Clark Campaign Response To The Edwards Excuses

[BootinUp]

(Get Ready Sen. Edwards) :)



For Immediate Release

Date: February 5, 2004



Clark Campaign Response To The Edwards Excuses


Little Rock - Clark Campaign Communications Director Matt Bennett released the following in response to the Edwards Campaign's statement today:

"Apparently it wasn't enough for John Edwards to distort the outcome of the Oklahoma primary. Senator Edwards is of the view that his loss by 1,219 votes is 'a tie.' Is this the kind of rigorous mathematical standard that John Edwards sought for our children when he voted for the No Child Left Behind Act?

"Now, the Edwards staff is engaging in precisely the kind of 'political, petty sniping' they profess to abhor. But let's get a few facts straight:
During 2003-2004, Senator Edwards missed almost 40% of Senate votes.
During the last Congress, Senator Edwards Voted to Support President Bush 71.5% of the time - 76% of the time in 2002 alone.
Senator Edwards has said that No Child Left Behind "builds upon the practice and promise of North Carolina's example and provides increased federal resources to maintain the state's commitment to high achievement for all students."
Senator Edwards voted against making No Child Left Behind testing requirements contingent on adequate funding.
Senator Edwards voted against allowing states flexibility in designing student assessments under No Child Left Behind.


"Senators can vote for bills and complain about them later, but Presidents must be accountable - that's what leadership is. Wes Clark understands that; apparently John Edwards does not."

http://clark04.com/press/release/225/

[Leilani]

1. Go Wes!

Hold them accountable!

[Quixote1818]

2. Watch out Edwards Clark has decided to bring in the big guns!

Dam Edwards sounds like a Republican. Glad I didn't vote for him.

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

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[Bonobo]

10. 'Empty suit"? Know what an ad hominem argument is?

Why don't you look it up and then come back and try a real response?

[Shanty Oilish]

65. Clark is tailor-made for ad hominem argument, he runs on one

Having no political experience, his entire campaign rests on his personal qualities. His resume, impressive as it is, utterly lacks credentials for political office. He cites his personal qualities all the time, and his votes for Dem candidates (which are impossible to prove). He claims Democratic beliefs on the issues and we have no proof whatsoever of the truth of this assertion, only his personal integrity based on everything else he has done. We have to judge the man to determine the truth or falsity of his entire campaign. It's an ad hominem argument all right, just an unusual one. He wants to be President of the United States of all things.

[lurk_no_more]

72. Having no political experience

seems better than having senate experience and still voting the * way.....76% is a hell of a lot.


And then there were none!
” JAFO”

[Shanty Oilish]

77. Consider this

The world's greatest psychiatrist wants to perform surgery on your head. He says he knows what's wrong and what to do.
Let's go one better and make him the greatest psychiatrist in human history---and it's cosmetic surgery. You agree on what's wrong and what to do.

[knight_of_the_star]

11. Empty suit huh?

At least Wes hasn't backed Bush 75% of the time and voted for a law that allows education to be undercut!

[GreenArrow]

23. "empty suit"?

That's projection, pardner.

[AP]

35. do you mean "empty uniform" as in that's what he's running on?

And this is a legitimate argument about Clark -- what's he running on besides the uniform.

[Bonobo]

46. Huh? What?

Could you translate that into English?

If you meant to imply that Clark has no stance on issues or any ideas, you really should read more. Honestly, I'm almost embarrassed for you.

[Name removed]

52. Deleted message

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[Bonobo]

58. Oh so now it's "crazy". You keep amazing me with your posts.

Look, I am against abortions when they can be avoided. But I am adamantly pro-choice. That is Clark's position as well. Why don't you stop with the distortions.

[tishaLA]

71. Crazy Wes! Haha!

the Democratic version of Charles Krauthammer appears again!

I'm sure Dr. Dean is moments away from a psychotic break, too!

[Leilani]

79. This isn't the 1st time this crowd has called Wes crazy

These people went to the Lee Attwater-Carl Rove School of Smear, Innuendo, & Sleaze.

[Bonobo]

87. Yep, I think 'Crazy wes' is a bit beyond the pale.

As is 'empty suit'.

[maddezmom]

60. Boo Hiss n/t

[MoonRiver]

50. Boooooooooo!

Your candidate is looking worse and worse. His supporters aren't helping either.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

82. I think we know who the "airhead" is and is ain't Wesley Clark

n/t

[arewethereyet]

84. its been a long time since college

and he does have trouble keeping things straight.

