Obama wants you to pledge loyalty to him tomorrow

American Thinker ^ | March 20, 2009 | Lona Manning

[neverdem]

They have taken a pledge of loyalty to Obama, and they say they are coming your way tomorrow for yours. Organizing for America, the Obama-for-President campaign morphed into Obama-for-Maximum-Leader army, will hit the streets for their "Pledge Project Canvass," knocking on doors and accosting folks in parking lots and sidewalks to ask them to sign a pledge to support Obama's policies for health care, energy and education reform.

Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee, is variously described in the media as [President Obama's] "own version of a lobbying firm", "a parallel organization to the Democratic National Committee" and "an independent force to lobby for Obama's goals" (Houston Chronicle); "an independent group" (Dayton Daily News); Obama's "citizen army," and a way of building public opinion" (The Bergen County Record); "a grass-roots lobbying group," (Roll Call), "Obama 2.0" (Newark Star-Ledger), "a joint partnership," (DNC press release), and as a "political bully," (AP).

According to Mitch Stewart, Director of OFA, the organization will be "getting out in front of Washington and asking our elected officials to lead the charge on energy, education and health care this year."

So one might suppose that all the names and emails collected this weekend will be sent to our lawmakers in Washington in the form of a petition. Except that David Plouffe, Obama's former campaign director and an "advisor" to OFA, has emphatically stated that they will do no such thing.

Plouffe "stressed that Organizing for America is not aimed at twisting the arms of members of Congress but meant to keep activists engaged on issues such as health care, energy and the economy."

Syndicated columnist Dick Polman reported on January 29 that:

"Mr. Obama's aides emphasized that the effort was not created to lobby directly or pressure members of Congress to support Mr. Obama's programs... ‘This is not a political campaign,'' Mr. Plouffe said. ''This is not a 'call or e-mail your member of Congress' organization.''"

Whoops! Looks like Plouffe is out of the loop on that one. The OFA website prominently asks people to call Congress and helps them look up their representative's name and number. It even provides a script.

Now, it is confusing to see the Democratic National Committee asking for help to persuade the Democrat-led Congress and the Democrat-led Senate.

But according to OFA Director Stewart, ordinary folks like you are needed to combat "a Washington establishment that doesn't welcome change.... It's up to you to show Washington that Americans are demanding this new direction."

Okay, so who in Washington, exactly? Is the DNC going to give the names and emails to lobbyists? To Washington bureaucrats? That's doubtful. The sign-up sheet to be used for the pledge drive does not mention any privacy policy.

It does reveal (at the very bottom) that OFA is a project of the DNC. This might come as a surprise to dedicated Obama supporter Janine Poppa, who told the Dayton Daily News, "It is a nonpartisan effort, and I hope people believe it's nonpartisan, because we truly do need each other to move it forward."

Poor Ms. Poppa might be disillusioned to learn that the Florida Democratic State machine unabashedly bragged to the St. Petersburg Times that they were "preparing to tap into Barack Obama's grass roots machine to build the biggest political operation ever seen from the state party."

"The million-dollar question is how to translate the activism and enthusiasm that Barack Obama was able to create and translate it down the line,'' said Steve Schale, a Democratic consultant who managed Obama's Florida campaign. "That's the challenge, but fundamentally the state is better for Democrats than ever before because of what Barack Obama was able to do. It's still up to candidates to have compelling messages and drive up enthusiasm."

No doubt the Florida Dems will be getting another memo from Plouffe to remind them that OFA a movement "not to win an election, but to change this country."

Phillip Elliott reported in January that the extensive OFA email list is not even being shared with the DNC: "Party officials had hoped Obama would transfer his list of supporters to the party, a move that would put them in control of one of the most extensive campaign organizations in politics. Instead, Obama decided to keep ownership of that enormous campaign and install his own loyalists to run it."  This was done, Obama's aides insisted, in the name of being "post-partisan."

And Stewart and Plouffe, those idealistic grass-roots campaigners, stress that OFA is all about getting feedback from the Obama followers: "Mitch... believes so strongly in feedback, so we want to hear from you!"

The website is all about making "sure your voice is heard."

So tut-tut to Macon Phillips, the 30-year-old White House director of New Media, who told the New York Times that the OFA website "would give the White House another way to reach the public without having to rely on the mainstream news media." Doesn't he know that OFA is for people to communicate with their Leader, not for the Leader to send messages to his people?

Turns out even commenters at the Daily Kos are skeptical of the post-campaign uses of a campaign database.

"A small concern... again, small, but I need to voice it. I'd love to work like this to push for certain issues and policies I want to see enacted......however...I don't want to see this turn into some type of "permanent campaign". If anyone knows how the Obama administration is drawing that line I'd like to hear about it."

"There's no more campaigning to do.We won. Now it's up to us to usher in Obama's Age of Responsibility by working together to help fix America. The new goal is in service projects, not electioneering."

"I think it would be nice to include a smidge of something somewhere about the difference between governing and campaigning - it'd not only help answer any critics, but it would again draw another difference between the Obama administration and 8 years of Bush."

Whatever OFA is, David Plouffe at least thinks ''[t]his has obviously never been undertaken before. So it's going to be a little trial and error.'' As we noted on Wednesday, it seems as though OFA's organizers are ignorant of the lessons of history and of the sinister ambitions of leaders who created their own private organizations, loyal only to them.

[Fred Nerks]

I must be living in a different world. If someone came to my door in Australia asking for a pledge of loyalty to the Prime Minister, I would assume I had an escapee from a sanatorium standing in front of me.

