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Heart of a country
Community organizers give of themselves every day to improve people’s lives
Friday, Sept. 12, 2008 | 2:10 a.m.
Community organizers have been around for decades and have achieved a reputation for helping people who are sick, who have been laid off, who were born into poverty and who are longing for an opportunity to work toward a better life.
Although it was not surprising to see many members of the Republican Party — the party of tax cuts for the rich and program cuts for the poor — mocking community organizers last week at their convention, it was surprising to see top Republicans leading the charge.
Former New York Gov. George Pataki said, to laughter and applause, “What in God’s name is a community organizer? I don’t even know if that’s a job.” Rudy Giuliani said, “(Sen. Barack Obama) worked as a community organizer. What?”
The Republican attacks on community organizing, an attempt to belittle and marginalize Obama, are taking politics to a new low.
People who work in this field give of themselves every day to make the country a better place. They get up early to help homeless people, to visit neighborhoods where people are earning low wages or no wages at all. They interact with religious leaders, union officials, civic groups and elected officials.
Is “Country First” just a slogan for Republicans? Have they forgotten that what community organizers do is the very heart and soul of a democratic country? What other explanation could there be for thousands of Republican conventiongoers laughing and jeering at community organizers?
Obama’s work as a community organizer for three years after graduating from college is a credit to him, as it is to all who answer this calling, including Hannah Brown. She is a local community organizer who delivered a letter to John McCain’s Henderson campaign office.
She wrote: “We have braved 110-degree heat ... worked with law enforcement ... registered new voters, fought on behalf of mentally disabled homeless people ... and brought light to the factors causing deteriorating neighborhoods.”
A McCain spokesman dismissed her letter as “a cheap shot by the Obama campaign.” But it is the Republicans who have been taking the cheap shots. To community organizers everywhere, we say: Keep up the good work.
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The governor of New York says "community organizer" was a code word for black. So are there no white nor Hispanic community organizers. Does anyone really know what the term means. Is running a pay to get voters registered a community organizer. Was Bill Ayers a community organizer or a community terrorist. Obama made community organizer a major part of his biography as his connection to the little people, now he is offended that people are picking on 3 years of his life when he was very young. Sounds like a lot of double speak to me. Sounds like Harry Reid when he tells us no drilling is good for us.
Exactly like when John Kerry says he "served in Vietnam" (for 4 months and 10 days of a 12-month tour, before he gamed the system and split) - Barry O leans heavily on his "community organizing' days to try and pimp-his-resume since he's SO lacking in a total package / resume.
Explaining EXACTLY what he ACCOMPLISHED as an organizer is still unknown. WHAT good, or ill, did he do in these three years?
What IS well-known is that Barry followed the Saul Alinsky Socialist path in organizing his organizing. When michelle OR Barry say the words (I hear them at least once a week) "the world not as it is, but the way the world should be"(mq) = they are quoting Saul Alinsky and his ilk. ACORN, who have broken election-registration laws in dozens of states, is on his resume, at least as an advisor.
The Chicago Political Machine IS where Barry O is from. Not the "streets"!
Makz, maybe you should ask John McCain about Obama's accomplishments. I believe the wording McCain used last night was: "Of course I support people who serve their community and Sen. Obama’s record there is outstanding."
Do you reject McCain's own words?
Community organizer really means nothing at all.
It could mean radical activist as much as it means anything the Sun mentioned above.
Sure I do. You bet that Obama's street organizing career is not off the table.
Last night, a well done presentation, was a night for calmer debate and higher decorum.
I enjoyed the presentation, but remember - McCain went into Columbia University - as we all know a MEGA RAD LIB university (small "u"). The questioners, though two libs, did a good job.
McCain was treated well considering the uber-socialist viper den @ Columbia - and Obama got a much longer and more racuous rock-star reception.
I sure DO reject the thought that McCain and his campaign fully buys off on Barry and his Alinksy period in the streets. Barry grew up in the Chicago Political Machine. THAT's a more important torpedo.
The lib-media is already lying about her "All Barack Consistently" (ABC) Gibson interview. Parsing and nit-picking like libs here, while Republicans a re flying higher these days.
Nice, decent bounce for McCain/Palin so far - from avg 4-5 points behind to 3-5 points up "with a bullet" - generally - and as Sarah WILL show and wear well in interviews, more women will vote for (R). That's like a 7-10 point BOUNCE as of now, ISN'T IT?
The election is slipping away so fast Biden is breaking down on-stage. IS, or WAS HE the best, better than Hillary?
Where are all these "high-powered (liberal) women gonna come take Sarah DOWN, HUH??
Anyway, It has been a good two weeks or so. AND STILL, no more accomplishments from Barry O's "street organizing" career to reveal. What a surprize.
It is the liberal bloggers and Obama campaign spokesman and Obama surrogates that made fun of small town mayors.
As a community organizer for the environment...I say Thank you Las Vegas Sun!
KUDOS to the Sun for standing up for the little guys and gals that don't have vast sums of money to help the less fortunate - so, they give their most precious asset, their time and talent!
Volunteering has never ever received the due dignity and respect it deserves! Sadly, in fact, too many look down on volunteers like we're some special sort of fools - including those of us that "voluntarily" answered our nations call to military service?
Clearly, in my experience, there are two basic groups - those that believe volunteering is just the right thing to do - and those selfish, mean, rude, nasty, greedy, self-serving sociopaths that have never volunteered an hour of their time in their entire life!
We saw the true nature of the Republican Party's leaders at their convention - and they are far from "compassionate" conservatives - it's all about them and the rest of the world is on it's own! Maybe, just maybe, this election cycle the purveyors of profit over people will finally pay the price for their greed that has caused this recession and nearly bankrupted America - and has broken the hearts of over 50,000 military families and nearly exhausted our armed forces in a fool's folly!
As to the question of "What do volunteers and community organizers actually do?" We do all we can, in more ways than I can list, to help the most unfortunate in our society - and we, often, do far more than just provide hope - we actually save lives!