Cats 4 Obama

Happy Halloween!

 

Cats4Obama wishes you a Happy Halloween!  

If you haven't voted yet, get out there and vote or get your mail in ballot turned in.

- Midnight
   www.cats4obama.com

Sarah Palin Taking McCain down

At Cats4Obama, we were never impressed with Sarah Palin and within a few days we discovered all kinds of reasons to find the prospect of her even being on a major party ticket as crazy as the people who repeat over and over that she is somehow qualified to be VP of the USA.  We couldn't wait to see her sent packing back to Alaska. 

Now that the polls are showing that Sarah Palin is even more of a negative on John McCain's popularity than George Bush, we have reason to hope that Palin will depart after this campaign not to return to the national political scene.  Editor and Publisher wrote today that not just the national polls but also newspaper editorials are evidence of Palin being a major drag on the Republican ticket.

Two new national polls show that voters cite [the Palin] choice as the main reason they have turned from McCain. Indeed, his slippage in the poll began in September after his convention bounce, and before the financial crisis truly hit, as media vetting on Palin began and she ventured out for her first TV interview. But here is another measure: the brutal criticism of that pick in newspaper editorial endorsements of his opponent -- from GOP-leaning papers that endorsed George W. Bush.

Many of them cited his Palin pick as a key reason for switching sides this time around. As the Chicago Tribune, which backed a Democrat for president for the first time in its history, frankly declared,
“McCain failed in his most important executive decision."

If Editor and Publisher's logic is correct, Palin, not the economy, started McCain's current drop in the polls!  How about that - it confirms our first instinct that the selection of Palin sealed an Obama victory.

Now everyone -  get out and vote!

-Starbuck
www.cats4obama.com

 

 

Obama Decisive Lead in Endorsements

Senator Barack Obama has gained an increasing number of endorsements from across the political spectrum.  Most notable this week is the endorsement by General Colin Powell. 

In addition, we cats found the site Editor and Publisher which keeps track of all newspaper endorsements.  As of Wednesday, October 22nd, Obama is winning the newspaper endorsement race by a landslide of 124 to 46 for McCain.  In addition to the raw numbers, Obama has the endorsement of 27 newspapers that endorsed the Republican in 2004 and McCain has only picked up 4 endorsements from newspapers that backed the Democrat in 2004.  We think that some of these endorsements are worth quoting...

SALT LAKE TRIBUNE (UTAH)
“Then, out of nowhere, and without proper vetting, the impetuous McCain picked Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate. She quickly proved grievously underequipped to step into the presidency should McCain, at 72 and with a history of health problems, die in office. More than any single factor, McCain's bad judgment in choosing the inarticulate, insular and ethically challenged Palin disqualifies him for the presidency.”

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE (PA)
"this election is not just about the shortcomings of Mr. McCain and Ms. Palin and the failed legacy of a philosophy that they seek to perpetuate under the hastily erected banner of maverick.

It is about the strengths of Barack Obama, whose rise to prominence is not a fluke or national infatuation but the consequence of his remarkable skills -- a keen intellect, noble intentions and the wit and grace to express them in ways that have inspired millions across the country. He has a rare gift exactly suited to the fearful times -- he knows the language of reassurance and hope.

If his were just empty words, this would be just another cheap political gift. But what he says is carefully considered.... Mr. Obama has been the voice of moderation, combining common sense and compassion on issue after issue. When the subject turns to foreign policy, supposedly Mr. McCain's strong suit, Mr. Obama gives no indication that he will have to learn on the job."

CHICAGO TRIBUNE (ILLINOIS)

"On Nov. 4 we're going to elect a president to lead us through a perilous time and restore in us a common sense of national purpose.

The strongest candidate to do that is Sen. Barack Obama. The Tribune is proud to endorse him today for president of the United States.

We have known Obama since he entered politics a dozen years ago. We have watched him, worked with him, argued with him as he rose from an effective state senator to an inspiring U.S. senator to the Democratic Party's nominee for president.

We have tremendous confidence in his intellectual rigor, his moral compass and his ability to make sound, thoughtful, careful decisions. He is ready.

We do, though, think Obama would govern as much more of a pragmatic centrist than many people expect.We know first-hand that Obama seeks out and listens carefully and respectfully to people who disagree with him. He builds consensus. He was most effective in the Illinois legislature when he worked with Republicans on welfare, ethics and criminal justice reform.

He worked to expand the number of charter schools in Illinois--not popular with some Democratic constituencies.

He took up ethics reform in the U.S. Senate--not popular with Washington politicians.

His economic policy team is peppered with advisers who support free trade. He has been called a "University of Chicago Democrat"--a reference to the famed free-market Chicago school of economics, which puts faith in markets.

