Republicans will make US 'Third World' nation: Obama

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110415...20110415045805

Republicans will make US 'Third World' nation: Obama

CHICAGO (AFP) – US President Barack Obama accused Republicans of wanting to turn the United States into a "Third World" country as he rallied support for his reelection campaign.

The attack came a day after Obama savaged Republican budget plans and unveiled his $4-trillion deficit reduction drive that aims to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans in order to preserve key social services.

The debate over fiscal policy will prove critical to the 2012 campaign and Obama sought to frame it as a "stark choice" between investing in the future or watching the country fall apart.

"Under their vision, we can't invest in roads and bridges and broadband and high-speed rail," Obama told a select group of the Democratic faithful at the second of three fundraising events in his hometown of Chicago.

"I mean, we would be a nation of potholes, and our airports would be worse than places that we thought -- that we used to call the Third World, but who are now investing in infrastructure."

Republicans plans to shrink the reach of government is "not a vision that's impelled by the numbers" but a "choice" to give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the rich rather than ask those who've been "blessed" to "give a little more."

Obama said his vision is of an ambitious, compassionate, and caring America "where we're living within our means but we're still investing in our future."

"If we apply some practical common sense to this, we can solve our fiscal challenges and still have the America that we believe in," Obama told supporters at Chicago's N9ne restaurant.

"That's what this budget debate is going to be about. And that's what the 2012 campaign is going to be about."

The events in Chicago were Obama's first fundraisers since he officially launched his bid for a second term on April 4 and were expected to raise about two million dollars.

Analysts predict Obama -- who raised a record $750 million ahead of the 2008 election -- will build a billion-dollar war chest this time around.

Money won't be enough to win, senior advisor and 2008 campaign manager David Plouffe told a crowd of 2,300 supporters gathered in a ballroom at Navy Pier ahead of Obama's speech.

"If only the people who normally vote in presidential elections vote in this election it will be too close," Plouffe said as he urged supporters to get more people involved in the campaign.

"You've got to get these people to get involved and to vote so we can make sure that we succeed in this election."

Obama established his 2012 campaign headquarters in Chicago, the first time a presidential reelection campaign was not based in Washington.

He told supporters it was so the campaign would be "rooted in your hopes and rooted in your dreams" instead of influenced by Washington pundits and powerbrokers.

Obama reminded the cheering crowd of the sense of hope and possibility they felt when they celebrated his election as the first African American US president in Chicago's Grant Park.

"And yet, even as we celebrated -- you remember what I said back then? I said our work wasn't ending, our work was just beginning," Obama said.

"We've still got business to do. We are not finished.

"We've got to reclaim the American dream for all Americans. That's the change we still believe in."

Barring a dramatic turn, no major adversary from within his party is likely to challenge Obama, who turns 50 in August.

As for who might run against him from the Republican Party's ranks, uncertainty reigns.

Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney have taken the first official steps toward candidacy, while conservative former House speaker Newt Gingrich and even real estate mogul Donald Trump have hinted at challenging for the Republican nomination.

In less than a month, the 64-year-old Trump has jumped from 10 to 19 percent support among Republican voters, tying with former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, according to a CNN poll released this week.

Republican officials worry that the crowded field of possible White House hopefuls could end up helping Obama, who could be vulnerable as the US economy sputters its way out of its worst downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Dude, thanks to you, we're already there! Read the Comments left by readers at the very bottom, particularly the first one (quoted below) and the replies:

Classic case of transference: Obama accuses the Republicans of doing that which he is doing. There is no question that we've accelerated down the road toward third-world status since January 20, 2009.

Let's see, since the BHO regime came in, we have made the following changes: much higher inflation, a deflated currency, socialized medicine, decreasing relevance on the world stage economically, decreasing relevance on the world stage militarily, no more manned space program, freedom of speech attacked (BHO's Tucson pep rally speech), and we have an even more imperial president who uses taxpayer resources for personal vacations, golf and any other pastime which suits him.

