First we have this:
Mandy Zatynski,Dayton Daily News,Apr 29, 2005: The former U.S. senator from North Carolina addressed the National Conference of Black Mayors in downtown Columbus "to let them know I'm working on the poverty issue — that's my campaign right now. And hopefully we can work together to eradicate poverty in America."
Edwards is the director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He emphasized the Democratic Party's commitment to providing a voice for working class families and communities.
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Then we have this story from the Associated Press dated June 29, 2005:
LANSING, Mich. — Democratic legislators fighting to increase the state's minimum wage got some help Wednesday from 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards.
Edwards, a former U.S. senator who now directs the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina, told several hundred people at a rally on the Capitol steps that raising the minimum wage will reduce the number of people living in poverty.
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Edwards then evidently flies from Michigan to Arizona because this article appears, also on June 29, 2005 from Matt Hanson of the Arizona Republic:
Former vice presidential candidate John Edwards told a crowd of more than 300 Valley supporters on Tuesday that raising the minimum wage in states around the country would help lift people out of poverty.
Edwards is on a three-day tour with Maude Hurd, president of ACORN, a community group that has led efforts to raise the minimum wage throughout the country. Tuesday's stop was hosted by the Arizona Minimum Wage Coalition at the Church of the Beatitudes, 555 W. Glendale Ave.
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Notice the group ACORN, whose leader defended John Edwards from the Times article. On June the 30th it was back east to Ohio:
Allison Wood,Crain's Cleveland Business,Jun 30, 2005: The campaign to raise Ohio's minimum wage kicked off today with a rally that included a speech by former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards.
Supporters are aiming to put this issue on the November 2006 ballot.
In a brief address in the chapel of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Mr. Edwards said the minimum wage should be higher because those who work for minimum wage make an amount considerably below the federal poverty line.
The rally was sponsored by ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) and also included speeches by Ohio Senate Minority leader C.J. Prentiss (D-Cleveland) and House Minority leader Chris Redfern (D-Catawba Island). Representatives from the AFL-CIO and the National Council of Churches also were in attendance.
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
It was then back to Michigan:
Stacey Range,Lansing State Journal,Jun 30, 2005: Former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards stopped in Lansing on Wednesday to attend a rally urging state lawmakers to raise Michigan's minimum wage.
After the rally, Edwards sat down for a one-on-one interview with the Lansing State Journal.
In that interview we find this exchange:
LSG: It's been reported by various media outlets that you are undecided on whether to run for president in 2008. Are you still undecided, and if so, what factors are holding you back?
Edwards: I'm involved in a campaign right now — a campaign to end poverty in this country. It's where I'm spending most of my time and energy. It's where my heart is. As most people know, my wife, Elizabeth, has had, along with our family, this challenge of dealing with breast cancer, and she's doing very well by the way.
Because of that, our family has been focused on that, and I've personally also been focused on this fight against poverty.
So I'm going to see where all this goes and then make a decision about where I can do the most good.
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Thank you John, for making the right decision. We need you.
The next day finds him again in Ohio:
Joe Hallett,Columbus Dispatch,Jul 1, 2005: Although not ready to declare his own presidential candidacy, Edwards said the winner in 2008 will be the candidate with "the character and strength" to elicit trust.
"I think it's not all that complicated of a formula. People want a president who understands what their lives are about and who has clear ideas of how to make them better, to tell the truth about what's going on, and to be honest about what you think is achievable and what's not."
Edwards said studies show that states that have raised their minimum wages gained jobs. "My assumption is that's true because when you raise the minimum wage, you increase the tax base in an area and there's more money going to taxes," he said. "You've got more people who are less dependent on government programs to pay their way and more people who are selfsufficient."
Edwards made his comments in an hourlong meeting with Dispatch editors and reporters while in Columbus to promote a proposed constitutional amendment to raise the state's minimum wage.
After a stop in Cleveland, Edwards headlined a rally in support of a minimum-wage increase at the King Arts Complex. He was joined by Mayor Michael B. Coleman and other political and community leaders.
Since leaving the Senate in January, Edwards said he has focused on helping his wife, Elizabeth, defeat breast cancer, and has taken a job as head of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina.
