From an email from campaign manager David Bonior:
WE DID IT!
At 8:51 p.m. a $10 dollar contribution from Janet, of Clayton, Indiana put us over the $9 million dollar mark for the second quarter.
And here's something else incredible: It turns out Janet was the 95,212th person to contribute to the campaign—so we only need 4,788 new donors to hit 100,000 total contributors before the midnight filing deadline!
If you haven't contributed yet—this is your moment. $5. $10. Whatever you can spare. Please keep this momentum going and help us hit the huge milestone of 100,000 donors when the eyes of the country are on us.
Donate via the Netroots for Edwards ActBlue Page
or the Edwards In-House Fundraising Page
I think at this point it's important for bloggers to tell why they support a candidate. I've been working on something for sometime, but here is at least a draft:
Why I Am For John Edwards
1. The Vision Thing
John Edwards is running on a vision for where he wants to help us take America; a vision based on core principles and moral values. This vision is realized in his plans to address poverty in America and the world, realize universal healthcare, implement solutions for the climate change crisis, get us out of Iraq, reestablish respect for civil rights, support American workers and jobs, assist the middle class and build One America. On these and other important issues, Edwards offers realistic and attractive solutions for the citizens of Michigan and America.
2. Vision with Issues
Running a campaign on issues accomplishes three important tasks:
- It tells people you're not full of hot-air and empty-rhetoric.
- It creasts a mandate for transformation change. Once your elected you can pressure the House and Senate, even Republicans there, to pass your proposals because "the American people have spoken." Bush did this to us in 2000 with the tax-giveaways, but he failed when he didn't run on issues in 2004 and then tried the bait-ans-switch to privatize Social Security.
- We -- the netroots and grassroots Democrats -- can use the campaign promises to pressure our elected officials to do what they've promised.
3. A New Culture of Community
John Edwards wants to help build a new culture of civic virtue – the public morality of community involvement. Edwards constantly talks about his values of the importance of community, civic engagement and the common good. From his emphasis on fighting poverty, to his push for having community service a part of high school requirements, to his very pro-union stance, to his pledge to invest millions in helping Michigan’s auto industry retool, to his formation of OneCorps service groups, Edwards is trying to bring real cultural change. It's time to overcome the hyper-individualism of the Reagan Era and return to some community-mindedness – as John puts it, "it’s time to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war." We lost great opportunities after 9/11 and Katrina to build such a culture of community service – but we can still make up for those missed chances.
4. The Right Campaign for the Right Time
This is not a time to reach out in purpleness to the Republicans. We crushed them in 2006 on a message of anti-Iraq War, economic populism, and clean government. Edwards is waging an agressive campaign, learning the lessons of NOvember 2006. We've got the Republicans on the mat, now is the time to keep punching them in the face, not to hold out a bipartisan hand to help them up. We need to push partisanship and contrast (as Armando used to say).
5. Keynesian Economics: Investing in Americans and Building One America
Edwards is for returning to the economic policies that helped create the great American middle class -- investment in infrastructure improvements and in Americans to boost growth, rather than the economics of excessive emphasis on immediate deficit reductionism that shackles Democrats into small ideas and policy tweaks that don't inspire Americans. The 2006 elections -- especially the victories of Brown, Tester, Webb, Sanders and McCaskill -- show that America is ready to embrace transformational, populist economics. There's a great Ezra piece on this that I'll find for a more complete version of Why I'm for Edwards.
6. Universal Healthcare Plan
We're in a crisis. Edwards' true universal healthcare plan is an example of his big ideas, not baby steps of "making healthcare accessible." In JRE's plan everyone is covered, either through employee plans or Healthcare Market (including a public insurer that can compete with private insurers). This also fits into his idea of a new patriotism.
7. Education Policy
Since 2003 Edwards has advocated a "College for Everyone" plan where high school graduates volunteer in their community in return for full tuition scholarships in their first year a college, community college, etc. He even used his own money to set such a program up at a poor, rural high school in North Carolina.
8. Foreign Policy
Edwards is for not funding for the Bush-McCain Escalation in Iraq, for reducing the number of US troops to 100,000 immediately, stopping the policy of US Army as the Iraqi police, bringing all combat troops home in a year, and leaving behind no permanent bases. He believes that the Iraqis must have the apron string cut so that Shia, Sunni and Kurd are forced into real political solutions. He opposes the politics of non-binding resolutions and was among the most public opponents of the May Capitulation.
9. Electability:
Geography
In general elections since 1960, Southern Democrats (Johnson, Carter, Clinton, Clinton, and Carter and Gore) are 4-1-1 while Northern Democrats (Humphrey, McGovern, Mondale, Dukakis and Kerry) are 0-5. No Democrat has won the White House without winning at least 5 Southern states. To win the Electoral College the Democratic candidate will have to be able to dominate in the Midwest and win several key battle-ground states in the South. In the last 40 years, only Southerners have been able to move outside of the Democratic core and win in the suburbs and in key states such as Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, West Virginia, Louisiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Campaign Skills
Edwards has great campaign skills and has been tested and learned from two national campaigns. Edwards is a charismatic, likeable and effective campaigner who reaches voters on a personal level because he comes from a regular working family background and has a vibrant, engaging, warm personality. Not to mention an incredible family, and swing voters will choose a candidate by judging his character by looking at his spouse and kids.
10. On the Personal Level
After years of watching John and Elizabeth, reading their books, and seeing them in person, I have concluded that they are good character people who can understand the real-life situation that most Americans face because they’ve lived lives similar to most of us. We all know that John has an American Dream biography – he grew up the son of textile mill and post office workers and was the first in his family to go to college. In small town America, John learned the values of hard work and perseverance and developed his strong and optimistic belief that all Americans deserve an equal opportunity to succeed and be heard. Even after a life of great successes, he hasn’t forgotten where he came from. John and Elizabeth are the products of public schools and all four of their children have gone to public elementary and secondary schools. In their adult lives, the Edwards have had more than their share of family tragedies, but they’ve always found ways to come out of them wiser and stronger. Therefore, the concerns of regular Americans are not hypothetical to them, they’re real – they’ve lived them – and people correctly feel that John and Elizabeth genuinely "care about people like me."