Obama Labor Backer Open to VP Vetting
EmailABC News’ Teddy Davis, Tahman Bradley, Gregory Wallace, and Alexa Ainsworth Report: One of the unwritten rules of politics is that if you want to be vice
president, you don’t lobby for the job. But one of Barack Obama’s most
prominent labor backers has put herself in the running.
A Friday e-mail entitled, "New possibilities for Obama’s VP," touted Anna Burger, the chair of the powerful "Change to Win" federation, to be the Democratic Party’s vice presidential nominee. What was unusual about the missive to reporters is that it originated from a press secretary working at one of Burger’s own unions.
"Thought you would be interested in this from David Sirota’s column today on possible VP picks for Barack Obama," wrote Mark McCullough of the Service Employees International Union.
McCullough then bolded this line from Sirota’s column: "[O]utside the electoral arena there are people like Anna Burger — a leader of one of the largest labor unions, who was recently hailed by the Wall Street Journal as one of the 50 most influential women in America." The focus of the column by Sirota, who recently wrote "The Uprising: An Unauthorized Tour of the Populist Revolt Scaring Wall Street and Washington," was finding an "anti-Clinton," populist candidate for vice president.
When ABC News contacted S.E.I.U. to find out if Burger was prepared to be vetted for the vice presidency, Burger spokeswoman Stephanie Mueller said, "certainly."
She quickly added, however, that while Burger is flattered to have been mentioned by Sirota, she does not expect the Obama campaign to vet her for the job.
"More than anything else," said Mueller, "that Burger’s name was mentioned in a column about Obama’s running mate is a reflection of the unprecedented involvement of workers in this election and of the incredible impact that the election will have on the lives of working people in this country."
"She is going to work as hard as she possibly can to make sure that he is the next president," said Mueller, referring to the work that "Change to Win" and its member unions are already doing on behalf of Obama.
Asked why SEIU was taking the unusual step of promoting the head of its labor federation for the job, Mueller explained that Burger did not want the press to overlook a handful of populist candidates that Sirota touted in his column. In addition to Burger, the Sirota excerpt emailed to reporters by SEIU also touted Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, and Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
"I think there have been a number of really good suggestions made, and we wanted to make sure that all the people who have been put out there are in the mix," said Mueller. "Use the information as you will."
While noting that Burger originally hails from the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Mueller acknowledged Burger’s dark-horse status.
"She’s not waiting for a phone call," said Mueller.
Mitt Romney's Full Speech at CPAC 2012 
Romney Makes His Case to Conservatives at CPAC
NO! Absolutely not! No Labor people as Pres or VP ever. NOT GOOD! For one, they are too pushy, good for labor disputes, but that’s it!
Posted by: irma | June 16, 2008, 10:02 pm 10:02 pm
When would someone finally realize that it’s the union that kill all the jobs and move them overseas??? They demand so much.
Posted by: hannah | June 16, 2008, 10:35 pm 10:35 pm
Oh please, no way Obama would pick her.
Posted by: erin | June 16, 2008, 10:43 pm 10:43 pm
Now the rest of the companies that had a some faith in this country are now getting ready to pack their bags and leave if Obama gets elected. WOW Obama will create jobs now.jobs
Posted by: jobless | June 16, 2008, 11:07 pm 11:07 pm
I love how rampant speculation can begin. Has the Obama camp even mentioned her as a possibility? If it’s a woman it will be 1 of 4. HRC(Unlikely after the PSD appointment), Janet Naplotiano, Kathleen Seibelius and Claire McCaskill(one of Obama’s closest friends in the Senate)
Posted by: Steven | June 16, 2008, 11:16 pm 11:16 pm
irma: You speak for me on this one. No special interest group, period.
Posted by: Gillis | June 16, 2008, 11:49 pm 11:49 pm
If Obama wants the Hillary supporters votes he will chose Hillary for vice president or he will lose the election, because to many democrats already have elected to vote for Mc Bush, Me I am writing Hillary in come November.
Posted by: Rose Szymanski | June 17, 2008, 12:12 am 12:12 am
She shouldn’t wait for a phone call either. Obama needs someone with real National Security experience and too much change (a woman other than Hillary)would not be embraced.
Personally, I think the Hillary supporters would be Pissed Off if any woman is offered the slot over her. It wouldn’t make him any more attractive to me to vote for.
HILLARY SUPPORTER FOR McCAIN.
Posted by: Debra | June 17, 2008, 1:09 am 1:09 am
Obama campaign was talking to Patty Soleis Doyle before she left Hillary and this position he gave her today put the kabosh on any VP dream (not that I would want it, Hillary would be blamed for any little thing). I am a big Hillary supporter who will vote McCain….no write in’s, no sitting it out….that allows Obama to inch closer to WH, and that is just unacceptable.
Exit polls should show loud and clear to DNC, Hillary supporters en masse for Senator McCain. You can’t shove Obama at us when Hillary was the popular vote candidate and he limped to the finish line, losing 9 out of 14.
