Why I'm Supporting John Edwards
As the presidential primary elections approach I look at the current state of affairs of our nation. We have millions of people who are without jobs, without enough to eat, without health care, and without hope. We are engaged in an endless war in Iraq that has cost us over $500 billion dollars (so far) while our own people are in need of basic life necessities. Americans struggle day-to-day just to make ends meet and our environment is rapidly deteriorating. All while George W. Bush goes about his business and pretends that everything is fine.
For the last seven years we experienced nothing but unnecessary war and tax breaks for the richest Americans. A rich man's war and a poor man's fight -- a classic example of the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer. It is just wrong.
The people who are responsible for this detriment upon our nation have done so by hiding behind our flag, our troops, and Christianity.
While at the very same time they defy all that is American, betray our troops, and break every law of Christianity.
As someone who served in the U.S. military honorably for 8 years I am saddened by what has come of America. When a person joins the military they do so out of love for their country. They do so because they believe that their fellow citizens should be safe and secure in their homeland. This is not the case.
Most people attribute national security simply to a strong military. Yes we need to make sure America is safe from our enemies, but that is only one part of the equation. The other part is securing the livelihoods of Americans, protecting their jobs, providing education, and ensuring that our people can see a doctor when they get sick.
It is absolutely heartbreaking to go overseas to fight a war just to come home to see your fellow Americans unemployed, in debt, down on their luck, and living hand-to-mouth. What makes it even worse is knowing that the war you fought in has contributed significantly to their desperation. Knowing that all the money used to destroy Iraq and the failed attempts to rebuild it could have gone to our own people in need.
And God forbid you speak up in protest to this terrible injustice. Those who have not shared in the sacrifice one bit will be the quickest to call you a coward, traitor, and a defeatist. This type of behavior has been encouraged by our own president and vice president over and over again. Think about that -- they actually wish to deny the American people of their first amendment rights. Anyone who expresses their right/freedom to dissent is quickly attacked and smeared as "anti-troops." I thought Bush and Cheney said our troops have to die in Iraq to protect our freedom in America ....
How unfair and un-American is that? How hypocritical is that? There are no words to describe it.
The American people are ready for a complete change from what we have lived through with the disgraceful and tragic presidency of George W. Bush. We need a president that will respect and fight for the rights of all Americans.
My ideal candidate will:
- End the war in Iraq
- Only use war as a last resort
- Provide hope & optimism instead of encouraging hate & fear
- Restore America's standing in the world community
- End the division here at home
- Finally end partisan claims to patriotism and troop support
- Place the interests and wishes of the American people as their # 1 priority
- Have the courage to stand up to special interests groups and party orthodoxy
- Stop the outsourcing of American jobs
- Be a strong advocate for universal health care
- Work hard for environmental protection
- Be part of the solution not the problem
- Admit when they are wrong and make the necessary corrections
- Speak in coherent sentences (added bonus)
I strongly believe that John Edwards is the best candidate running for the presidency of the United States. I believe that he will be strong at home and abroad. I believe that he has the best plan to end poverty, protect American jobs, and restore hope to the middle class. Most importantly, I believe wholeheartedly that he will end the war in Iraq and that he would never send our brave men and women in uniform into harms way unless it is absolutely necessary.
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I think Edwards has burned his bridges to the corporate interests who could never trust him, and that alone is a reason to trust that he would do more to oppose their dominance in Washington than any other candidate.
PLEASE, everyone who has posted on this thread who likes Edwards (and everyone reading it who may not have posted but who support Edwards), Edwards needs your help NOW. First, go to his website and give him all the money you can afford (up to the limit). He has not only pledged not to take PAC money, he is seeking matching funds, which means that every dollar up to the first $250 you contribute, will be matched in January, just when he will need all the cash he can get to compete in the Super Tuesday races.
But more than just giving what you can. Please think of everyone you know, and urge them to do likewise. If you have a few friends locally, have them over for a house party to discuss Edwards and plan how to help his campaign. Volunteer to help his primary campaign in whatever state you are in. He can only win if enough of you stop treating politics as a spectator sport, and start working for the candidate of your choice.
John, hi, your wonderful post has spakred quite a number of Edwards' supporters to stand up and be counted. I, too, am backing Edwards, for all the reasons you indicate, and couple more. He is the only candidate to have highlighted poverty as a very important issue, and he has demonstrated that he puts his money where his mouth is on this one by founding his One Corps several years ago to start to do something about it, set up his poverty center at a university in North Carolina, I believe, and also campaigned very hard for state minimum wage increase laws in several states. How many other candidates have done any direct activitism in any context in the last several years? Not even Kucinich, if I'm not mistaken (not to mention Edwards' very frequent visits to New Orleans and his efforts to hightlight the ongoing plights of people there, and to bring them help).