We are proud to add Barack Obama's name to Lincoln's in the list of people the Tribune has endorsed for president of the United States."

Finally, in addition to newspapers many, many others have endorsed Obama.  We found what looks like a pretty complete list on Wikipedia. In addition to all the politicians and celebrities on the list, there are some very accomplished economist, quite a few military leaders, and organizations like the Sierra Club.

Why should you care about endorsements?  Endorsements in the papers are very well written and are thoughtful examinations of the key issues of the campaign.  Although there are a few common ideas in many Obama endorsements, reading or listening to them also gives an idea of the diverse reasons why people support Obama.  They remind us of the movement of enthusiasm for Obama and they often reiterate our own thinking.  These are our reasons for being interested in endorsements.

-Midnight
   www.cats4obama.com

Obama to give Americans Kitties!

Cat Lovers Rejoice!  Thanks to David Letterman and the Late Show video editors we now have this exclusive footage of Barack Obama promising to give every American a Kitty.  Clearly the strong grassroots feline support has gotten his attention! 

And if that weren't enough fun for one post, in this same clip we see that McCain has secretly promised to vote for Barack Obama.

If for some reason you don't see the embedded video below, watch it on YouTube.

-Apollo
   www.cats4obama.com

Top 10 Reasons to Vote for Obama

The Cats4Obama editorial team met at length to narrow down our long list of great reasons to vote Obama/Biden to the top 10. 

1. Smart and well educated.  We don't think we can take any more years of less than brilliant leadership in the White House.  The President of the United States has to be one of the hardest jobs in the world and we want Obama with his brilliant mind and great education.

2. Great leadership skills.  We've all seen the calm, smart and even tempered way that Barack Obama has handled the current economic situation.  He also has demonstrated leadership and executive acumen beyond other candidates in the effective management of a huge and groundbreakingly well executed campaign organization.

3. Good economic plans.  Obama talks about help for the middle class and not support for corporations who send American jobs overseas or banks who make poor business decisions.  Obama's approach to the economic crisis both before and since the most recent problems has been well received by well respected economists. Warren Buffet supports Obama, 4 Nobel laureates in Economics endorse Obama, three former SEC chairs endorse Obama - two of them Republicans - and former Fed Chair Paul Volcker endorses Obama.

4. Fair tax plans. Obama's plan will be neutral to inequality - today's tax structure increases inequality between rich and poor.  Furthermore, 95% of Americans will pay lower taxes under the Obama plan.  Finally, it is more fiscally responsible than the plan proposed by McCain. Tax Policy Center. Our post on Taxes.

5. Health care system that works. Every year my family's health care costs increase even though they have good health insurance through their employer. It is becoming unreasonably expensive even to have minor health concerns.  We love the plan Obama proposes because it's a great balance between private sector and government.  We can keep our insurance but our costs will go down and others will be able to get the same health insurance the government currently provides to Senators and members of Congress.

6. Best policy on fighting terrorism.  Barack Obama was not in the US Senate when we first went to war in Iraq but he spoke out against the invasion of Iraq even at that time warning that it was a mistake to decrease our focus on the real war on terror in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Obama's policy proposal for ending the current conflict in Iraq was so good it has been the template for an agreement by Iraq and US leaders. Obama has articulated appropriate strategies for Afghanistan which have been echoed by our leading military commanders in recent weeks.

7. Energy Independence. Obama's plan is not based on unrealistic ideas about oil drilling but combines openness to drilling with a comprehensive plan for becoming completely independent from Middle East and Venezuelan Oil within 10 years.  The Obama/Biden plan make this a reality through specific programs like one to help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.

8. Best on women's health.  Obama has a long record of support for women's health issues. He supports Roe v Wade and keeping the government out of moral and health decisions which women need to be trusted to make responsibly.  Furthermore, he puts emphasis where we think it should be - on creating the economic and social conditions which reduce the rate of abortions - because no one is pro-abortion.

9. True supporter of animals.  Obama and Biden both have solid records in support of animal rights.  The Humane Society Legislative Fund has endorsed Obama/Biden and urges all who care about animals to vote for Obama.

10. Best record on veteran's issues. Obama and Biden both have received high grades from veteran's organizations because they vote to support both active duty and veterans.  Obama and Biden received a "B" from the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans and an 80% and 75% respectively from the Disabled American Veterans.  See Blue Star Families for Obama for a lot more good information about why active and retired military and their families are supporting Obama/Biden. Here's the complete McCain record on Veterans issues - if you compare you see why Obama is clearly the best choice on this issue.

- Midnight, Apollo & Starbuck
   www.cats4obama.com

Hope in a Box 2

Midnight is hoping for...

