Welcome to the Edwards Evening News! Relax and join the fun; tonight's stories include:
- Edwards Unveils "Building 21st Century Economy" Plan to the to the Silicon Valley Leadership Group as part of its "Road to the White House" Speakers Series
- Edwards Blasts Cheney For Blindly Supporting Saudi Arms Deal
- Is John Edwards the most democratic candidate of all? Some think so.
- Edwards pushing the power of the Internet
- And on the lighter side, Angelina and Brad fight over .... John Edwards?
Join us over the bump!
1. Edwards Unveils "Building 21st Century Economy" Plan to the to the Silicon Valley Leadership Group as part of its "Road to the White House" Speakers Series
John Edwards was in California today discussing his plan to build a 21st Century Economy as part of his plan to build One America:
"Americans have always taken impossible tasks and turned them into reality," said Edwards. "Whether we are the country of the 21st century depends on what all of us do today. We need to take action today—not tomorrow—to ensure that we continue to lead. If we're going to be the most innovative country in the world, we also need to reverse the philosophy of the Bush administration, which values ideology over science. Policy should be science driven; science shouldn't be politics driven."
The plan consists of 6 parts:
- Support American ingenuity by investing in education, science, technology and innovation.
- Build the New Energy Economy and create more than 1 million new jobs.
- Restore America's leadership in science and math education and ensure that American children are prepared to build on our current technology successes.
- Create universal broadband access and close the digital divide.
- Guarantee true universal health care. Skyrocketing health care costs are a heavy burden on manufacturing companies and other businesses. Edwards has offered a specific plan to guarantee true universal health care for every man, woman and child in America.
- Respect science and make sure that government professionals charged with the collection and analysis of scientific data—from medical research to mercury emissions—are insulated from political influence.
Edwards is pushing a technology agenda that puts science, not ideology, first again as it should be:
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, unveiling what he called his six-point plan to promote innovation and technology, pledged today to reverse the policies of President Bush, whom he charged has presided over "the most anti-science administration in American history.''
"Policy should be science driven; science shouldn't be politics driven,'' said Edwards, in remarks to about 125 business leaders of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group who gathered in the heart of the state's high-tech region in Santa Clara.
"We have important work to do in the next administration to overcome what we have seen from the Bush administration,'' he said, as the audience murmured its approval. "In my administration, there will be no political litmus tests for scientists - period.''
What a welcome change that will be! The EPA and other agencies can move away from defending Bush's war on the environment and get back to defending it.
Edwards also attended a Small Change for Big Change Event in San Francisco and other events:
he addressed a very different group - at a $15-a-head fundraiser for mostly young, progressive grassroots activists in a small South of Market San Francisco nightclub.
Edwards also was slated to appear at a more traditional fundraising event at a San Francisco law firm later today, before heading to Los Angeles for another day of public and private fundraising events on Thursday.
For Thursday, Edwards will be focusing in large part on global warming and its impact on national security.
2. Edwards Blasts Cheney For Blindly Supporting Saudi Arms Deal
John Edwards once again renewed his call to rethink American foreign policy and rethink the Saudi Arms Deal:
"As we have seen, this Vice President is no expert when it comes to predicting the outcome of major foreign policy decisions," Edwards said. "Instead of the ad hoc foreign policy we've gotten from this Administration, we need a tough, strategic approach. The proposed Saudi arms deal is not in the long-term interests of the United States. Congress needs to stand firm against the White House and block this deal."
Edwards noted we need a new foreign policy focused not only on today:
we need a tough, thoughtful, long-term approach focused on solving problems rather than just reacting to them, and using carrots and sticks to get everyone -- friends and foes alike -- to assist the U.S. in stopping terrorists and creating greater global security. The arms deal with Saudi Arabia lets them dictate the terms and doesn't demand they do enough to shut down terrorists and support security in Iraq and the region in return. It is not in the long-term interests of the United States or the region and could also trigger a regional arms race, even inciting Iran to accelerate their nuclear agenda.
