originally published on BlueNC
I recently saw a story in the AP that dealt, once again, with the John Edwards $400 haircut. However, this time I was pleasantly surprised that the story was about a good cause - autism research. I was disappointed though, that the AP could not do a complete story and actually follow through with a little research. Unfortunately, our mainstream media have become "reporters", that is they simply report what they are told.
So, I thought I would you give you some background on this issue with regards to the Edwards campaign, and why what happened wasn't a stunt.
First, the AP story.
Haircut Charity Attracts Edwards
...
David Holden owns Hair Biz on Main Street, a couple of doors away from an Edwards campaign office. After the Democratic former senator's haircut made news last spring, Holden challenged presidential hopefuls to come in for $400 haircuts of their own, promising to donate all of the proceeds to autism research. His 12-year-old son has autism...
This story has been around for some time, I don't know that this fella' was out to get Edwards so much as he was out to raise awareness and money for Autism. A noble cause, even if it is at the expense of 'my' candidate. I'm not the only one who thought so.
During the weekend, Holden received a note signed by Elizabeth Edwards, and a check for $500 toward autism research. He said she wrote that she had heard about his challenge and admired the commitment he and his wife, Nancy, were making to their adopted son, Costica.
"This personal check is a small down payment on a larger promise John made some time ago to make the lives of children with disabilities and their families better," she wrote.
So, why is this not just a publicity stunt, why is this not just the campaign trying to make lemons out of lemonade?
Several months ago...oh my Gosh, has it been almost a year? Well, anyway, I wrote a diary about John Edwards, the bills he submitted his first year in the Senate, and what that meant. From that story.
I should back up a step and introduce a few things about myself. I work in the DD (developmental delay) field, and I have friends and family that fall under the broad MRDD (Mental Retardation and Developmental Disability) umbrella. Because of this, at one time, I used to blog purely about Autism Spectrum Disorder, and I have tried and succeeded in getting more NC representatives to sponsor "Fully Funding the IDEA Act". So, imagine my surprise when I saw that one of John Edwards VERY FIRST bills was....
S.1131
Title: A bill to promote research into, and the development of an ultimate cure for, the disease known as Fragile X.
Sponsor: Sen Edwards, John [NC] (introduced 5/26/1999)
This bill was never passed, even though it had wide bipartisan support including Helms, Hagel, and Lugar. The most the bipartisan group was able to do was:
Congress Has Designated July 22 As National Fragile X Awareness Day
In the true spirit of bipartisanship, Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate, Senator John Edwards (D-NC) and Republican Senator, Chuck Hagel (R-NE) led the effort, in a year-2000 Congressional proclamation, to declare July 22 as National Fragile X Awareness Day.
Fragile X syndrome is the most common known cause of inherited mental impairment. This impairment can range from learning disabilities to more severe cognitive or intellectual disabilities. Symptoms can also include characteristic physical and behavioral features and delays in speech and language development. In addition, it is the most common known single gene cause of autism. Fragile X is also responsible for fragile X-associated tremor ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), in older male carriers, as well as fragile X-related premature ovarian failure (POF) in female carriers. Overall, hundreds of thousands of Americans are impacted by one of the three conditions, and researchers from around the world are actively engaged in studies of this single gene disorder.
I've never heard why John Edwards chose to focus on MRDD in his first year in office as the Senator from North Carolina - but he did. While others would have spent that year paying back their corporate/business backers with bills bad for regular Americans, John Edwards chose to take on Fragile X research.
This issue is not new to the Edwards campaign and so I hope all those who are concerned about it, including Mr. Holden, will feel better knowing there is a candidate who supports those who support family members with mental disabilities.