A 2001 audio of a Barack Obama radio interview in which he discusses wealth distribution when he was a State Senator has been uncovered. Read about it and listen to the audio below.
A public radio interview with then State Senator Barack Obama has been uncovered. In the 2001 audio, Obama discusses his feelings that the Civil Rights movement fell short of its goals by not developing a coalition of community organizing, grassroots efforts and political infiltration to see that changes went beyond being able to sit at a lunch counter and vote. Apparently, in his view, the changes should have also included redistribution of wealth as part of the Civil Rights movement.
Barack Obama on Chicago Public Radio WBEZ-FM, 2001: The Supreme Court never ventured into the issues of redistribution of wealth, and of more basic issues such as political and economic justice in society… and one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from that …
He does not discuss the rights or wrongs of taking for each according to their ability and giving to each according to their need. Instead, he talks about the best ways to go about changing the system in a way that would best facilitate those changes. He concludes that it is best changed through administrative mandate because attempts to change it through legislation is too cumbersome.
He also points out that the Constitution is a negative document, telling us what the States and the Federal governments CAN’T do. Instead, he says, it should address the what the States and Federal governments SHOULD do.
In other words, he sees our money as belonging to the government. He wants to take our money and he will decide how to spend it. The democrats in Congress and the Senate are already deciding how they will spend it.
Listen to the audio below to get some insight into the Obama who has been the most liberal member of the Senate, who has been mentored by a succession of anarchists, Marxists and those from the extreme left and who has been carefully packaged and presented to mask this aspect of his political philosophy.
Once he is in power and has his chosen Congressmen and Senators in power, there will be no more need for him to continue avoiding answering questions or to pretend to be a centrist.
Barack Obama Discusses Wealth Redistribution in 2001 – Video
October 27th, 2008 at 2:14 am
“(The Warren Court) wasn’t THAT radical… It didn’t break free from the essential constraints that were placed by the founding fathers.”
That’s a scary way to be talking. It tells you what he thinks of the costitution. Basically when he puts his hand on the Bible and takes the oath to protect and defend the constitution, that oath will be a lie. He doesn’t want to defend it, he wants to “break free from the essential constraints” of it.
Rich…Tokyo
October 27th, 2008 at 2:46 am
Good point Richard. The vision he outlines for America IS scary.
October 27th, 2008 at 4:29 am
[...] For more on this….. [...]
October 27th, 2008 at 5:01 am
There actually is a problem, when the top 1% of the country rakes in 20% or more of the country’s wealth. We have so many people living in poverty. It’s not a stretch for him to say that because it’s the truth. I don’t think Obama wants to “redistribute the wealth” the way it’s led to believe. He just thinks that being the most powerful, wealthy country.. we should reevaluate our systems.
October 27th, 2008 at 5:08 am
J, fine go ahead and open a Constitutional Convention and we can “re-evaluate” our system. The fact is, the only way to redistribute wealth is through a form of Communism,and there is no reason not to try, after all its only failed every time it has tried.
The most frightening thing about this tape is that Obama recognizes that the Constitution is one of negative rights, but he doesn’t care, he thinks that is a fundamental flaw about the Constitution. This is scary enough that if a majority of the electorate were to hear it and understand what he means, it would throw the election to McCain easily. I would hold my breath waiting for the MSM to do their job though.
October 27th, 2008 at 5:12 am
Also, can reparations for slavery be far behind? He’s talking about redistributing wealth for blacks and social justice. That is just code for reparations.
October 27th, 2008 at 5:14 am
J, due to Obama’s ‘change’ ambiguity, I guess that you are more than happy to roll the dice to see how much of a socialist the guy is. Good luck. I have seen what judges do when legislating from the bench, so thanks but no thanks.
October 27th, 2008 at 6:03 am
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October 27th, 2008 at 7:03 am
From dictionary.com
Essential:
6. a basic, indispensable, or necessary element; chief point: Concentrate on essentials rather than details.
Do you all have a problem with language comprehension?
It seems to me this interview is being interpreted in the exact opposite of it’s intended meaning.
October 27th, 2008 at 7:59 am
I notice that Obama hasnt mentioned much about environmentalism lately.