Agent Orange ?

[DemPopulist]

54. If Edwards was a Republican...

Clark would've voted for him :)

[BootinUp]

56. LOL, that was an original smear anyways

But seriously, I haven't seen a very good response from the Edwards crowd. I guess we'll have to wait for the Senator to get back to us.

[lurk_no_more]

69. If Edwards was a real Republican

He would've voted less with * than he did.


And then there were none!
” JAFO”

[arewethereyet]

3. so no apology ?

nah, I'm not actually surprized.

[Quixote1818]

5. Edwards sounds like a Republican. Yuck!

[arewethereyet]

6. So did the General when he was praising the current administration

you really must remember the theory of glass houses and rocks.

[jenk]

9. and who can forget this gem?

"We were really helped when President Ronald Reagan came in. ... He was truly a great American leader. And those of us in the Armed forces loved him, respected him and tremendously admired him."

-Wesley Clark, Democrat???

I think not

[Quixote1818]

15. Better to have praised someone than voted like them! Ha Ha!

[jenk]

7. "I'm very glad we've got the great team in office, men like Colin Powell,

"I'm very glad we've got the great team in office, men like Colin Powell, Don Rumsfeld, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Paul O'Neill - people I know very well - our president, George W. Bush. We need them there."

- Wesley Clark

now THAT sounds like a republican

[Bonobo]

12. Weak,weaker, weakest.

[maddezmom]

13. well your guy must've thought the same when he voted w/ them on IWR

[jenk]

18. well, they didn't get to cast 3 votes like clark

I would've voted for it

I'm not sure I would've voted for it

I would not have voted for it

Which is it general? does he know yet?

Edwards and Kerry had to make a decision, and there only mistake was trusting the administration would do the right thing.

[maddezmom]

24. how does Edward's feel about his vote today?

[tishaLA]

45. He still supports it, as we all know

He and Lieberman are in the same boat on that one.

And with shockingly similar positions on LGBT issues, too. But at least Lieberman knows what DoMA says.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[girl gone mad]

38. Edwards still..

thinks he made the right decision.

Clark testified against the war plan. He made it very clear in his testimony that he supported the use of force only, only, only as a last resort and only with the backing of the UN.

Edwards and Kerry might claim the same position, but everybody in Washington that October knew that Bush was going to go in guns blazing. If they didn't know, well that's some kind of ignorance. Certainly not worthy of the Presidency.

[girl gone mad]

26. Let's see...

A guy who said nice things about the administration, or a guy who went along with their agenda 70+% of the time?

A guy who testified against pursuing Bush's plan of immediate, unilateral action in Iraq or a guy who voted for Bush's war plans and still defends his vote as the right thing to do?

For me, the choice is clear.

[arewethereyet]

31. you're describing Clark

[girl gone mad]

41. Clark is the guy..

who testified against the administration's war plan.

Edwards is the guy who voted for the administration's war plan, and still defends his vote to this day.

[arewethereyet]

53. I read what he told Congress, sounded pretty positive to me

and to the Times of London

I don't spin easily

[maddezmom]

62. did you read the entire article and transcripts

or the drudge and RNC version?

[arewethereyet]

70. the actual transcripts

but its a valid question

[mikehiggins]

96. Did you also read what Richard Perle said about Clark's testimony?

You gotta figure that if one of the architects of the PNAC war plan said Clark's testimony was in opposition to that war, that should be that. Who else would know better than Perle?

[arewethereyet]

100. I prefer to read and make my own conclusions

I have no reason to spin myself.

[Name removed]

75. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[arewethereyet]

16. its fine with me if the General wants to take potshots

but he ought to own up to his mischaracterization of the facts.

he could at least be a man about it.

[BootinUp]

20. This is a debate about Sen Edwards Record

If you have relevant information

Bring it on!

[arewethereyet]

28. this is about personal responsibility

if you're wrong, admit you're wrong. otherwise its a temper tantrum.

his points would have carried weight had be taken the honorable road.

[maddezmom]

36. was Edwards on the right side of the IWR?

I understand he had to vote, and Clark didn't...but how does he feel about that vote today? Does he still feel it was the right thing to do?

[arewethereyet]

44. at that point and with the available intellegence, yes

is he happy with the scenario that followed ? no. For these reasons and others he did not vote for the followup spending spree.