McCain ’08/Hillary /12
Posted by: Debra | June 17, 2008, 1:21 am 1:21 am
“Malik Obama confirms his half-brother Barack grew up a Muslim “[updated]
By Israel Insider staff June 13, 2008
Bookmark to del.icio.usDigg This Story
Malik holds a photo of Obama and him in Muslim dress, reportedly when the two first met in 1985
Apparently the Obamas of Kenya have been reading those scurrilous emails to which Barack likes to refer, because they have no doubt — contrary to the claims of the Obama campaign, that the presidential candidate was raised a Moslem. They take that as a given.
As the Jerusalem Post reports, “Barack Obama’s half brother Malik said Thursday that if elected his brother will be a good president for the Jewish people, despite his Muslim background. In an interview with Army Radio he expressed a special salutation from the Obamas of Kenya.”
The Obama brothers’ father, a senior economist for the Kenyan government who studied at Harvard University, died in car crash in 1982. He left six sons and a daughter. All of his children – except Malik — live in Britain or the United States. Malik and Barack met in 1985 in the US.
“He was best man at my wedding and I was best man at his,” said Malik in a 2004 interview with an AP reporter. Their paternal grandfather, Onyango Hussein Obama, was one of the first Muslim converts in Nyangoma-Kogelo, Malik said.”
Why does Obama always lie?
Posted by: why lie? | June 17, 2008, 1:30 am 1:30 am
Obama says in his Audacity book “I will stand with the Muslims if the political winds shift in an ugly direction”.
B. Hussein….MUSLIM.
Posted by: Debra | June 17, 2008, 1:34 am 1:34 am
Hillary would be a fool to accept the vice presidency under B O!
She would be spending her days cleaning up after his gaffes and other boneheaded mistakes.
She can play nursemaid when Chelsea has kids!
COUNTRY BEFORE PARTY!
Posted by: lend an ear!l | June 17, 2008, 1:35 am 1:35 am
Sirota has no cred with me anymore.
His support of Obama when he rallies against candidates beholden to special interests is a joke. I expected more of Sirota then that.
Posted by: alpaig | June 17, 2008, 2:29 am 2:29 am
I must admit a woman pushing herself is a candidate I’d look at twice. But reality is she doesn’t have 18 million voters, no one of the Obama wishes do. Clinton is the one to unite, and she is the one who earned it.
Posted by: Sylvia Johnsen | June 17, 2008, 2:44 am 2:44 am
Al from NJ
your list look a lot like the list Republicans roll off about Bill Clinton.
Some of your points have some import. But since no politician can reach national stature without shaking some dirty hands any national political figure could have similar points made.
But what prompted me to post was a couple points you made in particular.
“They don’t want a candidate that has a Muslim father.”
and
They don’t’ want a candidate named; Barack Hussein Obama”
I will do you the service of not commenting anymore on these two points anymore then singling them out by quoting them in mine. I am also from NJ and you deserve at least that much.
there are a lot of things in this world to hate. Just not the ones you seem too.
Posted by: BonVivant | June 17, 2008, 7:37 am 7:37 am
Obama’s chickens, or shall I say favor seekers, are coming home to roost. Those that paved the way for Obama are calling in their chips. They can bully weak Obama. That is why they wanted Clinton gone.
Posted by: geevill | June 17, 2008, 10:07 am 10:07 am
I am so sick of so called hillary supporters you are not that special she lost end of story . by the way i am a women but i guess not your type of woman. Obama has aright to pick whom ever he chooses. And by the way if he choose to hire Ms. Doyle remember hillary fired her.Move on
Posted by: pia | June 17, 2008, 11:50 am 11:50 am
Huh? Who is she? Anyway, go Obama go! We here in PA are signing up new voters for you every day. It is fantastic, positive!!! Don’t look back or you’ll turn to salt, so you can’t worry about those angry Clinton people who say they won’t vote for you. They are nothing but negative and that’s too bad, it’s awful. That is their loss, that is their derangement. They want to throw away their vote to that McBush guy, so be it. P.S. Where is Hillary Clinton and her support of Obama like she promised?
Posted by: RuthieM | June 17, 2008, 11:56 am 11:56 am
Tell us why we should support Obama, we supported Hillary Clinton in the primary because we believe she is the best candidate for the presidency.
We did not support Obama then and will not change our opinion of him, which is he is inexperienced and his ideas of CHANGE, is something we do not believe in.
Hillary might have promised her supporters will support Clinton but she could only ask, and ask she did, but we have gently told her, no deal.
RuthieM and other females come and join us at puma.com and say NO Way NO Obama
Posted by: TerryDo | June 17, 2008, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm
352 superdelegates and Al Gore were wrong.
Posted by: Sylvia Johnsen | June 17, 2008, 12:52 pm 12:52 pm
Anyone who thinks labor is a “special interest” must obviously be a trust fund brat who has never worked, or a right-wing ideologue who wants to equate an authoritarian institution like a corporation to a participatory democratic one like a union – which exists solely to advance the rights of workers. Obama will beat McBush with or without Hillary Clinton, a person for whom I have a great deal of respect. If you look at US history, Americans almost always choose “change” over “experience,” especially in unsettled times. We need a president who will unabashedly champion the rights of working people; McCain has a voting record on labor issues of less than 10%, vs Obama’s (and Clinton’s) 90+%. The Clintons have indeed been too fond of “free trade” agreements like NAFTA that put the interests of the smallest special interest – corporate plutocrats – over those of the vast majority of us. A real “free trade” agreement would look like the EU – open the borders to not only the free flow of capital but to the free flow of labor. Then we can talk about a free market. “If voting could change anything it would be illegal,” said Emma Goldman. But I think this time the choice is so stark, it’s almost tragi-comic: anybody but McBush.
