John Edwards has a new ad up in South Carolina and it says it all:
"I'm running for president because of 54 years of my life I have believed to my soul that the men and women who worked in that mill with my father were worth every bit as much as the man that owned that mill."
This is why I donated to John Edwards, write diaries on Daily Kos, and fight so hard for his election. The worker is worth as much as the owner. What a radical concept that is today. What has happened to America? That's the Two Americas in a nutshell. That someone has to say that is sad. That such a proposition is contested, even here by some on Daily Kos, is wrong. This is so basic to what a Democrat is.
I've got video of the ad, a transcript, and some things to say, around the fold.
"I'm not running for president because I read something in a book. I'm not running for president because some political consultant told me what I'm supposed to say. I'm running for president because of 54 years of my life I have believed to my soul that the men and women who worked in that mill with my father were worth every bit as much as the man that owned that mill."
This is the fundamental reason I support John Edwards. The dignity of working people.
In 2003, John Edwards said:
"One America does the work, while another America reaps the reward," Edwards said in a speech detailing his efforts to bolster quality of life for middle-class Americans. "One America pays the taxes, while another America gets the tax breaks."
Edwards on economy: No 'two Americas'
In New Hampshire on Tuesday night, John Edwards talked about what this battle is about:
You know, we've had too many Americans whose voices have not been heard in this democracy. That's what this battle is about.
It is not about me. It is about the cause of giving voice to all of those whose voices are not being heard in this democracy.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
Who gave voice to to the story of Nataline Sarkisyan through her parents last week?
Nataline's parents contacted John Edwards after hearing him speak eloquently about Nataline on the night of the Iowa caucuses:
"The Sarkisyans contacted me because they believe I'm the kind of president who will actually fight for their daughter," Mr. Edwards said. "People who have been through these difficult times against entrenched, powerful moneyed interests - they get it. They get it in a serious way. They're not looking for somebody who'll make deals."
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/
01/06/edwards-no-conscience-in-clinton-campaign/
On Thursday, the night of the Iowa caucuses, Nataline's mother was watching MSNBC and heard John Edwards speech and describe their family's tragic loss.
Friday morning, Hilda reached out to the Armenian National Committee of America. seeking to connect with the campaign but didn't know how. Representatives from the Armenian National Committee of America called Edwards' Chapel Hill's headquarter and spoke to the front desk.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/...
The other candidates will not give voice to the Nataline's of this nation. You have to have $2300 to get heard. You know that. What are their campaigns about? It's not the voiceless, it's not about working people, that's for damn sure. You don't raise $100 M a piece that way.
And that is the fundamental difference. We fight for a real and just cause. They are followers of persons.
Our cause has been, since the days of Thomas Jefferson, the cause of the common man and the common woman.
Our commitment has been, since the days of Andrew Jackson, to all those he called "the humble members of society -- the farmers, mechanics, and laborers." On this foundation we have defined our values, refined our policies, and refreshed our faith.
snip
These are not simplistic pledges. Simply put, they are the heart of our tradition, and they have been the soul of our Party across the generations.
It is the glory and the greatness of our tradition to speak for those who have no voice, to remember those who are forgotten, to respond to the frustrations and fulfill the aspirations of all Americans seeking a better life in a better land.
We dare not forsake that tradition.
We cannot let the great purposes of the Democratic Party become the bygone passages of history.
Ted Kennedy August 1980 Democratic National Convention Address
"America was built on an idea – that all of us are equal. The idea that how hard you work, and what kind of choices you make will determine the kind of life you build, and what you pass onto your children – but not the circumstances you're born into, never that. The greatness of America is that promise – that every generation will leave its children a better life. That is our social compact with the middle class – the promise that if you work hard and do what's right, you'll be able to build a better life for yourself and your family. But today, that compact is being threatened.
"Here's what's happened – corporate greed and political calculation have taken over our government and sold out the middle class. Washington isn't looking out for the middle class because Washington doesn't work for the middle class anymore...That is wrong. It doesn't say life, liberty and the pursuit of endless corporate profit in the Declaration of Independence. America is about opportunity for you... and your families, your children. But our government is selling out their future at the command of lobbyists and their corporate clients and we have to rise up together and stop it. We have to rise up and say, no more. Not on our watch.
...
"We need a president who will take these powers on and fight to get you your voice back, and your government back. We need a president who is going to fight every day to make sure that all Americans can find good jobs, save for the future, and be guaranteed health care and retirement security. We need a president who is going to lift up the middle class."
Edwards Delivers Major Speech On Lifting Up America's Middle Class
John Edwards is now our standard bearer for that cause.
"There are a lot of people, especially people in Washington, who don't want me to talk about the Two Americas. And if you think they don't want me to talk about middle class Americans, you can bet they don't want me to talk about the 37 million Americans who are living in poverty here in the wealthiest nation on earth."
This is our cause and we will fight for justice in America so long as we are alive.
If you believe that a mill worker, a factory worker, a maid, a sanitation worker, a secretary, and all other working people that some cannot even see anymore are worth as much as the owner, the boss, and if you believe that we MUST give a voice to the voiceless, then join us.
Go here and hit CONTRIBUTE and donate what you can to the Edwards campaign.
johnedwards.com
I'm working this weekend phone banking in Missouri. What are you willing to do to help change our immoral system? Will you act?
If you are near Nevada or South Carolina,
Sign up to travel on behalf of the campaign today: Road Trip for One America
Let's make One America, together.