Edwards: Ideas bigger than money (in NM--not a dupe)

[Gloria]

I planned to go to this yesterday afternoon (4:15 pm) but my foot wouldn't let me....

http://www.lcsun-news.com/artman/publish/article_2200.shtml

Edwards: Ideas bigger than money
By Gabriela C. Guzman
Oct 29, 2003, 12:18 am





Touching on a smorgasbord of hot-button issues, presidential hopeful Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., made his pitch to southern New Mexicans during a Tuesday afternoon campaign stop in Las Cruces.

With the rock music cued, Edwards made his entrance onto the grassy area in front of La Clinica de Familia’s administrative office on South Main Street. Edwards discussed issues varying from tax cuts to gun laws to immigration, but he spent most of his time touting his proposed health care plan.

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Edwards lambasted U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft’s implementation of the Patriot Act, which gives the FBI increased access to information, including bank and library records. Some argue the law is a breach of citizens’ civil liberties.

When questioned about his vote in support of the law, he said he agreed with parts of the act that weeded out terrorist money launderers and with other tools for law enforcement to find terrorists. He disagrees with arresting of U.S. citizens, keeping them away from their lawyers and not providing them with due process of law.

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Joy Wheeler, a web administrator at New Mexico Tech in Socorro made the two-hour drive down with three friends to hear Edwards.

“We are just educating ourselves,” she said before the event. Sandra Licata, a library technician, said while she is leaning toward former Illinois Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, she wants to see as many candidates as possible.

For Daniel Jernigan, a Socorro professor, selecting a Democratic candidate is not so difficult.

“We are here to support anyone but Bush.”