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While Emanuel knows his way around the corridors of Washington, qualifying him in the traditional sense, this alone doesn’t mean he’s the guy you want drawing up Obama’s policy papers day after day.

For starters, Emanuel is a shameless neoliberal with close ties to the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC), even co-authoring a strategy book with DLC president Bruce Reed. Without Emanuel, Bill Clinton would not have been able to thrust NAFTA down the throats of environmentalists and labor in the mid-1990s. Over the course of his career, Emanuel’s made it a point to cozy up to big business, making him one of the most effective corporate fundraisers in the Democratic Party. He’s also a staunch advocate of Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories.

Emanuel’s shinning moment came in 2006 as he helped funnel money and poured ground support into the offices of dozens of conservative Democrats, expanding his party’s control of the House of Representatives. Emanuel, who supports the War on Terror, and expanding our presence in Afghanistan, worked hard to ensure that a Democratic House majority would not alter the course of US military objectives in the Middle East.

In short, Rahm Emanuel is not only a poor choice for Obama’s Chief of Staff; he’s one of the least progressive picks he could have made. While he may have decent views on abortion, tax policy, and social security, Emanuel’s broader vision is more of the same: war and corporate dominance.

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I had really wanted to celebrate Barack Obama's remarkable victory for a day or so before becoming cynical again. I really did.

And yet, less than 24 hours after the first polls closed, the president-elect chose as his chief of staff -- perhaps the most powerful single position in any administration -- Rahm Emanuel, one of the most conservative Democratic members of Congress....

Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel is a member of the so-called New Democrat Coalition (NDC), of group of center-right pro-business Congressional Democrats affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Conference, which is dedicated to moving the Democratic Party away from its more liberal and progressive base. Numbering only 58 members out of 236 Democrats in the current House of Representatives, the NDC has worked closely with its Republican colleagues in pushing through and passing such legislation as those providing President Bush with "fast-track" trade authority in order to bypass efforts by labor, environmentalists and other public interest groups to promote fairer trade policy.

Emanuel began his political career as a senior adviser and chief fundraiser for the successful 1989 Chicago mayoral campaign of Richard M. Daley to seize back City Hall from reformists who had challenged the corrupt political machine of this father, Richard J. Daley. Emanuel later became a senior adviser to Bill Clinton at the White House from 1993 to 1998, serving as Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and then Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Strategy, and was credited with playing a major role in shifting the Clinton administration's foreign and domestic policy agenda to the right. Emanuel was the single most important official involved in pushing through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the bill ending Aid for Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), and Clinton's draconian crime bill, among other legislation.

Leaving the administration in 1998, Emanuel worked as an investment banker in Chicago, where he amassed an $18 million fortune in less than three years prior to being elected to Congress.

As head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee since 2004, Emanuel has promoted pro-war and pro-business center-right candidates against anti-war and pro-labor candidates in the primaries, pouring millions of dollars of donations from Democrats across the country into the campaigns of his favored conservative minions to defeat more progressive challengers.

Emanuel was a major supporter of the Iraq War resolution that authorized the invasion of Iraq. Indeed, he was the only one of nine Democratic members of Congress from Illinois who backed granting Bush this unprecedented authority to invade a country on the far side of the world that was no threat to the United States at the time. Even more disturbingly, when asked by Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" whether he would have voted to authorize the invasion "knowing that there are no weapons of mass destruction," Emanuel answered that he indeed would have done so, effectively acknowledging that his support for the war was not about national security, but about oil and empire. Not surprisingly, he has also voted with the Republicans in support of unconditional funding to continue the Iraq War and has consistently opposed efforts by other Democrats to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. occupation forces from that country and related Congressional efforts to end the war.

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[T]he definitive Rahm Emanuel story takes place in Little Rock, Ark., in the heady days after Bill Clinton was first elected President.

It was there that Emanuel, then Clinton's chief fund-raiser, repaired with George Stephanopoulos, Mandy Grunwald and other aides to Doe's, the campaign hangout. Revenge was heavy in the air as the group discussed the enemies - Democrats, Republicans, members of the press - who wronged them during the 1992 campaign. Clifford Jackson, the ex-friend of the President and peddler of the Clinton draft-dodging stories, was high on the list. So was William Donald Schaefer, then the Governor of Maryland and a Democrat who endorsed George Bush. Nathan Landow, the fund-raiser who backed the candidacy of Paul Tsongas, made it, too.

