Edwards Radicalizes Anti-Corporate Pitch

Dubuque, Iowa - Amid a heavy snow storm Friday afternoon, an overflow crowd of several hundred supporters bundled into a meeting hall in this economically battered town to hear candidate John Edwards escalate his closing campaign message of opposing "corporate greed" and denounce what he called a "small group of profiteers" dominating American life.

"Everything about America is threatened today...this is an epic struggle for the future of America," Edwards told the cheering crowd. "Corporate greed and the very powerful use their money to control Washington and this corrupting influence is destroying the middle class."

While all of the presidential campaigns have refocused to some degree on foreign policy in the wake of the murder of Pakistani leader Benazir Bhutto, Edwards is keeping his message of economic fairness front and center during the final week of campaigning here. "We will defeat greed and fear - and strike a blow for working people, for those with no voice, for those Washington has ignored too long." Edwards made no mention of the Pakistani crisis in his newly re-tooled stump speech.

While Edwards has consistently campaigned on an economically populist program, his speech today in Dubuque was marked by a noticeable ratcheting up and radicalization of his critique of corporate wealth and power.

"Why on earth would we expect the corporate powers and their lobbyists, who make billions by selling out the middle-class, to just give up their power because we ask them nicely?" Edwards asked. He made no mention of rivals Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton in today's speech; in the past, he has slammed Clinton for being too indebted to powerful Washington lobbies.

Edwards is in the midst of a final 38-county push to win next Thursday's Iowa caucuses. Even his own supporters will concede that taking Iowa is a do-or-die must for a campaign running third in national polls, but in a virtual dead heat in the Hawkeye State with rivals Clinton and Obama.

Nestled on the gritty Illinois border, Dubuque has been hit hard by the collapse in American manufacturing jobs and offers itself as a perfect venue for Edwards' message of economic fairness. The local Flexsteel plant has lost about two-thirds of its 800 jobs over the past decade. Paper maker Georgia Pacific, another big employer in town, has also been hit hard by job exports.

"Iowa has lost twice as many jobs to unfair trade deals than it's won in the so-called technological revolution," Edwards adviser Dave "Mudcat" Saunders told the HuffPost before today's event started. "What kind of revolution is that?" Saunders said Edwards would stay on his message of opposing "unchecked greed" and that it was a theme that resonated deeply throughout the state.

Check out the rest of HuffPost's Iowa coverage.

Comments

[cryingeagle]

John Edwards' bold ideas have shaped the debate in this election. Whether it’s creating universal health care or halting global warming, ending poverty or ending the war in Iraq and restoring America’s moral leadership around the world, John has led with the boldest and most comprehensive plans for overcoming the challenges we face today.

John is the one candidate willing to speak the truth about what’s going on in Washington: big corporations and special interests have taken over our government and taken the power away from the American people. And he knows there’s only one way to get it back: to stand up, take them on, and beat them.

John is ready for this fight – because fighting special interests on behalf of regular, hard-working Americans is what he’s been doing his entire life.

[drhammer]

"The local Flexsteel plant has lost about two-thirds of its 800 jobs over the past decade. Paper maker Georgia Pacific, another big employer in town, has also been hit hard by job exports."

For shame.

These corporations have sent their jobs across the pond. It's the local workers who've been hit hard, not the manufacturers.

[leftoflennon]

That is what is needed....­RADICALIZA­TION

Edwards is the only true, honest, candidate, the only one with the stuff to carry this country forward, and if the Dem party has any sense/guts left, they will nominate him -- NOT Obama nor Clinton...­.

[Bernovac]

Huffpo, take a look at the number of Edwards' comments this post is generating, at what they're saying... and get with it. The majority of us faceless readers are behind Edwards and would like you and your writers to stop sucking up to "Hollywood­." (God forbid they don't get invited to David Geffin's New Year's party!) Know this: Edwards, not Obama, is the One!

Go Edwards!

[tbone99]

Because we can't afford another 8 years of a Repuglican president, especially with their take on "executive privilge" -

Dec 12 polls show:
Versus McCain: Clinton loses by 2%, Obama is in a dead heat, and Edwards wins by 8%.

Versus Giuliani: Clinton wins by 6%, Obama by 7%, Edwards wins by 9%.

Versus Romney: Clinton wins by 11%, Obama by 13%, and Edwards wins by 22%.

Versus Huckabee: Clinton wins by 10%, Obama wins by 15%, and Edwards annihilates Huckabee by 25%.

Personally I think Huckabee is going to be much harder to beat than that , because if he's the nominee evangelicals are going to vote instead of sitting this one out.