At the DNC meeting in Reston, Virginia, two weeks ago, Edwards framed his speech around the metaphor that there is a wall around Washington, a corporate wall, that distorts policy, favors corporate interests, and shuts out the people. He pledged to take that wall down and give government back to the people. His ability to frame the leading issue that way was extremely powerful and effective, and represents something very important that Kucinich, for all of his wonderful stances on a great many issues, cannot match. He has a very long list of "issues," and a list of "things" he pledges to do on Day 1 (sadly, most of them simply cannot be addressed that simply, even if his impulse is correct), but they lack focus, and come across as mechanical. Perhaps that's why despite being the darling of a segment of the progressive side of the spectrum, he simply has not caught fire with a wider spectrum of Democrats, despite plenty of exposure in a lot of debates. (continued next post)
John,
Thank you so much for the very eloquent support of John Edwards. I too support and have always supported him because of his ability to relate to what many of us are living in our everyday lives. I met him when he was here in Austin back in June and he is just as sincere person to person as he is in front of thousands of people.
Again, thank you very much.....
John,
i just wish that Kerry's advisers would have taken the leash off of John Edwards when he was debating Cheney in'04. he would have eviscerated that chickenhawk. then there would be no talk about whether or not Edwards can stand up to the entrenched powers. just like Gore was hamstrung by those inept know-it-alls. Gore is/was my first choice, but Edwards is whom i will be voting for if he continues to run in the California primary.
Thank you John for your time in the service and now your service at home. Seems like you are still trying to help our country. Thank you for speaking about the issues instead of diverting our attention to non consequential issues like so many in the media do. A lot of presidents have promised us the moon and JFK is the only one that has delivered. I am glad John Edwards is laying a vision out. I really like the way he says that he is going to use the presidency as a bully pulpit to go to the people and have the people demand it of the congress. He can't do it all alone and it is up to us to demand it of our elected officials to create a new direction for this country. I am ready to do something for this country. Just ask me and I will sacrifice for the planet and the generations to come. Thank you for supporting John Edwards.
John,
I agree with you 100% on your assertions about John Edwards. I'll explain why I beleive this.
I too am an American Veteran. I gave 8 years of service to my country in the late 80's to mid 90's. I participated in Desert Storm.
The last 7 years have been very hard on me and my family. The company that I worked for re-org'd and outsourced my job to India.
I was unable to find a job that paid anywhere near what my previous job paid. It took quite a while to find another job, but we lost our house and our cars and we were very close to the being homeless.
We've managed to get back onto our feet financially, after 3 years of very serious struggles, but times are still very tough. We barely make enough money to get by. Many times we have to decide whether to pay bills or to feed our kids. All the while, our credit just seems to get worse and worse.
Gasoline prices are at record costs, electricity bills are out of control, buying food for a family of 4 is outrageous.
We have health insurance; that I contribute towards from my paycheck, but we can not afford to pay the 'out of pocket' annual deductibles on the healthplan. When we or our children get sick, we can not take them to the doctor...w
If this has become the 'status quo' in America, what seperates us from those 'other' third world countries that let their children starve to death and live on the streets?
The current administration cares NOTHING about its citizens PERIOD. It seems all they care about is lining their own pockets, and those of their friends.
I beleive that John Edwards truly cares about America and it's most precious resource, its citizens. I doubt that John Edwards will win the election, but there's always hope. Hope is what keeps my family together and has so far gotten us through the worst presidental administration in American History.
Last weekend, I went to Derry, NH to see John Edwards. I brought my fiancee, a Jewish, cynical, American history buff, multi-degreed physician who claims to be a conservative independent (yet votes republican :-), for perspective, we're in our early 50's. On the ride home, he was pretty quiet, when I asked him what he thought, he said he regretted registering as an independent because he wanted to vote for John Edwards in the Democratic primary. To my utter amazement, he said he was going to switch because he was impressed with John's factual accuracy, honesty, his presence and most of all, his intelligence and compassion.
Later that evening, I watched a replay of the Oprah/Obama event. As Oprah introduced the "peace president" candidate, I imagined myself as a ruthless, American enemy.
Studing the body language, listening to the hidden messages and nuances each man offered, I felt that an enemy would not be afraid of Obama. But if I was an American enemy, I would never sense that kind of opening or leverage with John Edwards.
I think that any opponent or enemy of America, will be very careful about stepping on John Edwards' toes. America's enemies will intuitively understand that this polite gentleman's smile, those words of compassion, that southern warmth is reserved only for those that matter to him, for those whose care he is charged with. I feel that faced with any type of enemy, John Edwards would be implacable, unyielding, an unwavering pillar of strength that every American could stand behind and believe in 100%, creating the unified America we lost after 911.