Suddenly Emanuel grabbed his steak knife and, as those who were there remeber it, shouted out the name of another enemy, lifted the knife, then brought it down with full force into the table.

''Dead!'' he screamed.

The group immediately joined in the cathartic release: ''Nat Landow! Dead! Cliff Jackson! Dead! Bill Schaefer! Dead!''

Today, Rahm Emanuel is, at 37, one of the most powerful people at the [Clinton] White House.

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Originally posted by josh:
I wouldn't make too much of the appointment. The chief of staff is there to make the trains run on time, not to get too heavily into policy.

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The chief of staff essentially acts as the president's gatekeeper, determining with whom he has access for advice and analysis. Obama is known as a good listener who has been open to hearing from and considering the perspectives of those on the Left as well as those with a more centrist to conservative perspective. How much access he will actually have as president to more progressive voices, however, is now seriously in question.

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[ 07 November 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]

I am quite frankly shocked by the ignorance of those who thought Obama would be the saviour. Nothing he has ever done leads to that conclusion.

His cabinet might be nicer but it will be just as hawkish as bush's

this time though we have no one to blame but ourselves.

The gasp that the world heard on wednesday was from many who finally realized that Obama and Bush are identical in policy. the only difference is in the sales techniques.

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Originally posted by miles:
The honeymoon did not last long. I for one and I know others as well have said all along that thier is nor difference between rebulicans and democrats.

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Originally posted by Cueball:

How long have you been reading this blog?

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since you started to post here.

ETA

Mrs Miles brother went to school with rahm.

I have known him for years.

[ 07 November 2008: Message edited by: miles ]

When in all that time did I ever say anything even remotely that suggested that the Democrats were substantively different than the Republicans?

I would say that a good 60% of Babblers hold this position to a greater or lesser extent. The only issue of substantial debate between Babblers on this point seems to be in terms of how Obama will address domestic politics.

[ 07 November 2008: Message edited by: Cueball ]

no change at all.

Rahm sold clinton on nafta for fucks sake

[ 07 November 2008: Message edited by: miles ]

By the way, NAFTA, is not per se, and American Domestic policy issue. I know its easy to forget sometimes. Changing that fact seems to be part of what NAFTA is about.

[ 07 November 2008: Message edited by: Cueball ]

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The chief of staff essentially acts as the president's gatekeeper, determining with whom he has access for advice and analysis. Obama is known as a good listener who has been open to hearing from and considering the perspectives of those on the Left as well as those with a more centrist to conservative perspective. How much access he will actually have as president to more progressive voices, however, is now seriously in question.

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Originally posted by miles:
and you assume that their is a difference when it comes to domestic policies?

no change at all.

Rahm sold clinton on nafta for fucks sake

[ 07 November 2008: Message edited by: miles ]

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I don't know if there will be much of a difference between the Republicans and Democrats as far as domestic policy goes; there certainly won't be any concrete difference in foreign policy.

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Why are you making excuses for that warmongering prick?

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Technically, isn't "warmongering" a present-tense word?

I'd be curious as to what specific acts of war-mongering Obama is currently engaged in.

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Originally posted by djelimon:

I prefer to hang the guy after he commits the crime.

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I favour prevention over capital punishment.

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Originally posted by djelimon:

Not sure how prevention translates in that framework. Rhetorically telling him not to do it?

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Discarding the quasi-religious delusions about this character and mobilizing to stop him from carrying out the foreign policy which he has solemnly promised to deliver.

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Discarding the quasi-religious delusions about this character

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Isn't that really a Rush Limbaugh-originated meme?

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and mobilizing to stop him from carrying out the foreign policy which he has solemnly promised to deliver.

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I don't think you will ever get a US president to abandon Israel as an ally. I don't think, absent a peace treaty with Al-Qaeda, that a non-aggressive stance towards them is possible.

These are the only two absolute promises I heard
him make foreign policy wise.

Saying Iran as a nuclear power is a game changer is true. Whether you want the game to change or not depends on where you sit.

To my mind, if you want policy change, you should be giving policy alternatives or avenues to explore instead simply of calling someone names like 'warmonger'.

For example, under what circumstances do you see peace with Al-Qaeda as a real possibility? If not a possibility, what do you propose for containment?

