Obama and New Party

When I first saw this video about Barack Obama belonging the radical "New Party" I thought Jody Miller was joking: after all, she's pretty hilarious. And, I naively thought to myself 'Haven't I done all my research and found all the radical associations Obama has been a part of?' Apparently I was wrong.

There is a substantial amount of documentation linking Obama to New Party including these two documents from New Party's old website achived by non-partisan Internet Archive:

http://web.archive.org/web/19990202063635/www.newparty.org/up9603.html
“We're also backing Danny Davis in a Congressional race, Barack Obama for state representative, and judicial candidate Patricia Martin.”
http://web.archive.org/web/19980203213956/http:/www.newparty.org/up9610.html
"Illinois: Three NP-members won Democratic primaries last Spring and face off against Republican opponents on election day: Danny Davis (U.S. House), Barack Obama (State Senate) and Patricia Martin (Cook County Judiciary)"

...and this article from the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America demonstrating that Barack's New Party relationship was more than a simple organization that endorsed him, but rather a reciprocal contract:

http://www.chicagodsa.org/ngarchive/ng42.html
About 50 activists attended the Chicago New Party membership meeting in July. The purpose of the meeting was to update members on local activities and to hear appeals for NP support from four potential political candidates. The NP is being very active in organization building and politics. There are 300 members in Chicago. In order to build an organizational and financial base the NP is sponsoring house parties. Locally it has been successful both fiscally and in building a grassroots base. Nationwide it has resulted in 1000 people committed to monthly contributions. The NP's political strategy is to support progressive candidates in elections only if they have a concrete chance to "win". This has resulted in a winning ratio of 77 of 110 elections. Candidates must be approved via a NP political committee. Once approved, candidates must sign a contract with the NP. The contract mandates that they must have a visible and active relationship with the NP.
The political entourage included Alderman Michael Chandler, William Delgado, chief of staff for State Rep Miguel del Valle, and spokespersons for State Sen. Alice Palmer, Sonya Sanchez, chief of staff for State Sen. Jesse Garcia, who is running for State Rep in Garcia's District; and Barack Obama, chief of staff for State Sen. Alice Palmer. Obama is running for Palmer's vacant seat.

...or how about this from the Progressive Populist?

http://www.populist.com/11.96.Edit.html

"New Party member Barack Obama was uncontested for a State Senate seat from Chicago."

Notice how all these sources are solidly left-wing media, not right-wingers trying to substantiate some false association. So why haven't we heard more about this? Well Barack sure hasn't been forthcoming about his past, but the distancing started early on:

http://web.archive.org/web/19991115093609/members.aol.com/NewPartyIL/natnews1.html

"NP member and State Senate candidate Barack Obama won uncontested. Interestingly, it appears that the local Democratic machine is trying to distance itself from our folks. At a "Democratic Unity" march on Chicago's West Side, a flyer invited community members to join with a host of local democratic candidates. The only two west-side Democrats not listed: NP members Danny Davis (U.S. House candidate) and Michael Chandler (Alderman and Ward Committeeman)."

So what did this radical New Party stand for? Well, I encourage you to sample some of their own words. Like most parties, they generalize with statements that seem incontrovertible that all would agree with and some "reading between the lines" is needed but I thought these highlights taken from the links below were worth reading:

http://web.archive.org/web/19990222062425/http://www.newparty.org/about_the_np.html and http://web.archive.org/web/19990128005940/www.newparty.org/npprogram.html

• A reduction of national military spending to that necessary to the defense of the United States, and an end to unilateral military interventions [read: reduce military might; we don't defend our country unless we have UN support]
• In all aspects of our economy and social life, an absolute bar to discrimination based on race, gender, age, country of origin, and sexual orientation, and absolute security in reproductive rights, fundamental liberties, and privacy. [read: pro-gay marriage; pro-late term abortion; perhaps pro-infanticide in the case of botched abortions?]
• A progressive tax system based on the ability to pay. [read: increase taxes on the weathly; income redistribution]
• Rebuilding our cities and metropolitan regions -- the cornerstones of a high-wage and ecologically sustainable economy -- through community-led programs of comprehensive, democratic, high-wage, and low-waste economic development. [read: We love groups like ACORN and AFL-CIO!]
• Full public financing of elections, universal voter registration, proportional representation, free party competition. [read: pro-voter fusion; fund and require everyone to be registered to vote even if they don't want to vote; create "affirmative action" laws for the government representation by race, gender, etc.]
• Full employment, a shorter work week, and a guaranteed minimum income for all adults; a universal "social wage" to include such basic benefits as health care, child care, vacation time, and lifelong access to education and training; a systematic phase-in of comparable worth and like programs to ensure gender equity. [read: SOCIALISM OR COMMUNISM; WE DONT CARE WHAT YOU CALL IT JUST BRING IT ON!!!!]

I am serious about this folks, this is the Barack Obama hidden agenda. Look at how it matches exactly with what we've already learned about Obama. I know I am being a bit of a johnny-come-lately but I am trying my best to let you know too before we get "Change" we will regret.