All in all, we're becoming Venezuela - except that we have an oil drilling moratorium and they don't. And it's "the Republicans" who will make us a third world country? He's either ignorant or he thinks we are. Or both......

As is pointed out by Citizen64, this accusing others of what you are doing is a classic tactic taught by Karl Marx, and later by Saul Alinsky in Rules for Radicals:

'"The organizer's first job is to create the issues or problems,' and 'organizations must be based on many issues.' The organizer 'must first rub raw the resentments of the people of the community; fan the latent hostilities of many of the people to the point of overt expression. He must search out controversy and issues, rather than avoid them, for unless there is controversy people are not concerned enough to act. . . . An organizer must stir up dissatisfaction and discontent.'"

The whole Obama Presidency is so much like the late Seventies with Jimmy Carter that you could put swap heads on the two, and it would make little difference. Like the 70's, we have turmoil in the Middle East and wars, economic issues... and an incompetent in the White House.

And our President had the gull to say, "I think I can make that case, and I think that, in the debates that take place over the next 18 months, the American people will feel that I deserve a second term".

[southernrock]

Obama is as full of crap as the day is long, and his economic policies are turning us into us into an economic basket case, but Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress greased the skids for Obama, Pelosi, Reed and Company with their own profligate spending, and the Democrats and Republicans both have been turning the U.S. Into a Third World country for decades, via illegal immigration.

[southernrock]

turning us into us into

Mea culpa, mea culpa...

[Jonathan Randall]

If we continue these massive deficits, we will end up as a Third World Country.

Also, the corruption within the financial industry (banking, corporate accounting and tax dodging, credit raters, etc.) - something enabled by both parties - is going to take us there if it remains unchecked. See "Inside Job", a documentary on the housing and derivative markets that led to the 2008 crash. The documentary hits both parties as enablers of the corruption and irresponsibility that has so damaged the world markets. It is particularly unkind to the Obama Administration as well as the Federal Reserve.

[Ramirez]

If we continue these massive deficits, we will end up as a Third World Country.

Also, the corruption within the financial industry (banking, corporate accounting and tax dodging, credit raters, etc.) - something enabled by both parties - is going to take us there if it remains unchecked. See "Inside Job", a documentary on the housing and derivative markets that led to the 2008 crash. The documentary hits both parties as enablers of the corruption and irresponsibility that has so damaged the world markets. It is particularly unkind to the Obama Administration as well as the Federal Reserve.

As most on this board know this is a particular rant of mine, I still have to watch Inside Job (its on my queue in my version of Netflix), but Obama, Geithner, Paulsen are all complicit in not doing anything to prevent another financial meltdown, in fact I think they have just enabled the various investment banks , financial firms to set up yet another crisis.

Granted this goes back through various administrations, both Republican and Democrat and to be fair it wasn't just the US, the UK, the Europeans also had their fair share of corrupt practices.

It is absolutely serious, I doubt there is another issue as critical as this.

[Abbax8]

I can't stand to listen to either side talk about budget cuts or deficit reductions. each side is promoting plans that will save trillions of dollars in 6, 10 or 20 years.

GIVE ME A BREAK!!!!!!!!!

Forget about doing anything beyond 2012. Cut the budget NOW. Cut, in actual spending, the current budget by 15% now. The $3.7 Trillion budget loses $ 655 Billion now. No gimmicks, no off the books spending, trim it.

When they are working on 2013, cut it by 10%.

The deficit can only be dealt with systematically and long term. Less government spending, less government red tape that cripples businesses and less confiscatory taxes.

No one in my opinion should pay more in Total taxes (Federal/State/Local) than 30% of gross. That includes corporations.

Dennis

[Jonathan Randall]

No one in my opinion should pay more in Total taxes (Federal/State/Local) than 30% of gross. That includes corporations.

Dennis

Agreed. However; the economic growth that would result from such sound economic policy apparently frightens lawmakers.