If any movement has the capabilty of attaching itself to private property and bringing in revenues to be redistributed that would be it.
Limiations on energy use would be set with fines and penalties for going over the mandated usage.
Everyone forgot about it and is dwelling on how profits and labor will be taxed.
As soon as he is elected, all the alternative energy research projects will be launched and used as a vessel to tax us more in the name of research for a better day. There are no funds to do any of what he promises so naturally we will have to cough it up.
Creating “green jobs” is just a red herring that does not address the fact that environmentalism will displace just as many jobs as global warming initiatives will bring in. Most of the techs that would fill these positions are already in place as it is.
October 27th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Have you not seen that Barrack Obama is nothing more then a RAC**T.
He believes Rev Wright and Louis Farrakhan and this tape removes all doubt. If he is elected and tries to throw out the constitution, I am afraid he will be killed and then we will have civil unrest in this country and every year we will have to have Obama Day and listen to the whining of Americas less and stupid people.
I find it frightening that there are people in this country who can hear this tape and still vote for him.
God help America.
October 27th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Obama a Marxist! Who knew?
October 27th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Gerhard, I agree. What Obama was saying was that the civil rights movement was wrong to pursue their goals through the courts.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:08 am
MCCAIN – given that Ronald Reagan supported a program that paid poor workers more than they would ever owe in taxes (the earned income tax credit), does that make him a marxist too?
The GOPrs still don’t realize how dumb they have made themselves look this cycle with their constant screaming of “marxist, socialist, etc.”
October 27th, 2008 at 10:35 am
Only true surprise I find about American presidential elections this year is a vast majority of Obama supporters are adamantly bent on rendering America a pseudo Marxist nation. This call for rendering America a socialist welfare nation by Obama and his supporters, this truly does surprise me.
Quite ironic an American Indian, like me, an American Indian who has every right to “hate” America, is fighting to defend our Spirit of America, fighting to defend our American ideals, fighting to defend our founding principles of Freedom and Democracy.
There is no need for Osama Bin Laden and his Islamic terrorists to attack our America; we are destroying our country from within by calling for a Socialist America.
I am certain Bin Laden is enjoying a laugh.
Appears there is a Free Lunch in life, appears half or more of Americans expect a Free Lunch paid for by hard working successful Americans.
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Give me all I want for free, I am an American! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! I do not have to work for a living, I am an American!
Gimme my welfare check, Barack!
When I was born, my peoples, we Indians, were not granted American citizenship, were not granted a right to vote. We fought long and hard for citizenship and a right to vote. We won.
Today, Americans are fighting for welfare checks in their mailboxes.
I believe I will pack up my family, head back to our Indian lands, then lead a life of honest hard work, of independence and of pride.
Our family enjoys pride, we will never become welfare recipients; we always have and always will earn our lunch.
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation
October 27th, 2008 at 10:36 am
Bob, you might be able to find a program here and there like the EITC which had some Republican support, but can you really argue that Reagan was a socialist or Marxist? Now, look that Obama voting record (when he didn’t bother to vote present) and the whole litany of people from Frank Marshall Davis to Rev. Wright to William Ayers who Obama hung out with and can you say the same thing? What is the one thing all of these people have in common? They are all devote Marxists. I can tell you this, if McCain hung out with people like Bo Gritz or David Dukes, or John Birch, you guys would be having a cow and the media would be all over it. Your arguments are disingenuous.
October 27th, 2008 at 10:42 am
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October 27th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Gerhard/Bob–do you think someone should break the news to these folks that calling an increase of the marginal tax rate for 250K+ incomes Marxist, necessarily makes anyone who suports a tax system with any graduated increase in tax rate, and the “spreading of wealth” which results therefrom, Marxist too?
October 27th, 2008 at 11:24 am
[...] Left-wing liberals can try to spin this all they want, however, Obama’s sentiments are clear. [...]
October 27th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Bob, Tom.
Portraying any kind of taxation that basically goes to support any kind of infrastructer or stepping stone for those met with hardship as marxist is assinine.
Obamas vision will do nothing more than guarantee a higer income for those that work less.
