What Joe Doesn't Know [Obama’s radical associations reveal the truth of his economic policies]

NRO ^ | October 15, 2008 | Stanley Kurtz

[Tolik]

John McCain was on tonight–sharp, confident, and powerful. I think he won this debate, although only on points. True, McCain needed something more than a narrow win, but I still think he did himself some good. On the other hand, even when Obama is on the defensive, he radiates calm and confidence. That helps him, regardless of who wins or loses the argument on the issue at hand.

On ACORN, I continue to be stunned by Obama’s denials of his extensive ties to this execrable group. The fact that ACORN came up at all is good. Most folks still don’t know what ACORN is, how bad it is, and how deeply it’s tied to the financial meltdown. John McCain needs to make sure the public learns about ACORN and Obama. Obama’s dissembling on his ties to ACORN shows that he recognizes his vulnerability on the issue.

ACORN is a powerful example of an Obama "association" that has immense policy implications. ACORN is a genuinely radical group. It believes in economic redistribution, the same question raised by the "Joe the Plumber" controversy. And ACORN’s campaign to undermine credit standards in this country was an extremely important contributing cause of our economic meltdown. So Obama’s ACORN ties are part and parcel of the core issues at play in this campaign.

Bill Ayers? As McCain noted, Ayers and Obama together gave hundreds of thousands of foundation dollars to ACORN. That needs to be unpacked, but McCain’s point begins to get at the real issue. This is not about what happened when Obama was eight years old. Ayers and Obama both believe in a redistributionist economic policies. Together Ayers and Obama backed radical community organizers like ACORN, a key player in the mortgage crisis. ACORN’s assault on credit-standards was driven by its redistributionist philosophy. So Obama’s radical associations reveal the truth of his economic policies. It’s all of a piece. But this critical point has not been made.

People still speak as though the "associations" issue and the economic issue are two different things. They’re not. ACORN wants to spread Joe’s wealth around. So does Bill Ayers. That’s why Obama worked with both ACORN and Ayers. Someone needs to explain all this to Joe.

What McCain’s campaign needs to do is take an "all of the above" approach. Make a positive economic case, and press the "associations" issue at the same time. But above all, McCain needs to draw the links between both lines of attack. The economic differences between Obama and McCain both explain, and are explained by, the Obama’s history of radical political alliances. However much he may try to hide it, Obama has a strongly left-leaning worldview on economic and other issues. Those views place Obama much to the left of the public as a whole. Obama’s current policies and his past political alliances and associations are part of a broader picture. In the time remaining, McCain needs to connect those dots.

[Tolik]

 Obama’s radical associations reveal the truth of his economic policies. It’s all of a piece. But this critical point has not been made.

People still speak as though the "associations" issue and the economic issue are two different things. They’re not. ACORN wants to spread Joe’s wealth around. So does Bill Ayers. That’s why Obama worked with both ACORN and Ayers. Someone needs to explain all this to Joe.

What McCain’s campaign needs to do is take an "all of the above" approach. Make a positive economic case, and press the "associations" issue at the same time. But above all, McCain needs to draw the links between both lines of attack. The economic differences between Obama and McCain both explain, and are explained by, the Obama’s history of radical political alliances. However much he may try to hide it, Obama has a strongly left-leaning worldview on economic and other issues. Those views place Obama much to the left of the public as a whole. Obama’s current policies and his past political alliances and associations are part of a broader picture. In the time remaining, McCain needs to connect those dots.

Nailed It!

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[syriacus]

Joe made Obama admit that he wants to “SPREAD THE WEALTH”

Obama has been campaigning for almost 2 years and the Media “intellects” didn’t get him to admit this.

Plumbers like Joe sure are good at cutting through all the cr%p.

[vietvet67]

[Bluebird Singing]

Joe made Obama admit that he wants to “SPREAD THE WEALTH”

And now, Obama’s thugs and media squirrels are out to get Joe. They somehow got his sealed divorce papers - just like Obama did to Jack Ryan in the Illinois Senate race.

Don’t pay attention to what Joe exposed. Ruin Joe.

Welcome to communist America.

[bethtopaz]

I thought Obama looked arrogant, uncomfortable, sweaty, and frustrated.

He is not an empty suit. He is a suit full of s*&t.

[Christian4Bush]

mark

[syriacus]

Yes. Obama is nasty.

[syriacus]

[Obama] is a suit full of s*&t.

Call Roto-Rooter.

[Tolik]

As a wrote on another thread, Nathan Sharansky’s test for a country to be free is when anybody can get to a public square and say what he wants about the political rulers and what-have-you without a fear of persecution and intimidation. OK, to be clear, I am not making a case that we live in unfree country. My point is that the Left behaves in the way typical of tyrannical regimes when people are afraid to speak up because they do know they will be intimidated.

Joe the Plumber is being made an example of now: keep quiet or we will dig up stuff on you and publicly humiliate you. People are not perfect. Everybody have something they don’t want to make public. So stay quiet or else...

[syriacus]

I just uploaded a very simple, 40-second video to You Tube.

Joe the plumber vs the Media

[petercooper]

Let’s help Joe pay off his $1100 tax bill.

[loveliberty2]

"People still speak as though the "associations" issue and the economic issue are two different things. They’re not. ACORN wants to spread Joe’s wealth around. So does Bill Ayers. That’s why Obama worked with both ACORN and Ayers. Someone needs to explain all this to Joe."

One more thing, Dr. Sowell nailed another important point recently. The word "associations" implies a far less significant connection to radicalism than has existed. The operative word should be "alliances." An alliance cannot be so easily dismissed as being, "just a guy in my neighborhood." Follow the money and the political power that was accrued through these "alliances," and people can more readily reach infomed conclusions about the link between his radical alliances and his answer to Joe

[phillyfanatic]

Last night, McCain at the Al Smith dinner really with humor fried the Messiah. Still, since for two years I have been calling BHO a socialist pacifist, I wonder if the Pubs themselves will push the idea that BHO really is the socialist that he called for in his answer to JOE.

[happygrl]

Plumbers like Joe sure are good at cutting through all the cr%p.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[jazusamo]

Joe the Plumber is being made an example of now: keep quiet or we will dig up stuff on you and publicly humiliate you.

Well said, that's exactly what the BO campaign is doing and the enemedia facilitates it.

[GOPJ]

People still speak as though the "associations" issue and the economic issue are two different things. They’re not. ACORN wants to spread Joe’s wealth around. So does Bill Ayers. That’s why Obama worked with both ACORN and Ayers. Someone needs to explain all this to Joe.

McCain needs to make this case.