As part of this long-term approach focused on solving problems John Edwards released a comprehensive and smart plan to fight terrorism in June.
3. Is John Edwards the most democratic candidate of all? Some think so.
Excellent article on why John Edwards is standing out:
John Edwards is the only Democratic presidential candidate who is talking like a Democrat. He talks about labor, health care and poverty, issues that have fallen well below the political radar for the last 30 years.
The author notes that while in 2004 poverty wasn't much on the political radar in the general election, it is now:
In 2005, however, poverty was once again front and center in the wake of Katrina’s devastation of New Orleans. As it was in the 1960s, Americans were aghast at seeing two Americas, the rich and everyone else as Edwards likes to say.
Now he’s talking about it again. He’s seeing a nation where the rich are amassing great wealth while everyone struggles, where skyrocketing health care costs bankrupt families, where the have nots are out of the media glare that concentrates on the travails of rich young actresses and where labor unions are marginalized by a global economy slashing and burning its way to profit.
This latter issue is important to Edwards. He’s been addressing the major unions. In an article in the August In These Times, he said, "If we want to strengthen and grow the middle class in this country, if we want to grow America economically, if we want to see millions of people lifted out of poverty, the organized labor movement is a critical component of that. That’s the reason that wherever I am, I talk about making it easier to organize in the work place...."
The author sees a sharp contrast between Edwards and the other candidates and hopes Edwards keeps it up:
So far Edwards is saying the right stuff. I hope he stays on message and doesn’t cave into campaign pressure, which will surely be there, to take a hard right turn to keep up with Clinton and Obama.
As has been noted by just about everyone lately, rather than Edwards turning right, his presence in the race seems to be making the others turn left. After 6 years of Bush, its about time for some real progressive change.
4. Edwards pushing the power of the Internet
The New York Times has a nice article out today on how Edwards is pushing the Internet envelope in using newer formats like YouTube and blog sites to get their message across.
One example the article mentions is recent YouTube video of Edwards in Iowa:
"They want me to shut up," an unsmiling Mr. Edwards said to an audience in Creston, Iowa, on Thursday — remarks that were videotaped by an Edwards campaign worker and posted both on YouTube and the popular liberal Web site MyDD.com. "Let’s distract from people who don’t have health care coverage. Let’s distract from people who can’t feed their children. Let’s talk about this frivolous, nothing stuff."
"They will never silence me," he continued, not explaining who "they" were.
Of course, if you listen to the video and to John Edwards, its pretty clear who "they" are:
The article talks a lot about the role Trippi is playing in this strategy. But its much more than that:
By all accounts, this is not simply the story of another power struggle in another campaign. Instead, it reflects a decision that Mr. Edwards could not rely on traditional means to get his message through in a Democratic field where the Clinton-Obama battle sometimes threatens to reduce him to an afterthought.
"We’re in a different world than last time, with two big celebrity candidates," said Jonathan Prince, who is also a senior campaign adviser and one of the few holdovers from the 2004 campaign. "And we have the message that is most change-oriented and empowering. So we both need to use the channel to reach people and should be using the channel that’s the most empowering thing out there."
5. And on the lighter side, Angelina and Brad fight over .... John Edwards?
On a bit of a lighter side, it looks like according to an article in an upcoming issue of Life & Style Weekly, John Edwards is causing a bit of a stir in the Jolie - Pitt household. Made me really wonder what Brad said...
On a more serious note, its nice to see someone like Jolie, a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador who has worked tirelessly on issues of refugee rights and global poverty, supporting John Edwards. Good on ya Angelina! Guessing she's read up on his plan to fight global poverty and glad he's speaking out on Darfur.
And that's all folks! Enjoy and stick around! Stay tuned in the coming days for a major policy speech on trade as Edwards returns to Iowa August 5th and 6th.