And considering the same view was held by Clinton, Chirac and an endless array of others I cannot understand the continuing focus on this issue that the general public sees as a non-issue.

the people have spoken and they continue to say 'its the economy stupid'. (that was a generic stupid, not directed toward you)

[GreenArrow]

63. According to Edwards

he was on the right side of the IWR vote, and he's damn proud of it cause it was the right thing to do. He wasn't misled.

[in_cog_ni_to]

8. HOT DAMN!

Now THAT is a response!!! Go Wes Go!

:bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

[Momof1]

14. Go Wes

I just love him. I really think that Wes is the only one that can win in November.

[rucky]

17. Is this the first official Clark/Edwards flamefest?

save two seats for me. front row. :)

[maddezmom]

19. nah, they've been going on for the last couple days/nights

it's going to get down and dirty...get your popcorn.

[Jerseycoa]

22. Where have you been since Iowa?

But now that you're here, put your feet up. ;)

[rucky]

51. We're scrapping with everybody here in DK-land

can't keep up

[Quixote1818]

21. Edwards voted against states flexibility in designing student assessments

Edwards voted against allowing states flexibility in designing student assessments under No Child Left Behind. What the hell was he thinking?????

[Name removed]

25. Deleted message

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[Quixote1818]

32. Just being nice but here was his Official stance on the War:

Don't take our word for it: Pentagon adviser Richard Perle, a strong supporter of going to war, testified with Clark at the same hearing and said, “I think Gen. Clark doesn’t want to see us use military force . . . . The bottom line is he just doesn’t want to take action. He wants to wait.”


Now, that is leadership! Thank you General Clark the Dove!!!

[Bonobo]

37. When one continually makes empty posts...

One shouldn't be surprised when people stop listening to you.

[DancingBear]

40. Might it be possible

to actually engage in the substance of this conversation, instead of resorting to the tried and true "oh yeah, your mother!" responses that we expect?

Surprise us.

[girl gone mad]

47. We all know what Clark said.

It's just that actions speak louder than words.

Edwards' and Kerry's actions were to go right along with Bush's "tremendous leadership" and vote for Bush's agenda the vast majority of the time.

[maddezmom]

27. isn't Edwards for school vouchers?

not sure, but heard that somewhere.

[tishaLA]

49. In fact he is. Informed Voter has all that info

He likes school vouchers and banks.

But remember: we live in two Americas.

[AP]

64. Then why has he voted against them?

You have a link for "Informed Voter"?

[PurityOfEssence]

92. No, he is not; he's emphatically against them.

This is ridiculous. Please retract that. Edwards has been consistently against vouchers from the beginning. He's an unqualified champion of public education.

Honestly, you guys are outrageous.

He has a very good rating from liberal groups and a very bad one from conservative ones. The American Conservative Union considers Kucinich more to their liking, fer crying out loud.

Clark was ambivalent on the subject of vouchers at first, but soon came out against them. Edwards has NEVER been for them.

[AP]

59. against school vouchers

http://www.johnedwards2004.com/media/debate-watch/1page-education.pdf

[GreenArrow]

29. he was being

"fiscally conservative."

[MAlibdem]

30. As Tucker Carlson put it today on Crossfire

A loose cannon aiming into the pilot house.

[Jerseycoa]

42. Agreeing with Tucker Carlson, are you? nt

[Leilani]

80. If you're using the bow tie for a reference

I don't like the company you keep.

[jenk]

34. I hope Clark keeps it coming

Loose Lips Sink Campaigns, look at what's happened to Clark.

[Bonobo]

39. You should take your own advice.

[Leilani]

83. Edwards doesn't have loose lips

because he has it all memorized.

Once you hear the closing argument, that's all there is.

[silverpatronus]

43. ...

the smear campaigning has begun. damn. i'd really hoped that the candidates wouldn't start cannibalising until at least 2 more of them dropped out. oh well...GO WES!

[BootinUp]

48. There needs to be a debate on the candidates records

The media sure isn't up to the task, so this is absolutely necessary.

[Jerseycoa]

55. Welcome to DU

:hi:

[PurityOfEssence]

57. Gosh, no mention about Clark's LIES about voting for tax cuts

The American Conservative Union gives Edwards a worse rating than Kucinich. He has a very liberal voting record on social issues, and this is all the more impressive when considering the state he represents.

