Welcome to another edition of the Edwards Evening News Round-up. Today news on Edwards' reaction to Bush commuting Libby's sentence, Edwards appearance at ACORN today, his bold announcement on minimum wage, a bit on the NALEO forum over the weekend and other things.
Let your fingers do the walking and come with me over the fold.
Edwards Statement On President Bush Commuting Libby's Sentence
Hot off the press, Edwards speaks out strongly about Bush's outrageous support for illegal actions committed by those in the Commander Guy's administration:
"Only a president clinically incapable of understanding that mistakes have consequences could take the action he did today. President Bush has just sent exactly the wrong signal to the country and the world. In George Bush's America, it is apparently okay to misuse intelligence for political gain, mislead prosecutors and lie to the FBI. George Bush and his cronies think they are above the law and the rest of us live with the consequences. The cause of equal justice in America took a serious blow today. "
Not everyone in America is quite as connected as Scooter. Here's a glimpse of the other America that Bush either ignores or doesn't even know exists:
If you’re African-American, you’re more likely to be charged with a crime. If you’re charged with a crime, you’re more likely to be convicted of the crime. If you’re convicted of the crime, you’re more likely to get a severe sentence. There is no question that our justice system is not color-blind.
And if you lie to the FBI and obstruct justice, and you are part of Bush's America, it simply doesn't matter. From the war to Katrina to the DOJ, this president has never taken responsiblity for his administrations' actions, so why start now?
Edwards Calls For Minimum Wage Increase As Part Of Plan To Build One America
At appearances at the National Education Association's (NEA) annual meeting and the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now's (ACORN) Candidates Forum, Edwards called for, among other things, gradually increasing the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2012 and ensuring that it continues to rise by indexing it to average wages. You can see the full plan here. More details on ACORN in tomorrow's EENR but we already know that Edwards and ACORN are on the same side:
In the last four years Edwards has been clearer and clearer that his campaign is mission-driven around poverty eradication, so with us he is preaching to the choir, since we have campaign so hard and for so long to really see the great society finally achieved on an equitable basis for all Americans.
Today Edwards noted that the minimum wage (finally) increase signed into law is still a povery wage:
Almost 80 percent of workers benefiting from a minimum wage increase are adult workers. Americans working full-time at the minimum wage today take home only about $10,700 a year before taxes, nearly 40 percent below the poverty line for a family of three. Even after this month's scheduled increase to $5.85, minimum-wage workers will earn about $12,200, still nearly 30 percent below the poverty line for these families. [Kennedy, 2007; EPI, 2007]
And raising the minimum wage to a living wage is one step we can take towards reducing poverty:
"Raising the minimum wage is one of the most important steps we can take to lift working families out of poverty and into the middle class," said Edwards. "No one who works full-time should have to live in poverty. If a job takes you away from your family every single day — or for many low-wage workers all through the night — it had better pay you enough to support them. As president, I will raise the minimum wage and put our economy back on the side of working families."
As the Blogger News Network notes correctly:
In the United States, we have an economy that is more non union and service sector based than ever before. Now more than ever workers need more help, not less. As far as the conservative argument that minimum wage increases lead to job losses, I say prove it. Never has a study been done that could directly link an increase in the minimum wage to a decrease in employment.
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Edwards is on the right track here. Despite all of the calls for economic Armageddon every time the minimum wage goes up a dollar or more, I think that something needs to be done to help the people who ring up your groceries, or your make your coffee in the morning survive in an economy where so few have so much, and so many have so little.
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Lastly, it is nice to hear one major Democratic candidate talk about an issue that matters to most Democrats.
And apparently the unions are also listening to what Edwards is saying.
National Education Association's (NEA) annual meeting
Along with his remarks on minimum wage and other issues at ACORN Edwards also spoke with conviction at the NEA. Here's a clip for you:
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The National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) 24th Annual Conference
As many know Edwards recently spoke at the NALEO annual conference over the weekend. Among other things he criticized the recent Congressional rush to build an unpopular and impractical fence:
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards garnered rousing applause when he said he "would never be for building a wall all the way across our Southern border." Edwards said he would deploy more personnel and more technology along the border as enforcement measures, while offering illegal immigrants here "an absolute path to citizenship."
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Here's a clip with a bit more:
NALEO video
Edwards Crushes Fred Thompson!
Check out ArkDem14's great diary on the latest findings from Rasmussen. Once again Edwards not only does the best vs the newly reinvented former longtime lobbyist and last hope of the Republican party in national head to heads, but according to SUSA he does better than him across the USA including much of the South.
Along with beating Fred Thompson, Edwards is also the only Democratic candidate that beats Giuliani in states like Iowa, Kentucky, and Missouri. Its a great diary and great news for democrats and just shows that John Edwards is the best candidate to put the Republicans on defence and take back the White House.
And if you want to support the democratic candidate with the best shot at reaching Pennsylvania Avenue - here is a good place to start: Bloggers for John Edwards.
And thats about it - hope you enjoyed it! If you've got more news, feel free to post it and check back tomorow for the latest news as we follow John Edwards message and policies of hope and change to Denver.