This diary is a presentation of why i support John Edwards and why i believe you should too. It contains no attacks on other candidates and it would be preferable if none of the comments did either. The purpose is not to gore anyones horse.
John Edwards is fighting against the corrupt oligarchy that rules this nation. He has taken a brave stand and gotten astonishingly far despite rabid msm and dc opposition to his message. He is doing not what the consultants of all stripes urge but rather what we've alwayd demanded. If we cannot support that then all our words, our demands, our righteous proclamations have been meaningless
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Edwards message is simple and clear. Probably the reason his candidacy has not only survived the relentless assault by the maintainers of the plutocratic status quo, but flourished. The two americas message he pushes is one we, as democrats, have known for decades. In a world of 'free trade', outsourcing, decimation of the social safety net. A world where the government hands over health care to multinational corporations and democracy itself to the corporate children of connected insiders he has had the courage to stand up boldly against them. Critics have attempted to claim this stance to be false and merely vote seeking but the evidence says just the opposite. His message has been attacked by insiders of both parties from the day he began voicing it. Indeed he was declared 'politically dead' so often by washington insiders (and bloggers) that somewhere in the congressional library there must be a building containing nothing but these faux-obituaries.
He has taken on not only one group or cause. He has taken on the very way business is done in washington. He has taken on our corrupt political funding system by refusing pac donations throughout his career. He was one of the leaders in defeating the CBB's attempt to suck up to Faux news and killing what would have been the biggest joke of a political debate in history as well as an attempt to lend Murdochs private propaganda machine credibility. When criticised, no, attacked by bloggers like Markos by accepting public funding for his campaign he could have done what most politicians would have and changed his mind. He didnt, one would think because it is an issue of principle. One finds it strange of course that the very people claiming to lead the charge against the corruption of the political system by pac money and corporate lobbyists would attack a candidate for fighting for just that cause.
He has given working people a voice. The one group never represented either in our mainstream media nor in washington are the very heart of the democratic party. The democrats have a long history of being the party of the working person. From Jeffersons fight to guarantee our fundamental rights to FDR's triumphant realignment of government as a tool to aid the working classes rather than enslave them to johnsons expansion of the safety net and war against racism we have been the party of the little guy (person). We have fought for womens rights, human rights, for the rights of even our enemies. Yet those people are still the ones who have no voice. Even the so called "progressive" candidates dare not utter a word against free trade, supply side economics, destruction of the right to organise or the bait and switch trick of eliminating the taxation of the upper class and thus forcing that burden onto the working classes. With one exception of course. John Edwards. No matter the attacks. No matter the snide branding as 'populist!'.. a slur in DC and a badge of honor everywhere else, Edwards has merely fought harder. It is no wonder Edwards is compared not with some candidate and strategy in the recent past but with Franklin and Teddy Roosevelt.
He has done something which is absolute heresy in Washington DC. He admitted he made a mistake in voting for the Iraq force authorisation. He did not say "mistakes were made" or, as most of congress did " i was misinformed". He came out and plainly stated "I made a mistake". Washington was shocked of course. For a politician to ever admit human fallibility was surely a death knell. Instead to some of us or perhaps most of us americans it was a sign of strength and honesty. No Leader is always right. It is in the nature of the job to make mistakes. Some of those mistakes having horrendous consequences. It takes a core code of honor to admit that. Something most of washington finds anathema.
John isnt bullshitting. This has impressed me truthfully more than anything else. When he stated he was using public funds i assumed that this was just another politician stating one thing who would then do otherwise. He proved me wrong. On several of his statements i assumed he would later ameliorate his statements in the search for votes and funding. He didnt despite all the hysterical cried predicting the end of his campaign. He stood up. Stood tall and showed us it was conviction and an inherent honesty that drove his politics. That refreshing change from the politics of self interest and greed so common in washington as to become the norm was what convinced me this man is the hope of our nation.
I dont support John Edwards because candidate X is evil or candidate y did z that i dont approve of. No candidate is a deity, they all have ideas we disagree with. John isnt on my page on healthcare (yet). That page is written by Kucinich. But John will do wonderful things for this nation. Things without which i truely believe this nation will perish as the democratic symbol of freedom and compassion we love. Please consider this before you cast your ballot.