Monday, October 27, 2008

Obama's Own Words

Barack Obama has remained a national enigma while riding a popular wave the last two years of campaigning. His response to 'Joe the Plumber' a couple of weeks ago revealed a preference for "spreading the wealth around" through tax policy.

Now, a recording from a radio interview (audio and transcript) at WBEZ in Chicago in 2001 reveals just how far Obama's views in favor of redistribution of wealth go.
But the Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth and sort of more basic issues of political and economic justice in this society. And to that extent as radical as people tried to characterize the Warren court, it wasn’t that radical. It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers in the Constitution, at least as it’s been interpreted, and the Warren court interpreted it in the same way that generally the Constitution is a charter of negative liberties. It says what the states can’t do to you, it says what the federal government can’t do to you, but it doesn’t say what the federal government or the state government must do on your behalf.

So he would like to have seen an economic equivalent of Roe v. Wade, which imposed abortion-on-demand on the nation even though no such requirement exists in the Constitution. However, he says he prefers a strategy of "political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalitions of power" to achieve his radical views.

So it is plainly obvious now what this election is about. No matter what your view on President Bush's performance, his administration will soon be history. The issue is is not just about competence, but about two radically different views on our way of life, a positive policy of freedom and growth v. redistribution.

One must ask, if Barack Obama thinks this "redistributive change" is such a great thing, why didn't he tell us all along? Why did it take a spontaneous conversation with a plumber and now a 2001 radio interview uncovered one week before the election for this world view to become publicly known?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

10-28-08
Beijing, China
Unassociated Fictional Press

The Government of The Peoples Republic of China has unanimously
endorsed McCain/Palin for President of the United States.

"They are our kind of leaders!" says a Government spokesperson.
"They understand that business and the government should be in control,
not the silly workers, or 'people' as they sometimes call themselves.
Also, we understand the Republic concept. It is Democracy we find
distasteful."

A leading General, who wished to remain anonymous, had this to say
about President McCain: "We planted many post-hypnotic suggestions
in our former P.O.W.'s mind and we are beside ourselves with
anticipation at having the opportunity to trigger them and have control
of the white house without even having to wage a war..."

"And if that fails," a second anonymous official pipes in "it's not like
George W. Bush did not already sell it to us anyway."


P.S. We sure hope that Sarah Palin and her corrupt comrade Ted Stevens dream of
a free Alaska comes true someday so we can do serious business.