Are we socialistic to a certain extent ?
Of course we are.
But do we need to venture into socialism so deep that it will be the foundation of our economy ?
Our markets will never recover if the taxation Obama suggests take place ever happen.
Would you want to invest yourself to a profit margin, into an income bracket that consistantly brings you back to the same level you were previously at ?
Any schmuck at some point will ask himself “whats the point in trying?”
Think about it.
October 27th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Purlgurl, you’re so right.
Theres a slew of people out there for some selfish reason are saying they got screwed and are willing to put everything at stake on the line simply because they feel that they are owed something.
Everyone will get their goodies, then the party will be over, resulting in the largest emotional and financial hangover this country has ever seen.
October 27th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
I don’t understand why noting that Obama’s political ideology is Marxist is so offensive to his followers. You are what you are.
I tend to be a Capitalist. I have some Libertarian views and some Conservative views. There are some things on which I am more Liberal. Those are words that identify political views, not slander.
People aren’t slinging around words like ‘Marxist’, ‘Communist’ or ‘Socialist’ to slander him. Its just identifying his politics.
Its curious to me that people get offended and defensive when other people identify Obama’s political leanings.
You should be proud of who you are and who you are following. If you don’t like Marxism, then you might should re-evaluate who you are voting for.
October 27th, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Micky — I agree. It’s a question of degree.
Assuming Obama’s planned MTR increase would be from 35% to 39.6% (plus extension of some other taxes which may take it to 43-50% depending on individual circumstances), that would mean an extra six to fifteen grand on the difference between 250K and 350K. Six grand does not seem like a big deal, and would not make me turn off the alarm clock and go back to sleep. But fifteen grand might pi** some folks off a bit.
One can certainly argue about where to set the tax rate, but calling Obama a Marxist based on that is a stretch even in a campaign.
Beth–I for one am not upset at all over people calling Obama a Marxist. Actually, I think it’s pretty funny.
We all just witnessed both Obama and McCain leading the way to give away 700 billion in the hopes that financial institutions would continue providing capital, instead of either letting the insolvent ones fail and capital reemerge through B of A and the other institutions that were responsibly run, OR at least buy the failing institutions’ shares before pumping in the cash, so as to get the taxpayer-added value for the taxpayers.
What we did instead (with tons of added pork to boot) was dumb socialism, so dumb that it was unacceptable even to Kucinnich. But we did it anyway. So it’s kind of hard for me to get worked up over being called a Marxist these days.
October 27th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Micky adds to reader value, “Theres a slew of people out there for some selfish reason are saying they got screwed….”
People out there, almost all, reason for their financial dire straights is simply they spent more than they earned. I am pragmatic about this and do not mince my words. Americans made stupid financial decisions, this is their fault. This entire financial mess is a result of greed and crime over on Wall Street and a result of greedy Americans who refuse to be financially responsible.
My concern is those who are responsible, who do maintain a strict family budget but are being caught up in this financial mess. I am writing of good people who lost their jobs and are now hurting. These are the people we should help.
Another concern is older folks who have lost so much of their retirement account values because of the stock market crash. Like people who lost their jobs, these older folks have worked hard, paid their dues and being hurt at very vulnerable stage of life. This is not right.
Most tragic, are our American children. There are no children responsible for this mess but children are paying the price.
All of this mess could have easily been avoided. Democrats, Republicans, Bill Clinton, George Bush, irresponsible Americans, the whole gang is responsible. This is a failure by our entire government and by our peoples. Blaming this on one person or blaming this on a political party is simply stupid; all are at fault.
I am very pragmatic. I voted Gore. I voted Kerry. This time I will vote McCain because I know Obama will lead our country to financial ruin. I do not agree with all of McCain’s policies. Same with Obama. However, I know Obama is a rehash of Jimmy Carter and his domestic economic policy. We all know what happened with Jimmy Carter as president.
I am voting money. Best shot at economic recovery is offered by John McCain; he is offering good common sense policies which are workable yet tough. No welfare from McCain but if a person is willing to work, McCain will help this person.
Obama will be an economic disaster.
I am voting money, not politics.
Okpulot Taha
Choctaw Nation