John Edwards

[BayCityProgressive]

is such a great candidate. I have not paid much attention to him until recently and I really love his speeches, he is incredibly charismatic, and he is a good solid "center-left" candidate. I will definately be paying more attention to him.

[displacedyankeedem]

1. Edwards v. Bush debate

I'd pay money to see that one. He'd make shrub look like a fourth class moron, a trial lawyer vs. a monkey. Edwards-game,set, and match.

[Flying_Pig]

2. Personally, I can't stand him....

And all this talk about his "looks" and "charisma", makes me want to hurl. His voting record on many issues leaves a lot to be desired, and he is far too inexperienced to be the leader of this nation, even as V.P. I put him next to Lieberman, at the bottom of my primary list...

To each their own.... :puke:

[AP]

3. Yeah, who likes charisma?

Charisma is for winners.

Incidentally, about that voting record -- he votes with the Dem Party line either 94 or 96% of the time, which is pretty good. He gets high rankings from all the liberal organizations. He votes against NAFTA enough of the time that he's not well-liked by the pro-NAFTA DLC'ers (David Broder said this on NPR). He rarely votes with Helms (it's the second biggest divergence among Senators) which is saying alot, be cause Senators often put their state's interests above party interests.

[renie408]

4. Could you please

be specific about his voting record? Which of his votes did you disagree with?

[renie408]

14. I guess not

[renie408]

5. I like him, too

There isn't much to not like.

Except that pesky charisma thing, that is.

Edwards has solid positions, good ideas on the economy, health care and education and he has a genuine attachment to the working middle class.

People keep zeroing in on his inexperience, which is just about all they can zero in on, but I am not so sure that is a bad thing. The longer you are in politics, the more fodder you create for the other guy to get hold of. And I know that I like the idea of someone who has not been in the establishment long enough to be a 'career politician'. His 'inexperience' could work for him more than against him. Also, by time the general election rolls around, Edwards will have been in the Senate for nearly six years. For someone who was smart enough to have worked his way through both college and law school and then to have built a multi-million dollar practice just about single-handedly before the age of 40, I figure that's enough time to get an idea about how things work.

[diamondsoul]

8. My favorite thing about Edwards right now-

I think I've concluded that I'm just fed up with politicians who have no sense of compassion or concern for the ordinary or *invisible* people.

John Edwards has stepped up and shown himself to be a caring man with a good grounding in what ordinary people are going through. My position is that money vs. sheer numbers ought to balance out, and somehow we've lost the balance. The money has taken over and we need men/women in top positions who can fix that. Edwards and Kucinich are the two I see most likely to help restore that balance between people and money.

Something else about this "no political experience" nonsense, I got a newsflash for people who say that one- He's a TRIAL LAWYER! The kinds of lawsuits he handles in his legal practice are nothing BUT politics in action! He either fights or settles, and that's all politics is- compromise or hold out, every single time. Stop trying to make it so complicated, you'll all just confuse yourselves. *LOL*

Here's the deal, I don't give a squat about Corporations. They've done nothing but bleed people dry for decades. They're ruining the planet, destroying nature, robbing the people blind, kicking us to the curb when we don't feed them their daily dose of greenbacks and essentially killing this country. I want them reigned in. Two current candidates are most likely to do that, Dennis Kucinich and John Edwards. Those two men KNOW just how many of us *invisible people* there are out here, and that's who they're trying so hard to speak to. We, and they can defeat this corporate monster just by sheer volume, power in numbers don't you know.

FTR, while I'd like to see Kucinich elected, persnally, I have deep admiration for BOTH these fine men.

[kwolf68]

16. I like him very much

I believe Edwards' campaign will gain steam and he will make a run at this. South Carolina is 3rd and he will win that state. If he can hang wiff em in Iowa and New Hampshire he could make a run.

His main weakness is this military thing. It seems even Democrats want people with military service to run our nation. This concept is inherently fascist.

It was Mussolini who believed military people should run the country simply because they were military people.

If Clark is the best guy then great lets get behind him, but I have no interest in getting behind him JUST BECAUSE he has a distinguished military record. I want to get behind a man (or women) who will fight for what is the right thing to do.

I believe Edwards, Kucinich and Kerry are this.

[surfermaw]

6. Carolina Democrats would vote for Edwards

Charlotte Observer..Staff Writer
A majority of Democrats in teh Carolinas said they would likely vote for N.C.
Sen.John Edwards in the Democratic primary,according to The Charlotte Observer NBC6 2003 Carolinas poll.

Sixty percent Democrats and 42 percent of independents polled in both states said they were very or somewhat likely to vote for Edwards in the primary

Of all parties, 44 percent of those polled in North Carolina and 37 percent in South Carolina said they were"very likely" or "somewhatlikely" to vote for Edwards.

[genius]

7. In one of Kucinich's interviews,

he had some good things to say about Edwards. Edwards is apparently a really nice guy. I don't agree with Edwards on a number of the issues. But I do like him.

[DemDogs]

12. What Kucinich told Jon Stewart

Stewart asked DK if they talked backstage before debates and things. DK said yes. So who's the most fun? DK: Edwards.