John Edwards can and will beat any Republican candidate he goes up against because when voters watch him, they can feel his incredible, inner strength and stamina, his willingness to stand firmly for what he believes in and his ability to look an opponent in the eye and never back down. He's done it over and over, cooly, calmly and calculatedly.
I pity the enemy of America with John Edwards as president.
i agree with every word of your blog. i've been for edwards from the start. i think he's the best candidate for the times. we need someone that will stand up to corporate interests and put the people of this country first. i wish he got as much attention as obama and clinton, he's the one candidate that we're told can beat every republican candidate and that fact is hardly mentioned anywhere.
john,
although i respectfully disagree with your choice of candidates, i do share your ideals in a candidate. as you know, my choice is ron paul because he is not answerable to anyone but his constituents, in message and record.
i believe edwards could stave off the concerns you have, but ultimately be driven by his membership in groups outside of our constitutional interests.
furthermore, i don't think we need a big business lawyer as president.
finally, although i applaud many of his attributes
you may be not aware, but i switched parties solely to vote for dr. paul. i hope for your benefit that edwards can garner the same. to me, he is too much still from the school of "feel good" politics. his ties to the CFR, big law cases, etc makes me wonder if he would accept the same health care system he proposes. further, how will we afford the social programs under his plan? i have read his positions, and they fall short under our monetary system.
but, the main thing is you'll vote, and it sounds like you'll vote your mind. so, i'd still have you in my command. cpt moonbat
I'm with you.
- The Clinton's have already shown that they will sell out to the corporate elite over the average person if it suites them.
- Obama is just another warmed over sycophant who won't tell us anything he will be doing for
"Us".
- Edwards has already stated exactly where he stands. (Although the press has ignored it.)
He is behind the working man and middle-class small business man.
The problem is that every uneducated American thinks he is a potential tycoon who will soon be joining the ranks of the elite. It's a great PR scam, but it seems to work every time.
This is NOT a rhetorical question for you, John: Would you just please announce your candidacy already?
I'm serious.
You've got my vote, man.
~Sean
John,
Thank you for your words of wisdom in support of Edwards. A positive piece on Edwards was long overdue, especially on this site. I'm appreciative of your past sacrifice and present effort. Your straightforward and honest assessment of matters was concise and eloquent. I wholeheartedly concur with your conclusion that Edwards is the best choice for President. Well said and well done John!
G.O.P.
John,
John Edwards is able to lead this country. I am in the same business as he's in. I can tell you that taking on corporate interests in a courtroom is preceded by many depositions that may last several days each. After a forty or fifty depositions, the trial may last several weeks or even months. Then there are appeals.
Many successful trial lawyers are marathon runners and amateur boxers. I was a karate and jujitsu expert. You have to be tough.
The situation in this country is dire. Our future will be determined by whether transnational corporations with incomes equal to or greater than most countries will continue to control our own country. One look at the war in Iraq, the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, the savings and loan fiasco, the influence of K-Street, The Abramoff scandal, the failure of Enron, the US Attorney Scandal, torture, wiretapping, crony capitalism, and too many others tells you that a systemic change must come soon or there will be irreversible damage to our country.
It is naive (Obama) or dishonest (Hillary) to assert that there can be a "middle ground" to the rampant corruption that we see today in Washington. Many of us fear that there will be election tampering. Others fear that another war will be started by Dick Cheney and the neocons that run a separate government out of hos office.
John Edwards is willing and able to confront this evil empire built from Wall Street, the Pentagon and its government contractor, and those oil and oil services companies that have milked the situation for so long.
John: I have been a fan of your posts here on Huffpo. It is much needed for the people who actually followed their orders and served in Iraq to give us their opinions of how it REALLY is!! Thank you for not only your loyalty to our country, but your strength to stand up to the corrupt administration we now have.
That said, I am really disappointed in your support of Edwards. When I read your list of what a candidate for POTUS should have, I know in my heart Dennis Kucinich meets all those requiremen
Edwards does not, and will not, have what it takes to take on corporate America. This country is being run, and ruined, by big corporations: leading and controlling from Bush all the way down to the media. Kucinich has proven himself a man of the people, and not afraid to take on the big corporate structure.
I have family all across the South - from Arkansas to Missouri and North and South Carolina. Trust me; you can't trust a slick talking Southern gentleman - and this has nothing to do with his $400 haircuts!!!
We, as a once great nation, are in desperate need of repair and a change in direction. I am sorry, John, but Edwards will not be able to deliver on either need.
Best of luck to you...keep posting here;
Enjoy your Holidays!!
John,
Keep standing up for the truth and hammering away at the liars and Chickenhawks in our society. As long as the emperor can walk around naked while his sycophants rave about his beautiful clothes, we are on the path to national destruction. Only the plain, unvarnished truth can save us, an only then if we're willing to work and sacrifice in our quest to make a better America.
Stay tough....
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Posted December 12, 2007 | 03:36 PM (EST)