More Republicans for Obama

Awhile back I wrote about Lou Thieblemont, mayor of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania and lifelong Republican switching parties so he could vote for Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania and noted other Republicans for Obama also called Obamacans.

Well there is lots more news on that front today. Former GOP Representative Jim Leach endorsed Obama today and kicked off the campaigns official Republicans for Obama effort. Keep reading for more.

"It's been a very difficult thing for me because I've never endorsed a Democrat before...but sometimes in life you come to a juncture where it's very clear the national interest trumps party discipline - Jim Leach"

Today on a conference call Leach endorsed Obama and kicked off Republicans for Obama. RfO will launch a website later this week and has a leadership committee of about 20 current and former prominent Republicans. Rita Hauser, International Peace Institute Chair and 2000 New York Finance Chair for Bush will lead the group with former Republican Senator Lincoln Chaffee.

Also today Fairbanks, Alaska's Republican Mayor Jim Whitaker endorsed Obama.

Other Republicans who have endorsed Obama include:

-Tom Bernstein who went to Yale University with Bush and coowned the Texas Rangers baseball team with him
-Oregon's First District GOP Congressional Nominee Joel Haugen
-Reagan policy advisor Bruce Bartlett
-Delbert Spurlock, who was Assistant Secretary of the Army under Reagan
-ex Senator (and Governor) Lowell Weicker of Connecticut
-Tony Campell, a former GOP congressional candidate from Maryland
-Douglas Kmiec, a Republican who served in the Justice Department under President Ronald Reagan
-Dorothy Danforth Burlin, a lawyer who is the daughter of former U.S. Senator John Danforth
-Susan Eisenhower, president of the Eisenhower Group

Let's take a look at some of these people and why they are for Barack in their own words.

Susan Eisenhower:

Here is why she is a Obamacan from a beautiful op-ed of hers in the Washington Post endorsing Obama.

We have been living in a zero-sum political environment where all heads have been lowered to avert being lopped off by angry, noisy extremists. I am convinced that Barack Obama is the one presidential candidate today who can encourage ordinary Americans to stand straight again; he is a man who can salve our national wounds and both inspire and pursue genuine bipartisan cooperation. Just as important, Obama can assure the world and Americans that this great nation's impulses are still free, open, fair and broad-minded.

.......

It is in this great tradition of crossover voters that I support Barack Obama's candidacy for president. If the Democratic Party chooses Obama as its candidate, this lifelong Republican will work to get him elected and encourage him to seek strategic solutions to meet America's greatest challenges. To be successful, our president will need bipartisan help.

Given Obama's support among young people, I believe that he will be most invested in defending the interests of these rising generations and, therefore, the long-term interests of this nation as a whole. Without his leadership, our children and grandchildren are at risk of growing older in a marginalized country that is left to its anger and divisions. Such an outcome would be an unacceptable legacy for any great nation.

And here she is on MSNBC explaining why she's for Obama

Lou Thieblemont:

Here is why the Republican mayor of Camp Hill, Pennsylvania is voting Obama.

"I'm sick and tired of the politics of fear in this country. He's the only one who doesn't do that, He's the only candidate who's said he'd talk to our enemies and try to get some common ground."

Lincoln Chaffee

Here is what the only Republican senator who opposed the war said when he endorsed Obama

"I believe Senator Obama is the best candidate to restore American credibility, to restore our confidence to be moral and to bring people together to solve the complex issues such as the economy, the environment and global stability,"

Douglas Kmiec:

Douglas Kmiec served in Reagan's DoJ but he's supporting Obama too and penned a Slate article about it.

Today I endorse Barack Obama for president of the United States. I believe him to be a person of integrity, intelligence, and genuine good will. I take him at his word that he wants to move the nation beyond its religious and racial divides and that he wants to return the United States to that company of nations committed to human rights.

..........

All around the country Republicans are flocking to Obama beacuse they are fed up with the modern Republican Party and are ready for a change. But we can't take anything for granted. We've got less then three months until the election. There is no time to sit on the sidelines.

Sign up for a event, donate, take action, support a Obamajority, get networked by joining Kossacks for Obama.

There's plenty of things to do and the stakes are high. So whatever you do, do something!

YES. WE. CAN.