[renie408]

15. He seems like

he would be a fun guy to know. I am inventing this in my head, I know, but I envision him as being the kind of person who has a really slick sense of humor that catches you off gaurd coming out of his southern gentleman persona.

[sandnsea]

9. He could be the best bet

Dean and Kerry both actually have alot of baggage that will hurt in the general elections. Edwards has the fact that he's a 'trial lawyer', yeah, one that has been fighting for children over corporations. Ooooh, that's going to hurt, right.

People aren't thrilled with corporate America right now and Edwards really doesn't have many other votes against him that I'm aware of. Yes people here are going to hound the war vote, patriot act and homeland security; but the fact is most Americans supported all of those things. He is going after Bush on the disaster in Afghanistan and I really appreciate that. I don't agree on 100% of his positions but I do believe he's got a sincerity about him and a total lack of that 'politician' smell. So he really might be the best choice of all of them to beat Bush. And that's what we want.

[chimpymustgo]

10. Edwards would be so strong against *. The Anti-Bush.

His smarts, his charisma, his compassion. He is a great candidate, and it's stunning that he is not doing better in the polls. Come on Dems - let's think about WINNING this time.

[loyalsister]

11. There are things I like about him

But, I have the same problem with him that I have with Kerry. He skipped out on a vote related to choice and he didn't stand up and vote against confirming that judge who said ADA should be reversed. He actually hid out in his office for that one, unfortunately.
http://www.now.org/press/05-02/05-23.html

It's symbolic. They wouldn't have made the difference, but the point is standing up with women and the disability community against these assaults. I'm not sure what he will actually do now that he skipped an opportunity to record a vote and show me where he stands.

[mbali]

13. Don't be so hard on him

While I understand your concerns, please also know that Edwards has been there for many tough votes and even more controversial hearings.

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he has been a huge champion of civil rights, women's rights, rights of the disabled, gay rights, etc. While his votes are almost completely consistent with these groups' views, he also has a fairly conservative constituency to deal with, so there may be a one or two votes that you don't agree with. But that is the case with everybody on the Committee. But overall, his record on these issues is stellar.

Edwards has cast hundreds and hundreds of votes in Commitee and on the floor and there is no doubt where he stands on the issues we care about.

Edwards helped lead the fight on Miguel Estrada - he was one of the core group of Dems who urged the rest to stand their ground on filibuster and kept them in line during the past few months. Edwards' withering questioning of Charles Pickering was a primary reason his nomination was derailed. And he's standing firm against Republican efforts to appoint horrible judges in North Carolina. He is not backing down even though Hatch, Dole and North Carolina newspapers are putting tremendous pressure on him to release his hold on these judges.

Edwards has been so effective on Judiciary that, even though he was slated to lose his spot on the Committee after last fall's election (since Dems were no longer in control, they had to give up a seat and Edwards, being the member with the least seniority, was going to be dropped), the civil rights groups, women's groups (including NOW), environmental groups and the disability community asked Daschle to keep him on.

In other words, don't hold a couple of votes against him. He's the real deal.

[surfermaw]

18. he is my choice...but will fall in line behind another candidate

Edwards, is the man who can be trusted he has had a hard row to hoe being from North Carolina , heavily conservative populstion.. It is wonder he won his seat at the time he won it. Now the tables may be truning and Bowles could winn easily than any one thought.Dole rode the Bush policies into office.. in every speech she made she made it clear she would follow Bush...Economic issues will be a fctor in the next Senate race in North Carolina...And the presidential race and it seems both men and women like Edwards.

[kwolf68]

17. On Environment

Gale Norton was the bench mark. If you supported this evil fascist then I question your views on the environment.

Here are the Democrats who voted FOR confirmation. A lot of Dems...many who we like...However, it shows these people can't be 100% trusted on the environment:

Daniel Akaka D-Hawaii
Max Baucus, D-Mont.
Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Zell Miller, D-Ga.
Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.
Patty Murray, D-Wash.
John Breau, D-La.
Bob Graham, D-Fla.
Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
Ben Nelson, D-Neb.
Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.
Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
Jean Carnahan, D-Mo.
Ernest Hollings, D-S.C.
Tom Carper, D-Del.
Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii
Kent Conrad, D-N.D.
Herb Kohl, D-Wis.
Tom Daschle, D-S.D.
Mary Landrieu, D-La.
Christopher Dodd, D-Conn.
Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark.


NOW...WHO opposed this evil bitch:

Evan Bayh, D-Ind.
John Edwards, D-N.C.
Jack Reed, D-R.I.
Joe Biden, D-Del.
Tom Harkin, D-Iowa
Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.
Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.
Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.
Paul Sarbanes, D-Md.
Max Cleland, D-Ga.
John Kerry, D-Mass
Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.
Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.
Jon Corzine, D-N.J.
Carl Levin, D-Mich.
Robert Torricelli, D-N.J.
Mark Dayton, D-Minn.
Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.
Paul Wellstone, D-Minn.
Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Barbara Mikulski, D-Md.


These Senators are/were the ones who could be trusted on the environment and John Edwards is on the list with many other progessive thinkers on the environment.

John Edwards is a man that can be counted on and he will get my 100% support if he takes the nom.