I think W's a sorry SOB, but me saying that won't change anything by itself. In this election, for instance, McCain did try and distance himself from W, but unlike Obama, he had no actual alternatives to offer.

[ 08 November 2008: Message edited by: djelimon ]

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Originally posted by djelimon:
These are the only two absolute promises I heard him make foreign policy wise.

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You missed his promise to continue the Cuba embargo?

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Saying Iran as a nuclear power is a game changer is true.

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Canada run by socialists with nuclear technology might be seen as a game changer by some USians too. If a presidential candidate said, "that worries me", would that worry you?

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To my mind, if you want policy change, you should be giving policy alternatives or avenues to explore instead simply of calling someone names like 'warmonger'.

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You know someone here who just namecalls, and doesn't suggest what the U.S. should do in policy terms? I personally support Hugo Chavez's advice to Obama. I quoted it in another thread here. What do you think of his advice?

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For example, under what circumstances do you see peace with Al-Qaeda as a real possibility?

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Are you being serious? Where exactly is the U.S. at war with "Al-Qaeda"? Obama is promising to multiply troop levels in Afghanistan. Is he fighting "Al-Qaeda" there?

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You missed his promise to continue the Cuba embargo

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I'd like to see the wording of that. Maybe an article?

This one seems to indicate a softening of Us stance to Cuba:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122602004920007191.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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Where exactly is the U.S. at war with "Al-Qaeda"? Obama is promising to multiply troop levels in Afghanistan. Is he fighting "Al-Qaeda" there?

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There are reports that Al-Qaeda is regrouping over there. Morgan Spurlock also had some things of interest to say about that area in "Where in the world is OBL", a pretty interesting tome.

I note, however, that you are using the present tense again.

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You know someone here who just namecalls, and doesn't suggest what the U.S. should do in policy terms?

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I tend to read a thread within it's own context. Maybe I should search through the forum for what people on one thread say on all the other threads. A bit time consuming though.

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I personally support Hugo Chavez's advice to Obama. I quoted it in another thread here. What do you think of his advice?

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Without seeing which thread you refer to, it's pretty hard to answer that.

If it's this quote:

"We hope he tunes into the frequency of the world and convinces the U.S. hawks it is impossible to dominate the planet," Chavez said of Obama this week"

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4A655620081107

It's great advice. And iirc Obama echoed that exact sentiment in the 1st debate. I have nothing against Chavez, so long as he abides by the ballot, which he has.

[ 08 November 2008: Message edited by: djelimon ]

[ 08 November 2008: Message edited by: djelimon ]

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Originally posted by djelimon:
I'd like to see the wording of that. Maybe an article?

This one seems to indicate a softening of Us stance to Cuba:

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He has long advocated a softening of the embargo conditions, and there is nothing to indicate that he has currently stated anything different. As your article indicates too.

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Obama Calls for Easing Cuba Embargo

By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 21, 2007; 12:34 AM

MIAMI -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is leaping into the long-running Cuba debate by calling for the U.S. to ease restrictions for Cuban-Americans who want to visit the island or send money home.

Obama's campaign said Monday that, if elected, the Illinois senator would lift restrictions imposed by the Bush administration and allow Cuban-Americans to visit their relatives more frequently, as well as ease limits on the amount of money they can send to their families.

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AnotherLast week, the Miami-Dade Democratic Party came out against the restrictions. Obama will speak at a fundraiser for the chapter Saturday at the Miami-Dade Auditorium, the same Little Havana site where Ronald Reagan won over many in the Cuban-exile community more than two decades ago.

And this from Thursday

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People on both sides of the Cuba policy issue wonder if those measured moves will become the first steps to bigger changes, including the eventual lifting of the U.S. trade embargo. Obama has said he supports the embargo, and lifting it would require an act of Congress.

''Obama is willing to sit down with Castro without preconditions -- that will lead to the lifting sanctions and the embargo,'' said conservative Cuban-American commentator Ninoska Pérez, who supported McCain, referring to a position Obama has since modified. He now says there would be preparations for any meeting.

''Obama says he supports the embargo, but obviously he doesn't. He said he supported it to get a certain number of Cuban votes,'' Pérez added. She predicts Obama will lift all travel restrictions, handing a ''victory to the Cuban regime,'' and boosting its government-run travel industry.

