The White House denies that Obama was a member of the socialist New Party. Officials say it’s a “crackpot smear” spurred by those slanderous right-wingers. But they omit the fact that there’s some rather damning evidence. There are two documents that effectively prove that Obama joined the New Party back in 1996. But the campaign is having none of it.
The documents were obtained by Stanley Kurtz and published yesterday on Buzzfeed. Minutes of a January 1996 meeting explicitly reveal that Obama signed a “Candidate Contract” and “joined the New Party.” Here’s one of the documents:
And, apparently, the President was negligent on paying his dues:
The cache of documents published yesterday also includes an alphabetical list of members who are caught up on their dues and a separate list of members who are behind on their dues. The “Not Paid Up” list is dated April 17, 1997 and includes Obama’s name. There is also a column titled “DATEJOIN” which indicates the date that each delinquent member first joined the New Party. The date 1/11/96 appears next to Obama’s name… That is the date of the meeting in question, minutes of which state that Obama “joined the New Party.”
The evidence is there. Obama joined the group on January 11, 1996, and was listed on the party’s membership roles in April 1997. Still, the administration and other critics dispute the matter.
Buzzfeed’s documents include a 13-page list chronicling over 300 members who have neglected to pay their annual dues, and yours truly was on that list. All of these delinquent members have a phone number next to their name, yet Obama’s mighty defenders claim the New Party did not document its membership in 1996-1997.
It’s, well, an easily demonstrable falsehood.
