I went to see Elizabeth Edwards in Brentwood, NH at a stunning home in a beautiful country setting right outside Exeter, NH. About 100 people came out early Friday evening to see our favorite Elizabeth.
The whole family will be doing the Partridge Family thing over the next few days throughout the state and as Elizabeth told us today, Exeter has always meant Halloween to her since she saw a bunch of grapes walking out of the Town Hall down the street a few years back.
She was a few minutes late but we didn't mind one bit. And she did not fail to impress us with her remarks. But something struck me as so outrageous, I decided to post it as soon as possible. Follow me below the fold for the latest news on the anti-Edwards whispering campaign that is in full swing in the Granite State. Things that go bump in the night. The irony.
We begin the Q & A with a question from a volunteer. She talked to someone on the phone that asked her, "why should I trust a millionaire to talk about poverty?"
Mrs. Edwards started giving her some good advice, but she turned to the latest and most disgusting smear I've heard about John Edwards and his campaign for President in some time, okay a few short weeks, but I can't understand why some campaigns would attack the man through his wife and family.
Haven't they been through enough? Can't we just keep it on the level - on our side at least? Isn't there enough in the context of a campaign to attack on the issues? EJ Dionne was right when he wrote about the whispering campaign ahead of us on our side last February. It's going to get plenty ugly before this thing is done.
Video: Elizabeth Edwards: "I am not too sick" (3:47)
We pick up the comments as she talks about how John Edwards latched on to the idea of dedicating himself to work on poverty after the '04 election.
I'm going to throw in something that is important for me to throw in because I have now heard it in a number of places.
This being the kind of undercover criticism ... coming from other campaigns honestly ...
I am not too sick for John to be either a candidate for President or President.
I've gotten nothing but encouraging news from my doctors. They're looking at things that mean nothing to me, but I've gotten nothing but encouragement from them. And I'm a terrible liar so I promise you ... even if I were getting bad news there is no prognosis that would put me under before November of 2008. laughter
Honestly I expect to see my children graduate from High School applause ... including my seven year old...
It actually makes me mad that people are saying this. I just want to make certain and I'll probably do some clarifying over the next few days while we're in the state to make that clear to people. I just wanted to throw that in here since it was one of those undercover attacks, I'll throw it in on that one.
She goes on from there and we return to the central theme of the question about why a millionaire should be trusted to speak about poverty. The crowd gets into it in a big way and Margery Benjamin, a published poet and a Great American, lowers the boom with this line:
It isn't how much money you have when you're running for office, it's who you're taking money from.
Elizabeth: I'm going to have a much better answer next time.
Enjoy the clip and don't forget that when they whisper their cynical smears and "undercover criticism" you can say it right and you can say it louder. You can say it face to face when you go door to door. You don't have to sleaze a vote out of this electorate with the Edwards campaign.
Let them whisper and push poll, you get up and fight in the light of day with the power of truth to persuade, but you have to get up and you have to get out there - now.
Mrs. Edwards also made a prediction: we probably won't win Utah.
I don't know, Mrs. Edwards, with you guys out campaigning in all 50 states this time next year representing the traditions and the core beliefs of our party, the party that sticks up for ordinary Americans everywhere in this country without 100K in a paper bag, we might just steal Utah.
In other Democratic money news, Robert Reich, Labor Secretary for Clinton assailed Democrats for selling out to the bourbon class this week: Clinton labor secretary: 'Bought out' Democrats won't raise taxes on rich.
But Reich only got it partially right at least as far as the presidential candidates go. True Edwards has not proposed a higher marginal tax rate on the super rich, but he was asked about tax fairness at a Dover Town Hall back in July.
Video: Edwards in Dover: Capital Gains Tax (2:02)
I read in the papers today that Giuliani said the capital gains tax you favor would drive jobs and businesses from the US, any response?
Yeah, yeah I have got a response for Giuliani. (laughter) Romney said the same thing the day before... The capital gains rate is 15%, so that means, in fact Warren Buffet ... has said that the result of that is he's paying a lower tax rate than his secretary is paying.
That is exactly what happens; people who make their money from investments ... I'm here to tell you they are paying at most 15% on their income while the people who work for them are paying a much higher rate - that's my point. It's not right. So what I've proposed is for people making over 250,000 dollars a year the capital gains rate go for from 15 to 28% because I think they ought to carry their fair share of the tax burden. Right now the middle-class is carrying the tax burden in this country. And so what I say to Giuliani and Romney, all that money that they're making off their investments...
I want them to pay their fair share of taxes on those investments and I want them not to be treated better than other Americans are treated. That's my answer to them.
Good answer.
Oh and by the way, it's not just about poverty it's about the unraveling of the entire middle-class: Income inequality worst since 1920s, according to IRS data
Have a great trip through the state this weekend it's the perfect time of year to go out and tell the truth with all the rustling leaves and the scenic foliage and all that jazz.
This diary is another in the continuing guerrilla vlogger series. I'm not associated with the campaign in any way although I do volunteer, but I speak only for myself when blogging. I support Edwards for the nomination and I do all these vlogs as a citizen journalist, as in I'm not paid. I do everything with an ordinary mini-DV, a PC, Movie Maker and free tools available on the web.