A President who is fiscally responsible!

www.cats4obama.com

Cats4Obama Editorial Meeting

The Cats 4 Obama team working on their top 10 reasons to vote for Barack Obama:

-Midnight, Starbuck & Apollo
   www.cats4obama.com

Sarah Palin's UnAmerican Activities

One thing you may know about felines is that we are not capable of hypocrisy. Since that's the case, we don't tolerate it well either.  It turns out, if the Republicans believe in guilt by association, they have a much bigger problem than the Democrats this year.

As the ugliness of this presidential election increases, Sarah Palin started making more and more pointed comments about Barack Obama's connection to William Ayers.  This is a connection that has been well and thoroughly refuted in the past as having no substance.

But what about Palin's actual involvement in an organization which is so unAmerican it wants Alaska to secede from the United States and become its own country?  The Alaska Independence Party (AIP) is Alaska's largest political party after Republican and Democratic parties.  Todd Palin was a registered member of the AIP from 1995 to 2002 at which point he re-registered as an Independent.  In addition to her husband's membership in this group, Sarah Palin has spoken at several of their conventions - even one earlier this year where she told the AIP membership, "Keep up the good work...."

Why is a strong connection to AIP something that actually should matter in this election?  In a Salon.com article this week, author David Talbot, states the Alaska Independence Party founder, the "raging anti-American" Joe Vogler,:

... wasn’t just a blowhard either. He put his secessionist ideas into action, working to build AIP membership to 20,000 — an impressive figure by Alaska standards — and to elect party member Walter Hickel as governor in 1990.

Vogler’s greatest moment of glory was to be his 1993 appearance before the United Nations to denounce United States “tyranny” before the entire world and to demand Alaska’s freedom. The Alaska secessionist had persuaded the government of Iran to sponsor his anti-American harangue.

So Sarah Palin and her husband have a strong connection to an organization which was actively working with Iran to forward their secessionist agenda!  In this video, the founder of the AIP speaks about his views on the USA and Sarah Palin addresses the AIP convention.

- Apollo
   www.cats4obama.com

McCain/Palin Debate Moments that Should Scare You

With the election in its final days and political attacks taking center stage, Midnight wants you not to forget two very scary things!  Sarah Palin and John McCain each said one very telling and very ominous thing in their debates.  Take these two at their word and you will be scared, very scared.

Sarah Palin: Dick Cheney is a role model

At the VP debate, Sarah Palin was asked about the role of the Vice President and she said that she agreed with Dick Cheney that "we have a lot of flexibility in there." The NYTimes, in an editorial on October 4th, said that:

It is hard to tell from Ms. Palin’s remarks whether she understands how profoundly Dick Cheney has reshaped the vice presidency — as part of a larger drive to free the executive branch from all checks and balances. Nor did she seem to understand how much damage that has done to American democracy.

Transcripts (courtesy of CNN) show that Palin is in fact talking about the move by Cheney to argue that he was not subject to the laws governing the executive branch because he was not part of the executive branch.  This was a move at least in part to avoid scrutiny of Cheney's possibly illegal activity.  As a country we cannot take another VP as dangerous as Cheney.

IFILL: Governor, you mentioned a moment ago the constitution might give the vice president more power than it has in the past. Do you believe as Vice President Cheney does, that the Executive Branch does not hold complete sway over the office of the vice presidency, that it it is also a member of the Legislative Branch?

PALIN: Well, our founding fathers were very wise there in allowing through the Constitution much flexibility there in the office of the vice president. And we will do what is best for the American people in tapping into that position and ushering in an agenda that is supportive and cooperative with the president's agenda in that position. Yeah, so I do agree with him that we have a lot of flexibility in there, and we'll do what we have to do to administer very appropriately the plans that are needed for this nation.

John McCain: We'll buy up mortgages and renegotiate them

This sounds innocuous enough - in fact the current bailout plan calls for something like this.  But McCain insisted in the debate that this was his idea and that it was new.  Why?  What McCain is now proposing is an extremely expensive plan that will give banks full value for failing mortgages and then renegotiate the mortgages to the current market value - which still may not be affordable to the homeowner!  With this plan the banks win, the homeowners might win, but the taxpayers are going to absorb the losses on loans that exceed the value of the homes. Essentially it rewards banks for their poor lending decisions.  Here's a picture that explains why McCain's new plan completely screws over the American taxpayer and gives our money to banks.

Lest you think Cats are the only ones complaining loudly about this horrible proposal, here are a few reactions from liberal and conservative observers:

Paul Krugman says it "manages to take everything that's wrong with the Paulson plan and make it worse." Brad DeLong: "Out of the blue, McCain has just proposed a large, no-strings-attached gift of taxpayer cash to bank executives who failed at their business of risk management, and to bank shareholders who failed at their business of hiring executives. That's simply corrupt."

