Redstate

Posted at 11:01am on Apr. 15, 2008 Obama's statement causes anxiety, division among Dems

By Soren Dayton

Barack Obama's statement about "clinging to guns and religion" is causing real divisions and anxiety in Democratic ranks. TNR's John Judis, co-author of The Emerging Democratic Majority, wrote:

Some liberal commentators have downplayed the effect of Barack Obama's fundraising speech at a San Francisco fundraiser last week. But that's wishful thinking. ... his remarks in San Francisco will haunt him not only in the upcoming primaries in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia, but also in the general election against John McCain, assuming he gets the Democratic nomination.

For confirmation, just look at this from the $2,300 Obama donor who broke the story:

“I’m a religious person, and I grew up poor in a very wealthy family -- sometimes we didn’t have enough to eat, but my larger family was rich. Immediately, the remarks just really bothered me. For the first time, I realized he is an elitist.”

That's a real, live Obama-supporting liberal who feels a little alienated over this. How many more of those are there? Read on.

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Democratic Party | Elitism — Comments (12) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 7:18pm on Apr. 14, 2008 Barack's problem isn't 'bitter'

By Soren Dayton

Recall that Barack Obama said that Americans in "small towns" are "bitter" and therefore "cling to guns and religion." The Obama campaign has tried to focus on the "bitter" part, with the assist of the media, instead of the "cling to guns and religion" part. ABC's Jake Tapper gets it:

As Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and his allies have locked into damage control mode and attempted to explain his controversial remarks about small-town Pennsylvanians, they've attempted to focus their pushback away from the most controversial part of his remarks to an elite crowd at a San Francisco fundraiser. ...

While the description of small town Pennsylvanians as "bitter" is certainly impolitic, many political analysts say it's what follows that adjective that is potentially so alienating -- the notion that small town folks "get bitter" after which "they cling to guns or religion, or antipathy to people who aren't like them, or anti-immigrant sentiment, or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

You know who else gets it? Hillary Clinton. Her new ad doesn't even have the word "bitter". It is all about "cling[ing] to ... religion." Read on to watch the ad.

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Elitism | Media Bias | rich liberal elitists — Comments (9) / Email this page » / Read More »

Posted at 12:24am on Apr. 12, 2008 Will The Real Barack Obama Please Stand Up?

By Pejman Yousefzadeh

Either he does indeed owe Austan Goolsbee an apology, or Obama really is a protectionist and therefore antediluvian when it comes to trade issues. If the former, then Obama ought to issue his apology, back NAFTA and free trade and announce his support for the U.S.-Colombia trade pact. If the latter, then he should stop making protectionism sound like an affliction of the yokels who don't know better. He can't quite have it both ways, now can he.

As for the rest of Obama's commentary on small towns in Pennsylvania, well, I think that it will be very interesting to see just how much small town America likes being condescended to. You know, even if people don't live in cities with skyscrapers, they still vote.

Posted in 2008 | Barack Obama | Elitism — Comments (7)/ Email this page » / Read More »