SP4: You see...May 20th, 2008 - 23:04:39

McCain is the only person in the race who has firsthand knowledge of what communists are really like....

He understands them...perfectly.

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Obama gets money from teamsters, ends oversightMay 20th, 2008 - 23:19:12

The New Republic

The Local by John B. Judis

The Teamsters in Chicago are continually linked to organized crime--so why is a presidential candidate from that city promising to end federal oversight of the union?

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that last summer, Illinois Senator Barack Obama told officials in the Teamsters union that he favored ending the Independent Review Board (IRB) that was created in 1989 by the federal government to rid the union of organized crime. Tommy Vietor, a spokesman for Obama, confirmed the story, saying that the candidate believed that the IRB had 'run its course' because 'organized crime influence in the union has drastically declined.' The Teamsters subsequently endorsed Obama for president, in late February.

Obama and the Teamsters bristled at suggestions that any deal was made. The Obama campaign also circulated a tape of a speech that Senator Hillary Clinton made last March to the Teamsters saying 'at some point the past has to be opened,' but Clinton's statement, like those made by Senator John Kerry in 2004, stopped well short of committing her to end oversight of the Teamsters. Based on the statements the newspaper quoted, it is fair to assume that The Wall Street Journal got the details right.

There are two reasons to be concerned about Obama's actions here. The first is procedural. Obama's promise to close down the IRB suggests a Bush-like contempt for the customary relationship between government and the judicial process. The president himself can't shut down the IRB. He can only recommend to his attorney general that he recommend to the U.S. Attorney in New York that it be shut down. But in these kind of touchy matters, presidents usually defer to the judgment of their attorney generals. By coming close to promising a shutdown, Obama was putting politics above judicial procedure--which is just the kind of 'Washington' behavior that he likes to criticize his opponents for doing.

The second reason for concern is more substantive. Labor leaders have made plausible arguments for shutting down the IRB, but a Chicago politician should be extremely wary of acceding to them. If there is continuing mob influence in the Teamsters, it is probably centered in the Chicago area. And in the last decade, the Teamsters in Chicago have shown little enthusiasm for rooting out corruption in their ranks. As a veteran Chicago politician surrounded by a veteran Chicago campaign staff, Obama had to have known this--and that makes his warm words to the Teamsters all the more disturbing.

Read the rest:
tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=6e55fd8c-4774-4a3c-ae00-e2004369fbec

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Juntas and dictatorships for Obama!May 20th, 2008 - 23:36:53

'Obama aides campaign denied McCain charges that their campaign was soft on Cuba...'

Looks like Barack has found another dictator he wants to appease.

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PperfectMay 20th, 2008 - 23:51:52

OOOOOOOO be very afraid of a country that can be completely wiped out with one bomb. They are so scary, their airforce, their navy, their army, all are really scary. I think they may invade Idaho, be very afraid. What a joke you conservatives have become.

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to: Obama gets moneyMay 21st, 2008 - 01:36:54

another piece of SP trash littering the landscape. Absolutely nothing to do with the story.

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robertMay 21st, 2008 - 01:38:24

so if you people like the high price of gas high price of food no jobs vote for mccain in the fall

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EssPee saysMay 21st, 2008 - 01:42:45

SP4: You see...
McCain is the only person in the race who has firsthand knowledge of what communists are really like....
He understands them...perfectly.

There are thousands, if not millions in the world that understand americans...perfectly.
That they are a pack of torturers, murderers, desecrators, lying thieving ignorant savages and outright pigs.

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???May 21st, 2008 - 02:01:59

Why shouldn't a U.S. President meet with dissent leaders of other countries? Ignoring them won't make them go away and meetings can only shed more light on where and why they stand where they do. Hothead McCain doesn't have all the answers.

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You are such an idiot.May 21st, 2008 - 02:33:16

'OOOOOOOO be very afraid of a country that can be completely wiped out with one bomb.'

Ironic, that is EXACTLY what the Iranians say about Israel.

'They are so scary, their airforce, their navy, their army, all are really scary. '

They have caused plenty of trouble in Africa and the Caribbean, they used to have atomic bombs aimed at us you moron. They oppress their own people, and you seem to think that is fine.

'I think they may invade Idaho'

How many people from the USA have escaped to Cuba?

Why don't you be the first, loser.

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and you rank right up there neo-conMay 22nd, 2008 - 02:06:11

'They have caused plenty of trouble in Africa and the Caribbean, they used to have atomic bombs aimed at us you moron. They oppress their own people, and you seem to think that is fine.'

The key words here are 'used to', you freaking moron! Go there and see how much oppression you see, go out in the country and see, but that would mean you would have to face the facts. The US government has hurt the people of Cuba much more than Cuba's government---stupid.

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