The National Review says "Here's what's wrong with McCain's new housing proposal: it can't improve on current law without rewarding an unacceptable amount of bad behavior." And finally, the Wall Street Journal notes that it "appears to offer no upside for taxpayers."

- Midnight
   www.cats4obama.com

10 Reasons to Vote against McCain

At Cats 4 Obama, we've put together this list of our top reasons you should NOT vote for McCain/Palin.  Maybe you're already convinced.  Consider sending a link to this page to anyone you know who is leaning McCain or print it out and hand it around!  We have included links so that you can read more and follow our research if you would like.

1. Supports Deregulation - John McCain was a key proponent of the deregulation of Wall Street and Banks which lead to our current economic crisis.  John McCain says now that he's all about regulations but his record shows something entirely different.
2. Influenced by Lobbyists - John McCain's campaign is dominated by lobbyists for a variety of industries. He says that he will put lobbyists out of business but it is unlikely that lobbyists like his campaign manager would really be working night and day to be put out of business.  His history in the Keating 5 shows that he can be extremely influenced by contributors to his campaign.
3. Poor record on Veterans issues - Given his status as a veteran and the way he talks about veterans, you'd think McCain was a great supporter of Vets.  In reality, his record on Veteran's issues is dismal.  He has voted against quite a few significant pieces of legislation including voting against important health care improvements and against the modern GI bill. See Vet Voice for a careful listing of McCain's poor record on Veteran's issues and Veteran Report Card.
4. Wrong about Iraq - John McCain voted for the invasion of Iraq and has stated we should stay in Iraq for how ever many years it takes to achieve an undefinable victory.  McCain likes to talk about the surge because it is the only position he's taken on Iraq that is defensible.  McCain was wrong about weapons of mass destruction, Iraq's connection to terror, the ease of the war, and how we would be greeted.
5. Unethical behavior- John McCain used to be known as an honorable man, a maverick, and a straight talker.  His behavior over the last 2 years has destroyed that reputation.  Now he presides over a campaign that has launched multiple lie filled ad campaigns.  He has lost the support of many who used to admire him and he has been called a liar by mainstream news outlets. See 'How McCain Lost Me' by his former biographer and Time Magazine on his lies.
6. Wants to Overturn Roe v. Wade - John McCain has made it clear that overturning Roe v. Wade is a goal.  He is very likely to have the opportunity to appoint enough new Supreme Court judges to make that happen.
7. Impulsive Decision Making Style - John McCain's behavior and decision making in the last month has raised many questions about his ability to lead our country.  His erratic and seemingly impulsive responses to the current economic crisis gives a picture of an unsteady hand on the tiller.  Many from all parts of the political spectrum have criticized the haste with which he made his VP pick. The fact that Palin is currently under investigation for ethics violations plus she has no national experience leads many to conclude that she was an irresponsible choice.  McCain said in his 2002 autobiography, Worth The Fighting For, "I make them (decisions) as quickly as I can, quicker than the other fellow, if I can. Often my haste is a mistake, but I live with the consequences without complaint."   
8. Tax cuts for the Wealthy - John McCain's tax plan has been evaluated by nonpartisan tax experts and that analysis shows quite clearly that McCain's plan, because of the huge tax breaks it gives to the wealthy and corporations, is much more expensive and fiscally irresponsible.  McCain's plan would decrease tax revenue by 4.2 Trillion over 10 years and add 5.1 Trillion to our national debt.  Objective analysis shows Obama's plan to benefit the vast majority of Americans more than McCain's plan.  McCain's tax plan also creates greater inequality between rich and poor.
9. Anti-Animal record - The Humane Society Action Fund endorsed Obama/Biden because they argue that a McCain/Palin administration would be a disaster for animals and wildlife.  McCain votes in favor of animals only 20 to 25% of the time. You can also see our earlier post on animal issues.
10. Lack of intellect- We have seen over the last 8 years the negative consequences of having an incurious and anti-intellectual president.  The US presidency is probably one of the very most difficult jobs on the planet and it requires a great intellect.  John McCain graduated near the bottom of his class, has no graduate education, and has admitted his lack of knowledge on key subjects like the economy.  We need a well educated and intellectually curious president and McCain does not meet that criteria.

These are the cat's top 10 reasons not to vote McCain.  Think we missed an important one?  Want to share your top 10 anti-McCain list?  Post a comment using the link right below this article!

- Midnight, Starbuck & Apollo
  www.cats4obama.com