Leach kicks off Missouri Republicans for Obama
Jim Leach, a former Republican congressman from Iowa, helped launch Missouri Republicans for Obama today in the state Capitol Rotunda.
Leach, who spoke last week at the Democratic National Convention, said foreign policy was the main issue that caused him to cross party lines. He said John McCain would continue the Bush administration’s direction while Barack Obama would end the war in Iraq.
The soft-spoken, white-haired Iowan, who compiled a moderate record during 30 years in Congress, acknowledged that McCain has more experience in foreign policy. But Leach said Obama has “a great deal of judgment” and “a rather extraordinary foreign policy team.”
McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, would represent a change in Washington, Leach said, but it is “personality change…they don’t represent policy change.”
Leach, 65, of Iowa City, said he was speaking out to show that Obama “wants a bipartisan leadership effort once he takes office.”
Leach was joined by Matthew Ousley of Jefferson City. Ousley, a retail store manager, said he was a lifelong Republican but is going door-to-door to campaign for Obama because he would end the war. Ousley said he had a friend who died in Iraq.
St. Louis-area members of the GOP for Obama steering committee include: Donna Sherwood of Wentzville, Marc Blanchard of St. Louis, Joe Passanise of St. Louis and John Levis of Frontenac.
When all your judgement to date has been bad, it really doesn’t matter how much of it you have, does it?
Given the founder isn’t even from this state, I suspect this will be the first and last we ever hear of “Missouri Republicans for Obama”.
If people like Ousley are the best Obama can do, he’s in real trouble. News flash, Mr. Ousley: Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain are reading from the same page on our exit strategy in Iraq. Six months ago, Obama was calling for a quicker withdrawal, but he began “pivoting” after he clinched the nomination, and since his “world tour” he has held the same position McCain had all along.
And Joe Passanise? That’s another good one. In his run for county executive, he got 30% of the vote. His “victory party” was in the lobby of a used car dealership in north county. And this man, who was an engineer for MoDOT, fought the highway 40 closures, claiming it would triple people’s commute time. If Obama wants Passanise, he can have him.
More Republicans should step up and announce their displeasure of Senator John McCain. If Sarah Palin as governor of Alaska is able to help tear down then Republican Governor Murkowski and Senator Ted Stevens that should be welcome and good. You will not hear me urging Kwame Kilpatrick to appeal his results as mayor Detroit. A lot of Democrats were betrayed by former President Bill Clinton you may be sure that many people were direct with him in well deserved criticism. How did Senator McCain go from being all but broke in a primary, not a friend in the party to within a couple of months the nominee? A lot Republicans should be able to just admit that they really do not want Senator McCain to be president, they just do not want to vote for Barack Obama. Now that these individuals have stepped forward why can’t they be appluaded for standing on principles?