Three Times Barack Obama Suggested Terrorism And National Security Shouldn’t Be A Wedge Issue In Politics
President Obama has come under fire from conservatives for his use of Osama Bin Laden’s death in an attack ad on Mitt Romney. The Obama campaign has defended the politicizing of Bin Laden’s death, but the President himself has argued in the past that terrorism and national security shouldn’t be used as a wedge issue in politics.
1. Obama in 2006: I have had enough of using terrorism as a wedge issue in our politics
2. Obama in 2007 on 9/11: A tragedy meant to united us is being used as a political wedge issue used to divide us
3. Obama in 2009: We will not be safe if we see national security as wedge issue that divides America
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misscarter a year agoThe problem with this post is that it presumes without making the case that this is actually a “wedge issue.” Perhaps it could be persuasively made but on its own, the claim isn’t convincing enough to support this post. Whatever the merits of touting the bin Laden strike, it’s not really of the same caliber as the “wedge issues” around national security and terrorism that were being thrown around during 2008. What Obama was referring to then was the “you’re either with us or you’re against us” rhetoric that characterized dissent and advocacy for civil liberties as treasonous and anti-American. Political hyperventilating about whether it’s appropriate to use the bin Laden strike as campaign material is to be expected, but it’s not a contentious issue of substance, it’s not a debate about the strike itself. The more noteworthy story about Obama’s 2008 vs. 2012 national security rhetoric is the absolute evaporation of civil liberties as a platform issue or an area of reform, and an area where there’s been absolutely no change or hope. Instead civil libertarians and human rights advocates have despaired the fact that the Obama administration has embraced nearly all of the Bush administration’s national security policies in practice, save torture, while changing only the legal justifications. Glenn Greenwald has written extensively on this. The irony isn’t that Obama is employing national security as a wedge issue despite saying he wouldn’t, it’s that he’s embracing the horrors of the national security framework he had vowed to abolish and remaining silent about it.
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wwew a year ago
one guy was SUCCESSFUL and rightfully pointing out that success - you know being positive. the other is the right (who have actually failed in protecting the country and stopped caring about bin laden after failing to capture him) saying the democrats will fail, dont have what it takes to protect the country, and will cause another 9-11 blah blah blah. you know, negative lies. see the obvious difference?
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- Kiraraccoon thinks Three Times Barack Obama Suggested Te... is OMG
- thebellydude thinks Three Times Barack Obama Suggested Te... is Fail & WTF
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classynotclassic a year ago
Wait wait before I get attacked I’m not a conservative and will vote for Obama (again) I just think consumption should slow down and my comment reflects no standpoint on abortion. I just wish people would slow down and look at what’s going on.
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classynotclassic a year ago
Obama will get elected again. Why cloud the issue? Vote in our archaic system then complain. Until then eat, sleep and continue waiting as usual no matter what body governs our nation. Fuck like bunnies, eat like rats and shit out babies.
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JHo a year ago
We got bin Laden. He made the final call to do the mission which got him. He did what the American people wanted done since 9/11. Only Conservatives would call this “wrong” to discuss. This is a unifying event; one that should bring all of us together. Instead, the Right Wing turned it into a political spin wedge issue - to make it appear he is taking credit for something he has no part of. It started that night last year when they claimed Obama’s announcement of his death was “self-gloating” and “he took all the credit”. It’s a political narrative based in no realm of reality, which is why Republicans believe it so.
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Donnie E a year agoI think Obama means the sort of thing where, I dunno, billionaire brothers (We’ll call them Koch brothers for this example) fund a campaign to use some sort of popular group (Navy SEALs, just to pick one at random) to drive the populace against the incumbent. Almost as a wedge, between the incumbent and his electorate. Ah, we should call it a wedge issue! Or a divide!
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ringdinger a year agoBuzzfeed, who is this guy and why did you hire him to make terribly biased posts against Obama?
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