are decided by 100 people. Far more than 100 people determine the outcome of a presidential election.

Some of the examples were of much smaller election, which as I noted, have actually come down to one or two votes. Yet paradoxically there is higher turnout in presidential elections where your vote matters less than in local elections where it matters more (and it's somewhat probable that it could make a difference.

In the closest presidential election in modern history, the election was determined by 500 votes in a swing state. But that's 500 votes not one vote. Your individual decision to vote has no effect on whether or not those 499 other people go out and vote. Now, if you can get 500 people out to the polls for a presidential election then by all means I would say that it's possible you could make the difference. Ddeclue certainly got way more than that with his absentee ballot chase program.

But honestly, I spent 12 hours a day 6 days a week working for a candidate for 6 months and I'm hardly convinced that the hundreds of hours I put in got even close to 500 people to the polls.

All votes count. That is if they are counted correctly.

made your point to the volunteer without being rude...... and then you come here and brag about it? :shrug:

The sneering dismissiveness you are encountering above pretty much reflects this administration's attitude toward its supporters, doesn't it? I can't fathom how they think a campaign based on destruction of core Democratic principles - plus a helping of threats, insults, and excuses - will energize voters the way "Hope and Change" did in 2008.

I don't require their approval nor am I particularly interested in it.

I require accountability from people I hire with my time, money, support, skills, endorsement and vote to actually do what I hired them to do.

they are being actively destructive to the principles and policies that have drawn loyal voters to the party for decades.

The sneering is icing on the cake.

:popcorn:

Doug D.

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You're so protesty! Git him!

Actually, the president is winning this debate ... in spite of the political tantrums on the extreme left and the right.

And he raked in more $ ($86,000,000) than any candidate ever has in the same quarter. Sorry.

but I don't have a problem with what you did. You did what the freedom we enjoy our country allows us to do. Good for you.

And if someone has a problem with this post, s/he shouldn't have clicked on it. You couldn't have made it any more clear what it was about given your subject line.

Dont fight, everything will be ok, he is smarter than you, this is not reality .... it is 8 dimensional chess, don't stoop to their level, go back to sleep, it will look worse in the morning.

Not this penny ante tax cut that I dont even notice- I mean a REAL tax cut- like the one Obama gave to the Koch Brothers, the Cheneys, the Bush family and other Republicans donors.

If DEMS need my money, then they should have fought tooth and nail and pulled out all the stops to make sure that I had some.

like any kind of Democrat.

Please keep in mind that in 2012, it's going to be Obama or a Republican far to the right of Obama. While I'll never be critical of someone who wants to support a third party candidate (or no one at all), I do hope you'll vote for Obama. I understand the feeling that he's not progressive enough, but the reality is for 2012 that it's Obama or someone worse.

So donations are out of the question.

If they needed donations, they should have fought to get me a tax cut- one that leaves me with extra money. You know, like the one the Koch Brothers, the Bush's, the Cheneys, the Walmart Family, etc. got.

Hopefully I can get off work on election day, I'm not sure if I'll can afford to use up those hours not working.

If I can afford to goof off and not work, I'll vote DEM.

;)

But seriously- the GOP seems to realize that when you give your base money, you get it back. Maybe the DEMS realize this too- and I just need to realize that I'm just not part of their desired base?

Your offered reason may be more likely to be heard that way.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

that was after the cave on the Bush tax cuts. Actually I had crossed the threshold before that but didn't have the opportunity.

If I did get the chance again I would tell them I am gladly giving every penny that I received in COLAs the last 2 years, as well as the savings in medical copay and drug costs I received. Oh, and lest we forget, the refund I got when they redid the "cut" in income and made it only on payroll and not 1099R.

So, in other words, where do I send the bill? I didn't expect to get any money in these tough times but it sure would have been nice to not have had to pay so much out.

Oh, and is a 3 year old sweatshirt worth anything? Worn not at all after his cabinet appointments.

Since those are the only people who count with this administration.

support only means you like his new track after the "shellacking."

watch how others succeed. in an atmosphere like this, you don't compromise, you pull harder to your own side. the tea party is winning, folks. patience and compromise got us nowhere. if there has to be pain or ouster for leaders to understand us, so be it.

n/t