Edwards is not supported by corporations ( i'd hardly call the SEIU - a union of janitors, nurse aides, nurses and hotel workers trying to make a living wage a corporate special interest )- We need to send him what we can afford to make ourselves heard above the corporate lobbyists

[Oakland]

This site is so obviously biased in favor of Obama, I'm surprised you don't have a link to his fund raising page pinned to your front page. Obama is nothing more than an empty suit owned by the corporations. Hillary is a full suit owned by the corporations. This site is pretty useless.

[MikePatronSaintofTruth]

What Edwards need to do is this:

Tell the American people that we are no longer a country governed BY AND FOR THE PEOPLE. We have become a country governed by politicians FOR corporate profits.

Edwards needs to tell the people that the government should be working on behalf of the American people --national health care; stronger social security; families with young children and working parents; the poor; etc....

BUT,Edwards should also say that he is EAGER to work with corporations that have a conscience about the people who work for them and about our country. That corporations can be convinced to work for profit for their share holders AND for the workers who help create the wealth can be done.

Edwards should ask the AMERICAN PEOPLE to vote CO-OPERATIVELY to help improve the condition of the American people, rather than to vote COMPETITIVELY against one another in the hope of getting get government contracts or hand-outs for themselves only. If Americans VOTE CO-OPERATIVELY, then a quality national health care plan can be a reality. Then the government can work with corporations to improve the circumstances of the American people, and not just their bottom line... [it used to be called "corporate responsibility"].

Let's once again become a country governed FOR and BY the PEOPLE!!

[As an aside, I just returned from Europe where the debate in Germany between the right wing and the left wing is HOW money should be spent to help young families make ends meet. The conservatives want to give the parents 70% of their salaries for up to 3 years to stay at home with their infant/toddler children --YES! that's what the conservatives want... and the liberals want to take that money and put it into more expanded and first class child care...!) The most right-wing person in Europe would be far left of the Democratic party here in the U.S. The people in Germany are much more governed "FOR AND BY THE PEOPLE" than here in the U.S.

[JohnHenry]

John Edwards is a man who will stand up and not stand down.

It must be radicalized to get done.

He has my vote.

[Rog49Thomas]

Where are the schools that you have waited for your children to have, that have never come?
Where are the roads and the highways that you send your money to build, that are no nearer now than ever before?
Where are the institutions to care for the sick and disabled?
Your tears in this country have lasted for genera­tions. Give me the chance to dry the eyes of those who still weep here.”

[JhNyc]

Here we go with another ridiculous, misleading HuffPo headline on an article about Edwards.

[HouseOfRoberts]

Why is it "radical" to tell the truth about the corruption of our government?
Cooper, who are you voting for?

[speakingtruth2power]

Edwards, if elected will stand with Carter, JFK and Ike as the only honest Presidents we've had in my sixty one years of life. I used to think Stevenson would have done a better job but that's because any Dem is better than the GOP'er.

[speakingtruth2power]

John Edwards is bravely offering his life to the dream that America is the land of opportunity and will fight those who claim that opportunity is limited to the privileged few. Both JFK and Dr. King made the same choice and GHWB and his friends silenced them.

If Edwards is brave enough to try, I'm going to work for his election. I was a naive junior in high school when JFK was taken from Us but next time, I won't accept their commissions report. the fight for people's rights is an unending one and the elite will never give up their ill gained wealth easily.

[themodernleader]

Months ago I stated that whoever came up with a strong economic message would be leading contenders. Both Edwards and Huckabee fill that bill. That the other candidates, especially on the Democratic side, will not discuss issues that may decide our future as a vital, viable and democratic country suggests either profound timidity and trepidation or an arrogant belief in our alleged exceptionality to countervail the laws of economics and common sense and the lessons of history.
In either case, it bodes ill for future leadership of our forlorn, bankrupt Republic.

[SDgirl]

I appriciate your passion for your candidate,JE, but I must say I am an independent voter that just doesn't feel it. I listen to him speak and I just can't feel anything. I don't find him to be believable. I don't want to just here the words coming out of his mouth, I need some solid history of action to back them up. The thing that resounds loudly to me is his constant apologizing for past beliefs and votes, why didn't he get any of those things right the first time? His experiece is thin and lacking. He can give a good speech about 2 America's but he must not be in mine if he lives in a 25,000 square foot home. He also seems very pandering to me...He was the one being very attackish to Hillary earlier on, then when things heated up between Obama and Hillary, he was quick to go on the "democrats shouldn't be attacking each other" bandwagon. It just seems to flimsy and transparent to me...I really have no idea what you people are so in awe of...