''Obama thinks he can sit down with a dictator and convince him to be a democrat,'' she said.

Obama's Latin America foreign policy advisor, Frank Sanchez, said as president the candidate will move quickly ''within [the] possible and practical bounds of his authority'' to lift the family travel and remittances restrictions. Anything more than that, Sanchez told The Miami Herald, will have to wait.

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He has long advocated a softening of the embargo conditions, and there is nothing to indicate that he has currently stated anything different.

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Exactly, this is why I'm a little confused by some of these claims.

Sometimes I wonder if some Rovian types have been responsible for injection of misinformation into the left's blogosphere, much like the PUMA phenomenon, or the Palin pregnancy thing.

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Originally posted by ElizaQ:
Does anyone know what Emanuel's actual political position is on Israel?

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Originally posted by Kevin Laddle:

zionist scum

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Originally posted by djelimon:
Sometimes I wonder if some Rovian types have been responsible for injection of misinformation into the left's blogosphere, much like the PUMA phenomenon, or the Palin pregnancy thing.

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In actual fact, Obomba has repeatedly made it clear that he is willing to meet with the Cuban government to discuss the terms of their surrender to US imperialism. Once they agree, he will lift the embargo.

[ 08 November 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]

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Originally posted by M. Spector:

In actual fact, Obomba has repeatedly made it clear that he is willing to meet with the Cuban government to discuss the terms of their surrender to US imperialism. Once they agree, he will lift the embargo.[/QB]

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In actual fact, Obomba has repeatedly made it clear that he is willing to meet with the Cuban government to discuss the terms of their surrender
to US imperialism

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I would be curious as to how exactly he phrased that.

IIRC the original bone of contention was that when Fidel nationalized US owned industries, he compensated the corporations for their assets with the value they had declared on their tax returns.

Of course everyone's forgotten about that.

So what would be left to negotiate over?

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Originally posted by M. Spector:
Google is your friend

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Obama said he would maintain the nearly fifty-year-old trade sanctions against Cuba as leverage to push for democratic change on the island.

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Originally posted by M. Spector:
Well, if you click on the link to the Associated Press story that I provided, you would see that their praphrase of what he said is as follows: "Democratic change" is of course code for restoration of capitalism. The Cubans have stood up to such "leverage" for 50 years now; they are not likely to capitulate just because Obomba asks them to.

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For the record that link was not in your comment when I originally read it, I see it has been edited, hence the question asking for a link.

Anyway, here is a copy of the op-ed in the Miami Herald Obama wrote in 2007 about the Cuban thing, which seems to be what everyone else in the news media is referring to when discussing O's position on Cuba. Do the youngsters still value "primary sources" I wonder.

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Bilateral talks

Accordingly, I will use aggressive and principled diplomacy to send an important message: If a post-Fidel government begins opening Cuba to democratic change, the United States (the president working with Congress) is prepared to take steps to normalize relations and ease the embargo that has governed relations between our countries for the last five decades.

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http://www.eons.com/groups/topic/243848

"Surrendering to US imperialism" seems a bit of a stretch. I mean, this interpretation is kind of obviously through a couple of filters, which may be correct or not, but aren't really supported by anything prima facae. No offense. Maybe you read a blogger's take on a blogger's take of this article.

He seems to be pushing for elections, not unrestricted markets, which is the usual classic MO regards Klein and all. By allowing families to send money back and visit, Obama would actually ease financial pressure on Cuba. This to me would run counter to the usual MO of starving a country until they agree to let you rape and pillage via "globalization".

Edit - oh, I see you provided a link while I was digging up a primary source. Mea culpa.

[ 08 November 2008: Message edited by: djelimon ]

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Originally posted by ElizaQ:
Thank you. That really wasn't so hard was it?

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[ 08 November 2008: Message edited by: ElizaQ ]

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Originally posted by ElizaQ:

Feeling better now?

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The same day that Spain denied the son of Osama Bin Laden political asylum, Obama appointed the son of an Irgun terrorist as his Chief of Staff. Osama's son declared that he did not agree with his father's actions or opinions. Rahm Israel Emanuel is an Israel-firster, a pro-war DLC hack and a bully. Not an auspicious start.

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Originally posted by josh:
I wouldn't make too much of the appointment. The chief of staff is there to make the trains run on time, not to get too heavily into policy.

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