| # | Name | Comments |
|---|
| 301 | Thomas Dublin | |
| 302 | Melody James | Theater activist & education advocate |
| 303 | Isaac Balbus | |
| 304 | Karen Johnson-Trupkin | |
| 305 | Kathryn Simmons | |
| 306 | william Eeickson | |
| 307 | Michael Balter | |
| 308 | Roberta Garbarini-Philippe | |
| 309 | James & Evelyn Rivers | We love the word "progressive," for it is positive, hopeful, dynamic, kinetic, inclusive and open-ended. |
| 310 | Kenneth Sholl | |
| 311 | donald mccaig | author |
| 312 | Carol Bishop | I am supporting Barack Obama, and join your campaign. It is encouraging to see so many young people rallying to this movement. |
| 313 | Jay Mazur | I think Progressives for Obama may be an important beginning for progressives in the electoral arena |
| 314 | Dave Lowitzki | |
| 315 | Reber Boult | |
| 316 | Stephanie Dillon Hamm | Thank you, Tom et al, for creating this option for those of us yearning for extensive progressive change in our country. |
| 317 | Mike Hodas | The last best chance during my lifetime to see potential progressive change. |
| 318 | Kali Tal | |
| 319 | John K. Wilson | Author, "Barack Obama: This Improbable Quest." |
| 320 | Thomas Vietorisz | |
| 321 | Diana Dutton | |
| 322 | Halsted Holman | |
| 323 | Michael J. Duberstein | |
| 324 | Maury King | |
| 325 | Mark Sheehan | |
| 326 | Robert M. Silberfarb | |
| 327 | Robert M. Silberfarb | |
| 328 | Robert Silberfarb | |
| 329 | Irene Bowie | |
| 330 | Devra Weber | |
| 331 | Chris Kearin | |
| 332 | Bob Brown | Thanks for starting this. Barack is our best hope for change,but we need to keep letting him know we are tired of the neocons running this country. |
| 333 | Daniel Ellsberg | |
| 334 | Anonymous | |
| 335 | John Clark | |
| 336 | John Gunlogson | Vietnam era veteran with Lou Gehrig's Disease |
| 337 | ariel dorfman | |
| 338 | Eddie Eitches | |
| 339 | Mark Kleiman | |
| 340 | Jonathan Katz | |
| 341 | Thad Williamson | |
| 342 | John Patton | |
| 343 | Betty Reid Soskin | |
| 344 | Charles Schwartz | More than Obama himself is the importance of giving a voice to a constituency that has been voiceless for far too long under the reign of the Bush Crime Family |
| 345 | Ward Morrow | |
| 346 | Steve Weissman | |
| 347 | Ronald Colthirst | |
| 348 | Herbert M. Cole | |
| 349 | Jeffrey B. Perry | |
| 350 | Bill Benet | Why I support Senator Obama
In 2004 I ran (unsuccessfully) as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention pledged to Dennis Kucinich. Until early this year I continued to support Dennis because his positions on the issues most closely match mine. However, prior to the New York Primary, I switched my support to Barack Obama.
The human species, having come to dominate our planet, now stands at a crossroads. We are at a point where our own actions threaten the very survival of our species and perhaps all species on the planet. We are confronted by four great threats to our survival. I believe it is entirely possible that unless we take significant action within the next ten years, any of these four threats may reach a tipping point where our survival is no longer within our hands.
The first great threat is the escalating catastrophic destruction of our environment, most exemplified by man-made global warming. Second is the barbaric violence unleashed around the world through a belief in, and embracing of, militarism by so many nations and peoples, particularly the US. Third is the crushing poverty and joblessness for vast numbers of people on our planet resulting in increasing starvation and sickness among the worlds’ poor. Fourth is the deliberate inculcation among the general public of nihilism, despair, resignation, passivity, compliance and/or acceptance regarding these oppressive conditions. These threats all stem from the same root cause: the tyranny of unchecked corporate power, in both the workplace and society, which now dominates the decision making of most nations.
So why am I supporting Senator Obama? While he has indicated his intention to take on the entrenched corporate power that threatens our democracy and our survival, there are few issues where I agree with Senator Obama on the specifics of the changes we need to bring about. However, there are four elements that I believe will need to be in place for any President to bring about the changes we need.
First, the President must be willing to take those actions that will enable that change. I can only hope that, based not just on Senator Obama’s rhetoric, but also his background with NYPIRG and as a community organizer in Chicago, that when given the chance he will rise to the occasion.
Second, to be elected as a Democrat in 2008, any candidate will need to generate a huge turnout that will overcome any attempts to steal the election. Senator Obama has demonstrated that he can inspire people to believe in something bigger than themselves. The young, independents, the dispossessed, even Republicans are flocking to his politics of meaning and hope. I believe he can turn out the numbers that no vote fixing will be able to stop.
Third, once elected, any President will need a significantly increased Democratic majority in Congress to ensure that there are enough votes to overcome the entrenched corporate interests within both the Republican and Democratic caucuses. This will only happen if Obama actually turns out the record number of voters that I believe he is capable of doing.
But fourth and most importantly, any President will need a movement made up of grassroots Americans who demand the changes we need. FDR was famous for looking at progressive proposals and telling those who supported them, “I support this, now go out and make me do it.” No President will make the changes needed, in the face of the corporate power that will attempt to block those changes, unless the American people rise up and force that change to occur. It is not enough to go to the polls on Election Day. Democracy demands more of us. It demands that we become effective participants in the day-to-day struggle for the legislation and polices we need to ensure our survival. The corporations are engaged in that participation on an ongoing basis. We can, and must, do no less.
Barack Obama may be able to put in place the first three elements required for the changes that are necessary. Only we can put that fourth element in place. |