Posted by: Jeff Hornstein | June 17, 2008, 1:56 pm 1:56 pm
You make a lot of typical right-wing claims about jobs staying in the US if there were no unions, about living wages, etc. Find some evidence to back your claims. Even conservative economists admit that union jobs are far more likely to be living wage jobs, to have benefits, etc. There’s also little evidence that unionization is at all responsible for the loss of jobs abroad – that’s much more a function of flawed trade policy and the fact that the US is the only major industrialized nation that adds the cost of healthcare to every product produced rather than spreading it out over the entire population. No doubt, some unions have instituted work rules that may seem silly or outdated, though were probably put in place for reasons that were sensible at the time. But on the whole, workers need protection against capital and have organized themselves for over 150 years to do so. Without unions, we’d have a 12-hour day, no social security, no safety or health regulations, no minimum wage, and no weekend. Sounds like a country I’d want to live in – NOT. You want corporate slavery, move to Singapore or China.
Posted by: Jeff Hornstein | June 17, 2008, 5:24 pm 5:24 pm
You can make $71,000 OR $250,000 in a few weeks
As seen on Oprah and ABC’s 20/20
If we all work together everyone will benefit
Paypal verifies that this $6 investment
program is 100% legal and is a big hit this year see their note below
or ask them directly…
For a simple investment of 15-30 minutes and just $6 it is 100% worth
it to make thousands so quickly. This is not another scam that takes
lots of your hard earned money; this is a no risk investment that will
make you thousands of dollars very easily and quickly.
Follow these directions EXACTLY and $20,000 or more can be yours in 4
to 6 weeks.
This program remains successful because of the honesty and integrity
of the participants. Please continue its success by carefully adhering
to the instructions
STEP 1: Take a few minutes to join PayPal: Remember to verify your
account.
STEP 2:
1) Once you have a PayPal account, use PayPal to post $1 to
EACH of the 6 Email Addresses below because you pay people with an
email address in PayPal. Select “SEND MONEY”
What you are doing is creating a service. This is absolutely legal!
You are requesting a legitimate service and you are paying for it!
Here are the 6 individual Email addresses that you have to send $1 to
through PayPal for this to work properly and for you to receive
money.
2) Now Send $1.00 to each of the six people on the list using PayPal,
and in the comment (Subject) section type “Please add me to your
list”. Below are the emails that you transfer the money into:
These groups of email addresses are PayPal IDs or usernames.
Choose any group and send 1 Dollar to:
1) burkhalter.jacob@gmail.com
2) portarthurtx@hotmail.com
3) jeffersoncounty@live.com
4) sherelld@live.com
5) nastyman2k12000@yahoo.com
6) misspapillion@gmail.com
STEP 3:
1) take the #1 Email Address off the list,
2) Move the other Email Addresses up (6 becomes 5, 5 becomes 4, etc.)
3) and add Your Email Address as number 6 on the list.
STEP 4:
1) Now, post your amended article to at least 200 news groups (there
are thousands of groups).
2) And email your message to as many people you can. Remember, the
more you post and email the more money you make! This is perfectly
legal!
But you have to post a minimum of 200!
- When you post 200 letters, it is estimated that at least 15 people
will respond and send you $1 ($15).
- Those 15 will post 200 letters each and 225 will send $1 ($225).
- Those 225 will post 200 letters each and 3,375 people will send you
$1 ($3,375).
- Those 3,375 people will post 200 letters each and 50,625 people will
send you $1 (50,625).
- Those 50,625 will post 200 letters each and 749,375 people will send
you $1 (749,375).
- At this point your name drops off the list, but so far, you have
received $813,615.00.
JUST MAKE SURE ALL THE ADDRESSES ARE CORRECT.
When your name is no longer on the list, you just take the latest
posting in the news groups, and send out another $6.00 to Email
Addresses using Paypal on the list, putting your name at number 6
again.
Winners never Quit and Quitters never win.
Posted by: papillion | June 17, 2008, 10:13 pm 10:13 pm
THIS IS ONE REASON WHY OBAMA IS NOT CAPABLE TO BE THE COMMANDER IN CHIEF. HE DOES NO HAVE EXPERIENCE. HE IS CLUELESS HOW TO RUN THIS COUNTRY. LEAST ALONE THE ECONOMY AND HEALTHCARE? THIS IS ONE PERFECT REASON WHY CLINTON SUPPORTERS WILL VOTE FOR MCCAIN IN GENERAL ELECTION. CAN’T AFFORD ANOTHER BUSH ADMINISTRATION THROUGH OBAMA.
Posted by: James, R, Independent | June 17, 2008, 10:13 pm 10:13 pm