I know it's late but I've been gone camping for the past week and just walked in the door (and then took a shower,...

I know it's late but I've been gone camping for the past week and just walked in the door (and then took a shower, then played with my dog, then unpacked and now on G+).

I'm meeting with a woman from Barack Obama 's campaign tomorrow morning and I need a list of items Obama should have fought harder against the GOP, shouldn't have given the GOP their way and items his cabinet shouldn't have done at all. This includes, less transparent government, secret courts/trials, the NDAA, government intrusion on privacy rights, etc.

Thanks,

Comments

John Bump said…
I wish I had more time and weren't so sleepy. He appears to have increased the scope of warrantless wiretapping. I don't care so much about the NDAA because as far as I can tell it's been exactly the same for the last 8 years and only this year did it become a big deal, probably for political rather than real reasons (but I may be wrong about that.) I'm frustrated by the DEA and FDA stepping up enforcement of federal marijuana laws in states where state law allows for some marijuana leniency -- although I do understand why that's the case. I just don't like it.
I'm very frustrated that the CIA is still running secret prisons in foreign countries, as was disclosed, what, two weeks ago? with one in Poland.
Maybe I'm misunderstanding the situation here, but this request doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. So you're actually getting a meeting with someone from the Obama campaign, and you're just going to give her a list of complaints?
Jason ON said…
John Bump that's the sort of thing I'm looking for.

Jon Eric , no it's not just a list of complaints. I, like a lot of people, bought into the message of Hope and Change only to feel like we've been sold a lemon with Obama's staying the Bush course.

Unfortunately, between making this appointment and the appointment itself I've been camping as far from a cell signal as I could get. In short, I haven't had time to do the research myself into all the points where Obama failed to meet his promise of a different future than Bush was giving us.

I just need some reminders so I can go there with something to talk about.
Well, that's fair, I guess, but to what end? I mean, forgive me for not being more familiar with your political agenda, but are you trying to make the aware of points they should focus on in the upcoming election? Do you believe that the campaign isn't already familiar with the complaints against them?

I guess I'm just confused because I'm not sure what the purpose of your meeting is.
Jason ON said…
Does it matter what the purpose of the meeting is? I asked for some help in reminding me of some of the things I've been reading about for years and can't recall offhand. If you don't want to help, that's fine -- I take no offense.
I think it should be fairly obvious that the purpose of the meeting is important. Knowing why you're compiling a list like this can inform the nature of suggestions. For instance, are these agenda items that might actually make it to the president's desk? Or are these things he intends to focus on for the campaign trail? Or are you just adding one more voice to a chorus of complaints just because you can? Or is it something I haven't thought of?

The answer to your initial question varies a lot depending on the scenario of the meeting. Is this representative of the Obama campaign meeting you because she feels you have something to bring to the table, or because she feels that you're someone she needs to placate? Will this meeting be cooperative or combative?

To some extent, the answers to these questions will decide whether I'd like to participate in your survey at all, but to another extent, they actually do have an effect on the answers you're going to get. For instance, if the items you discuss have the potential to actually affect Obama's political agenda, I'd be a lot more likely to talk about the Citizens United ruling (against which action can still be taken) than I would be to complain about NDAA (which is already signed into law, and therefore too late to change).

If you're talking about campaign points, then it would be more productive to talk about issues which have been slowed or blocked by an uncooperative partisan congress, such as budget approvals, tax increases, and the health care bill.

In short: context matters. And if you're not willing to reveal even the most general details about what sort of meeting you're planning, then I'm afraid you're not likely to get much more help (at least, not in the next twelve hours, or however long it is until your meeting) than you've gotten already.
Jason Vines said…
This might help: http://www.postlibertarian.com/2012/03/218-reasons-not-to-vote-for-obama/ . I don't necessarily endorse this list because I haven't read it all yet, but what I've seen looks useful.
John Bump said…
Candidates need feedback so they can tailor their message, and they need to know relative importance of different priorities. Like every politican ever, Obama campaigned to his base to get nominated, towards the middle to get elected, and then compromised to get legislation passed. Now it's the responsibility of his base to provide a critique for the next round.

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