Percentages of votes are very interesting: many laws are passed with general agreement, and lots of them are just fine. It's not like the movies, where everything the enemy does is deliberate evil. Much mundane stuff gets passed just to run the damn government. Gosh, how many times has Kucinich voted the same way DeLay has? He must be a real rat.

THIS IS CLASSIC STATISTICAL TRICKERY.

Yes, he's missed votes, but he's also running for President, and many of the votes he's missed have been ones where the outcome was unchangeable by his vote and he knew that.

I also note that he doesn't bring up any abortion vote issues...

Clark is proving himself to be deeply unprincipled.

[maxr4clark]

61. Clark didn't make the statement, Bennett did.

So you should reference the Clark campaign, not Clark himself.

[PurityOfEssence]

90. Okay, then "the Clark Campaign" is conceding that it isn't true, right?

It's been a big hammering point for him in the last few days, then when confronted with reality, suddenly there's no mention of it?

That must mean HE LIED, right? It certainly means that it's not true. They threw everything they could think of into that cobbled-together misrepresentation; it's hard to believe they'd omit one of their best jabs just for space's sake.

This is deeply ugly. At the very least, a retraction is in order.

Why doesn't "the campaign" point out how many of those votes were particularly politicized, instead of just showing that he voted the same way as the fascists on many bills?

Why are so few Clark supporters admitting the appalling cynicism of this underhandedness? This is disgusting.

[arewethereyet]

91. I saw Clark make that statement on TV

no dice

[Quixote1818]

66. What Lie? They voted for Tax Cuts

Kerry and Edwards did vote for for an economic stimulus package in 2002 that contained a hefty but temporary tax cut for businesses, currently set to expire at the end of this year.

[PurityOfEssence]

89. So he should have voted against extending unemployment benefits?

He should have voted against relief for NYC after 9-11? It was all the same bill.

Again, this is not the meat of "The Bush Tax Cuts" as his group smear alleges. This is deliberate lying. These guys were heros fighting as hard as they did against the '01 and '03 tax cuts.

Boy, I can just imagine if he'd voted against this bill, he would have been tarred by Dean and Clark as voting to crush the poor unemployed workers after a traumatic blow to the country. Do you seriously think they wouldn't have?

[Renew Deal]

67. I like it.

:spank:

Remember, Edwards is a guy who voted for the war, NCLB, the Patriot Act and the Bankruptcy reform act that made banks so happy that they lined his pockets.

[tishaLA]

74. Don't forget his stance on LGBT issues

He misstated what DoMA said and then ended up endorsing its principles.

When you add that to the votes you have mentioned, he looks like a Lieberman democrat.

[mmonk]

68. missing votes

is what NC constituents complain about.

[MrSlayer]

73. Nice, Time to take the gloves off.

Get em Wes.

[SangamonTaylor]

76. yeah, way to pull a Gephart

negative acts like this are reasons why people are driven away from politicians. For someone who claims to be a nonpolitician, Clark sure understands how to skirt his mistakes (lying about Edwards tax cuts) while continuing to smear another candidate.

[arewethereyet]

78. be nice, its all they have left

you can afford to be nice

[Renew Deal]

81. Negative acts?

The miserable truth about Edwards record is not an attack. He is pro-war, pro-NCLB, Pro-banks, pro patriot act. Oh yeah, he has changed his mind on all of those issues.

[Tweed]

94. It isn't smearing if you are stating facts?

Do I have that right?

[AP]

85. CQ said that Edwards voted against Bush more than anyone running and more

than, who? Ted Kennedy, or something like that.

Where's clark getting his info?

[Tweed]

93. Yes, CQ is a GREAT political source

I'm sure Clark got his information from the government record.

[xultar]

86. Lookie like the Clark campaign is gettin some nads!! n/t

[arewethereyet]

88. no, just boils

I think The General should have told Gert it was time to go home.

I guess it might be better to burn out than to fade away but this is still just fading away.

[xultar]

97. *crickets chirping*

[HoosierClarkie]

95. He is a doer not a debater!

:hi:

[arewethereyet]

98. generals dont "do" they command

they have prople that "do". Which is part of his problem. He cannot command since he doesn't understand the game, he cannot do because he has long since forgotten how. And standing with a microphone is nt nearly as interesting as his old jobs.

[Clark Can WIN]

99. GO WESLEY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess we see now why he is running on being the son of a mill worker instead of a man with a senate record. :spank: