Obama for Fattah (The Next Mayor)

Time to pull out the big guns, folks...

Barack Obama has started soliciting for Chaka Fattah.

From the e-mail sent to Fattah supporters:

"All his life, Chaka has been a true champion for Philadelphia's neighborhoods.

"When blood stained the streets of his community in the 1960s and 1970s, Chaka shared his home with neighborhood teens that his family had convinced to reject gangs and turn around their lives.

"In 25 years of public service on the local and national levels, Chaka has never forgotten his early life lesson: the key to breaking the grip of violence in our most hard-pressed communities is to replace desperation with hope.

A reader points out that David Axelrod is the likely link between the two campaigns.

Read the entire e-mail after the jump.

Dear Friend,

In eight short days, you have the chance to put my friend, Chaka Fattah, on the path to becoming Philadelphia's next Mayor.

But to make it happen, Chaka needs your financial support - today. Please click here to send your contribution of $500, $100, $50, or $25 right away, so Chaka can get his message to voters in this crucial final week before the May 15th election.

All his life, Chaka has been a true champion for Philadelphia's neighborhoods.

When blood stained the streets of his community in the 1960s and 1970s, Chaka shared his home with neighborhood teens that his family had convinced to reject gangs and turn around their lives.

In 25 years of public service on the local and national levels, Chaka has never forgotten his early life lesson: the key to breaking the grip of violence in our most hard-pressed communities is to replace desperation with hope.

It's why Chaka's focused his campaign on ending the poverty that plagues one in four Philadelphians. And it's why he's offered a detailed plan on seizing illegal guns, opening more after-school programs, and giving every Philadelphian the opportunity to get a quality education and a good job.

I know something about the big challenges facing America's inner cities. I began my career as a community organizer, working for three years in some of Chicago's poorest, most crime-ridden neighborhoods. Chaka understands that the key to transforming Philadelphia begins with addressing the lack of opportunity that so many families face.

To win this election, Chaka doesn't need to match the other candidates dollar-for-dollar, but he does need a strong push this week. Your contribution can make the difference.

In my campaign for the U.S. Senate, I faced a wealthy opponent who financed his own election. Early on, the pundits said our campaign didn't stand a chance against his deep pockets and barrage of television advertising.

By organizing a first-rate field operation and getting our supporters to the polls, we turned that conventional wisdom on its head. With your help, Chaka can do the same thing on May 15th. Please send the most generous contribution you can, and do it today. Click here to contribute $500, $100, $50, or $25 right now.

With your support, Chaka Fattah will continue his lifetime of advocating for the vulnerable, and bring hope to every neighborhood in Philadelphia.

Thank you so much.

Sincerely,
U.S. Senator Barack Obama

PS- In these last 8 days before the election, Fattah can also use a contribution of your time, so make sure to sign-up to volunteer by clicking here.

Comments (33)

Anonymous:

notice all the spelling mistakes? way to proof your work

Posted by Anonymous | May 7, 2007 1:50 PM

But is it real?

Posted by Anonymous | May 7, 2007 1:55 PM

I find this interesting. I am for Obama for pres, but do you really think that he is familiar with any of the candidates in the mayor's race other than Brady and Fattah? He probably doesn't know Evans, Nutter, or Knox from a hole in the ground. I think that Obama made a deal with Fattah that Obama supports Fattah for mayor in exchange for Fattah supporting Obama for president. But it is just a theory.

Posted by Anonymous | May 7, 2007 1:58 PM

Jill:

Its mutual fund-raising / back-scratching. Not unusual. But, it does display the level of difficulty that Chaka has encountered in raising money for his campaign.

Posted by Jill | May 7, 2007 2:01 PM

Wendy:

I have no reason to doubt this is real *goes to call campaign*

Posted by Wendy | May 7, 2007 2:12 PM

The Obama campaign says that the e-mail is legit, but that Obama "absolutely will not be coming to Philadelphia" to campaign with Fattah in the next week.

Posted by Wendy | May 7, 2007 2:28 PM

james jones:

I am not so sure this last deperate attempt to get money, complete with poor grammer, tons of mispellings is not and inside job! Why would Obama agree to this type of funraising and then not follow up with a campaign visit to recoup the donations? This smells really bad

Posted by james jones | May 7, 2007 2:38 PM

Patricio:

The news of this is old...well kind of. Late last year Obama was in Philly raising money for a vague sounding Fattah event. The event was one of those "is it fundraising for congress or mayor?" kind of things. By this time Fattah had not properly announced his run yet.

If Obama was following this race I'm sure he would question Fattah's platform and arrogance on the campaign trail.

An interesting tidbit was at a mayoral debate amongst the candidates before a group of local high schoolers a couple months back. The students asked who the would be mayors would like to see as the next president. Fattah, being such the Washington politician said "A Democrat". Nutter's response? Obama. Obama didn't even get any love from his guy in this race. Figures.

P.S. Wendy, it was nice to see you get a shotout right before last nights debate.

Posted by Patricio | May 7, 2007 2:43 PM

"grammer" should be spelled "grammar"

Posted by Anonymous | May 7, 2007 2:46 PM

austin:

I think this email shows the power of the relationships Congressman Fattah has been able to build during his career. These connections will help Congressman Fattah raise money now, and help raise money and support for Philadelphia when he wins.

Posted by austin | May 7, 2007 3:30 PM

rms:

But what I can't understand is why Fattah (or Brady or Evans, for that matter) would be of more value to Philadelphia as mayor than where they are now.

Particularly Fattah, who has considerable seniority and clout in the majority party in Congress.

He says he could get help for Philadelphia as mayor because he knows people in Washington. But right now, he has actual power in Washington. And, in my experience, politicians respond bettter to the "Do What I Want" request when the second part of the sentence is "Because I Can Bite You in the Behind" than when it is "Because I Am Your Old Friend".

Posted by rms | May 7, 2007 3:47 PM

Now I just cannot vote for Obama or Chaka Fatwah

Posted by Anonymous | May 7, 2007 3:58 PM

mdcphilly:

I can't condone the derogatory comment. I would love to vote for Obama for Prez and I support Nutter.

That said, Fattah's entire campaign is about trying to obscure his lack of a meaningful record with stacks of hyperbolic position papers and celebrity endorsements.

Posted by mdcphilly | May 7, 2007 4:17 PM

I wouldn't be surprised if Obama knows very few details about Fattah's service in Congress or his current campaign for mayor. Nevertheless, it's a good endorsement for Fattah. Good for him--but Nutter for Mayor.

Posted by Anonymous | May 7, 2007 4:25 PM

Dave

If you've seen the Shame of a City documentary, you know that quite a few well-known people endorsed John Street in 2003.

Posted by Dave | May 7, 2007 4:31 PM

Adam B

These connections will help Congressman Fattah raise money now...

Well, it's about time. :)

The fundraising story of this race will be fascinating to tell when it's over, given how the disarmament of law firms (via pay-to-play reform) has dried up the biggest traditional source of Dem dollars.

Posted by Adam B | May 7, 2007 4:34 PM

The only thing this shows is a lack of integrity in Obama. This is the "fresh voice" I've been hearing about? This whole thing is absurd.

Posted by Anonymous | May 7, 2007 4:39 PM

Joe:

Should be interesting to see if this big-name endorsement really makes a splash for Fattah or not. However, it's worth noting that Obama claimed to have looked up to Fattah's efforts in Congress when he was in the Illinois State Senate. At least, that's what he said a few months back.

Posted by Joe | May 7, 2007 4:43 PM

Son of Anonymous:

Anonymous, chill out dad, so what if Nutter doesn't have any star power behind him. I'm sure the ultra-liberal left vote will have him lapping the field on May 15! Relax, Michael has this in the bag. WWW.I'm a sellout2007.com Go Michael GO!

Posted by Son of Anonymous | May 7, 2007 4:46 PM

I'm glad you've abandoned any pretext of liking Nutter.

Posted by Dave | May 7, 2007 5:15 PM

Funny,now that Brady is dead in the water, the party hacks have decided to attack Nutter. Hope they like working with Knox.

Posted by Anonymous | May 7, 2007 5:19 PM

Dave as I have told you in the past, Nutters' a good guy, but not what the city needs right now. If everybody was middle to upper-class like you and me... then he would be the perfect choice for Mayor. But, I have traveled with Michael and to see the way prominent Philly Politicians, clergymen and businessmen strategically avoid him at social functions; borders on astonishment. Michael is going to have to work with these people if he is victorious on May 15! But, they genuinely dislike him! Even Wilson Goode Jr. not one kind word. This is going to be problematic. Still no love for the other candidates huh, Dave.

Posted by Son of Anonymous | May 7, 2007 5:53 PM

C. Tempernot:

Obama President???
Fattah Mayor???

I'm moving to Australia

Posted by C. Tempernot | May 7, 2007 5:57 PM

They don't have to like him. They just have to be able to work with him, and have in the past (including Goode).

As for the other candidates, I've been posting here for months now and have commented on all of them numerous times.

Posted by Dave | May 7, 2007 6:23 PM

I'd rather watch a Dave / SoA debate with Chris Matthews tonight....

Posted by Wendy | May 7, 2007 6:56 PM

No thanks. I have no interest in getting elected mayor ;-)

Posted by Dave | May 7, 2007 6:59 PM

I've also discovered that I hate politics, BTW :-\

Posted by Dave | May 7, 2007 7:01 PM

Jayfar:

I received this spam from info@phillyforfattah.com too. I could never vote for a spammer and I most assuredly did not give my email address to Fattah's campaign.

Posted by Jayfar | May 7, 2007 9:14 PM

Obama might want to reconsider his endorsement after tonight's performance by Fattah. If there were ever a non-Obama moment, it was when Fattah questioned Nutter's racial identify. Someone should really make sure Obama understands how his good name is being dirtied by Fattah.

Posted by Anonymous | May 7, 2007 9:32 PM

Go to my.barackobama.com/page/s/contact2
and let them know how you feel about Fattah. I just did. I let them know of I and others who are are now former Obama fans due to this.

Posted by Patricio | May 7, 2007 9:45 PM

People acuse Obama of not being "black enough" and having low appeal amongst black leaders and communities. Remind you of someone?

Posted by Patricio | May 7, 2007 9:47 PM

If you have to remind African-American's that you are indeed an African-American, you got problems!

Posted by Son of Anonymous | May 8, 2007 1:08 PM

Chaka Fattah created the Obama piece,and then had to back pedal and make it good with the senator,something he has done before with other big names.

Posted by Anonymous | May 8, 2007 3:02 PM

Comments (33)

Post a comment