Then he shows up in Oklahoma on July 17 from the Associated Press:
"My passion right now is to do something about the issue of poverty, and that's where my energy and time is going," said Edwards. The former U.S. senator from North Carolina heads the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina.
"The most valuable thing I've done has been actually meeting with people who live in poverty because they can give you the best information about what they're going through and what matters, what works and doesn't work," Edwards said.
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Then July 20 in Kansas City:
The time has come for America to focus on the 36 million Americans who live in poverty, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards said Tuesday in Kansas City.
"It's a leadership issue," said Edwards, who was raising money for Democratic candidates for the Missouri House.
Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate and a possible 2008 presidential hopeful, now heads a policy institute at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill that searches for creative solutions to poverty. He travels the country to talk about the subject, which he says has become his personal mission.
"We as a nation have to decide whether we're in this alone or we're in it together," Edwards told reporters. "It's not very complicated."
On Tuesday Edwards once again called for a boost in the $5.15-per-hour minimum wage that has not budged since 1997. With the GOP-controlled Congress rejecting attempts to increase the minimum wage, Edwards has helped launch individual state campaigns to boost the hourly rate.
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Next he kills two birds with one stone in Wisconsin, talking about Poverty and helping fellow Democrats:
Alec Loftus,WisPolitics.com,Jul 21, 2005: MILWAUKEE — Former vice presidential candidate and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards brought his anti-poverty message to the state's biggest city Wednesday as he raised money for state Senate Democrats seeking to regain a majority they lost in the November 2002 elections.
Before popping in to the SSDC fundraiser at the Japanese sushi restaurant Saki Tumi, Edwards said he had just spent time with Milwaukee families living in poverty and hearing their powerful stories. He said he found it distressing that poverty had not hit the political forefront — even though it was a presidential priority some 40 years ago.
Edwards said the Bush administration has done little to raise the status of the poor and nearly nothing to lift the curtain of poverty around the globe, where 3 billion people live on $2 a day or less. "I've heard about as much as I want to hear from George Bush talking about freedom," said Edwards. "Freedom is about more than use of muscle."
Frequently mentioned as a possible 2008 presidential contender, Edwards told the estimated 200 in attendance that he still thrived on spreading his anti-poverty message. "I've got more fight in me than I had on November 2nd," he said.
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
On the 26th, John Edwards is in Maine from the Associated Press:
PORTLAND, Maine - Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards met with people living in poverty during a visit to Maine on Tuesday to draw attention to the plight of the poor and to raise money for Democrats.
In his first stop in Maine since last year´s presidential campaign, Edwards called poverty the "great moral issue in America today." Edwards was the Democratic nominee for vice president in John Kerry´s run for president last year.
Edwards now leads the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated from the law school in 1977. In his role, he has traveled to more than 20 states meeting with poor people and looking at programs that help the poor with the aim of learning how best to address the problem.
http://www.johnedwards.com/...
Do I need to go on? I can. In fact, that whole summer John Edwards was in many places doing this very thing for this very organization. I remembered it happening, because I was keeping up with Edwards at the time. Now that I look back at the headlines, I didn't even realize as a supporter how much work he actually did. It is amazing.
Now, I would like everyone to remember one thing about John Edwards. When he entered politics he was one of the most successful lawyers in America. He could have gone back and took a job and made many millions of more dollars. He could have built five houses like the one who took so much heat over. Instead he went around America trying to help those in poverty, low-wage workers, and unions, trying to find a way to consistently battle poverty as well as helping fellow Democrats now and then.
I am a low-wage worker, and Edwards work has not been lost on me at all. I I was there, because I believed in what he was talking about and he was the only one besides Ted Kennedy who was really talking about us. He did more than talk however. He came down to the frontlines and fought, and studyed the problem and came up with many plans to fight it. He cared.
Now, I don't care who you support in this primary, the plain and simple fact is the NY Times article was a hit piece, and was not based in fact. As you can see while working for this non-profit Edwards was all over the country fighting poverty and gaining insights ending it all together. I think that a John Edwards Presidency would be the best thing that has happened in a long time for people who work harder and harder and can't seem to get ahead. If you don't agree, you still should not try to refute the work Edwards has done like the NY Times did. Their is a trail of evidence left all over the country that proves them wrong.
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