[JimBianchi11]

If they knock on my door they will meet a giant 6”5”, 340lbs naked guy (With a gun in one hand behind the door) and a 100lb pissed off pit/lab mix.

If they can read the sign at the door they will not knock, other than that, I can’t help them.

[blackbart.223]

"Just look for the fresh-faced kids with the blue eyes, the blond hair, and the brown shirts."

Not in this particular case but the idea remains the same.

[familyop]

No thanks to Obama’s campaign for supporting the Government’s construction of health care, energy and education systems for the continuing oligarchy. Health care costs need to be cut down—not built up more for any inefficient system. Low-cost energy needs fewer regulations and special business interests working against the men who build. Education needs men instead of accusers full of pretended super-sensitivities.

And the constituents controlling the political parties should end their fight against fatherhood and working class families.

[Seeing More Clearly Now]

I’ll answer Obama’s them the same way I do Jehovah’s Witnessses who find their way to my door:

“Thank God we both live in a free country where we can each worship or not worship whomever we wish, without interference or pressure from anyone. You’re strong in your beliefs, as I am in mine. Bye, bye and have a nice day.”

[MindBender26]

75 years later, history repeats itself.

The death of 86-year-old Reichspräsident Paul von Hindenburg on August 2, 1934 removed the final obstacle to Adolf Hitler obtaining absolute power over Germany. Even before Hindenburg’s death, Hitler’s cabinet had enacted a law combining the offices of Chancellor (the head of government) and President (the head of state); Adolf Hitler would henceforth be known as Führer und Reichskanzler (Leader and Chancellor) and was both head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. The day of the President’s death, the cabinet ordered a plebiscite for August 19 for the German people to approve the combination of the two offices.

Germany’s voters went to the polls and 89.9% voted their approval for Hitler to assume complete power over Germany. The following day, August 20, 1934, the cabinet decreed the “Law On The Allegiance of Civil Servants and Soldiers of the Armed Forces”. (Gesetz über die Vereidigung der Beamten und der Soldaten der Wehrmacht), which superseded the original oaths. Prior to the decree, both members of the armed forces and civil servants had sworn loyalty to “the People and the Fatherland” (Volk und Vaterland); civil servants had additionally sworn to uphold the constitution and laws of Germany.

The new law decreed that instead, both members of the armed forces and civil servants would swear loyalty to Adolf Hitler.

Wehrmacht oath
I swear by God this sacred oath that I shall render unconditional obedience to Adolf Hitler, the Führer of the German Reich and people, supreme commander of the armed forces, and that I shall at all times be ready, as a brave soldier, to give my life for this oath.

Civil servant oath
I swear: I will be faithful and obedient to Adolf Hitler, Führer of the German Reich and people, to observe the law, and to conscientiously fulfil my official duties, so help me God.

Consequences
By swearing loyalty to the person of Adolf Hitler rather than the nation or the constitution, the officers and men of the armed forces found themselves bound by their honor to the Führer, even after Hitler had set out down the path to war and ordered the Wehrmacht to commit war crimes. Among the infamous crimes were atrocities in Poland and the Commissar Order in the Soviet Union.

As the dictator’s desire for war became increasingly clear in late 1938 during the Sudetenland crisis, a number of Wehrmacht officers hatched plans for a conspiracy against Hitler that was to be launched as soon as the dictator launched the invasion of Germany’s neighbor; the Munich Agreement put an end to the dispute as well as the plot against Hitler. Though historians cite a number of factors why Hitler’s opponents within the armed forces failed to act when they realized the dictator’s aims, their reluctance to violate their personal oath of loyalty is cited as a prominent factor.

[AmericanArchConservative]

I’ll gladly swear an oath...

It will start with something like, “Eff you, zer0...”

and it will finish off with a statement of loyalty to my G_D, and to the Constitution of the United States of America.

A.A.C.

[blackbart.223]

"If someone came to my door in Australia asking for a pledge of loyalty to the Prime Minister, I would assume I had an escapee from a sanatorium standing in front of me."

At some point I would say that was a safe assumption in The U.S. But things are a little crazy here now.

[TheCipher]

I'll sign "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."

Everyone should just sign with the name of the real power in the White House :

T.E. Le Prompter

[kenth]

Bravo! That was my exact thought process as to how I’d respond. Wow. :-)

[sloop]

mark levin had a suggestion about this

some of us don't see marching and stomping our feet as accomplishing much - i am not against it - but it is not changing anything - so we are looking for a specific action to perform to disrupt this freight train of hopeandchange

levin suggested that you step outside and have a discussion with the brownshirt - the longer you talk, the fewer doors the brownshirt can knock on

its a small thing - but multiplied by all of us, it could make an impact

[blackbart.223]

The problem we find ourselves in is not too many know history these days. Blind devotion to anyone can never have a good outcome.

[Hoosier-Daddy]

or George Soros

[mojitojoe]

Your special friend,
Love, Larry Sinclair

[Peter ODonnell]

People should take the opportunity to tell the O-bots that they want further information on the president, for example, a verified copy of his birth certificate. However, make sure you have witnesses and a safe escape route.

[jellybean]

I’ll sign mine “F U Barrack!”

[eclecticEel]

If they knocked on my door they’d hear some things I couldn’t repeat in polite company.

[Peter ODonnell]

How about signing

Kanweesee Yercolb

[digital-olive]

I look forward to some rejects knocking on my door.

[1035rep]

LOL!
It would be nice if we knew what the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES real name was.