Granny D endorses Edwards

[JohnLocke]

Granny D endorses Edwards
Associated Press
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
----
KEENE, N.H. - If a free rock concert wasn't enough to bring people to Democrat John Edwards' side, there was a surprise waiting for those who turned out in the dark and cold for the campaign's late Tuesday afternoon event: Granny D.

At the age of 89, Granny D — the nickname for Doris Haddock of Dublin, N.H. — walked 3,200 miles from California to Washington, D.C., to plead for campaign finance reform. Now 97, she said Tuesday that same quest now leads her to support Edwards in the Democratic presidential race.

Introducing her, singer Bonnie Raitt, who is touring with fellow singer Jackson Browne on behalf of Edwards for two days across New Hampshire, called Haddock, "one of my heroes."

The elphin figure in a straw hat, who first became a cause celebre for Democrats during her walk and briefly ran for the Senate in 2004, gasped deeply throughout her short remarks. But she closed rousingly: "Join me in voting for John Edwards, who we can and will and must elect as our next president of the United States."

Haddock had surgery in 2005 on her windpipe that affected her voice.

One problem with Haddock's appearance: she was completely on message with Edwards' focus on corporate power but not so much on his new plan to abstain from overt and pointed criticism of his rivals for the Democratic nomination.

"Hillary Clinton has been bought and paid for by corporations, to the tune of $88 million," Haddock said. "Who do you think she's going to be working for: you or the corporations?"

Edwards said he was tickled with her support, but that his campaign had no idea she was coming.

"It's as much a surprise to us as it is to you," he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071218/ap_po/on_the2008_trail_1

[Cha]

1. Cool!~ Granny D!

Maybe she could walk around New Hampshire and tell people why she wants John Edwards? :)

[Kurovski]

2. Go, Granny, go!

:thumbsup:

[K Gardner]

3. I love Granny D !

[Nutmegger]

4. R&K for Granny D!!!

:bounce::woohoo::bounce:

[Raven]

5. I knew I picked the right candidate! n/t

[Triana]

6. Well... if my Granny D says it's Edwards...

..then it IS Edwards!


LOVE Granny D!

[lisainmilo]

7. Go Granny Go! WooHoo!

Granny D......:yourock:

[scarletwoman]

8. Granny D is a true hero. I hope progressives will take note of this.

I've been a Kucinich supporter for years, I caucused for him in 2004.

But I also know that the reality is, he will NEVER get the Democratic party nomination -- it's just not going to happen, no matter how much wishful thinking we indulge in.

As a progressive, my priority is to do battle against corporatism, imperialism, and the Beltway status quo. For me, this means preventing the nomination of Clinton by any means possible.

To me, it comes down to this: make a symbolic, but ultimately useless vote for Kucinich in the primaries -- which will ultimately guarantee a Clinton win. Or vote for Edwards who actually has a chance to both defeat Clinton in the primaries AND carry a Democratic win in the general election.

In other words; vote for Kucinich and get Clinton, or vote for Edwards and get Edwards.

I'll take Edwards over Clinton with no hesitation whatsoever.

sw

(edited for a missing preposition)

[Desertrose]

29. Granny D is something else, isn't she?

I hope I am half as "with it" as she is when I (hopefully) reach her age.

SW, I know exactly what you mean about DK. I really hoped the campaign might get better legs this time around....I am beginning to rethink here.....

Edwards would be my next choice.....although I totally am in sync with Dennis.

Probably don't know what I'll do til the actual day draws nigh.

DR



edited to slightly rephrase

[Jackpine Radical]

34. Oh.

PrEposition.

Nevermind.

(Anyway, I agree with you.)

[scarletwoman]

38. *ahem*

:spank:

[Jackpine Radical]

40. Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow Ow! (nt)

[redqueen]

41. They didn't care when she endorsed Kucinich last time.

I see no reason why they'd bother paying any attention this time.

[scarletwoman]

44. All the Kucinich supporters, such as myself, cared very much.

As far as I'm concerned, if you don't care about what Granny D has to say, you are, by definition, NOT a progressive.

Just to be clear, I do not use the terms "progressive" and "liberal" interchangeably, I think of progressives as being much further left than "liberals". YMMV. Obviously, it's a big problem that there are no hard and fast definitions of either term that everyone agrees on.

sw

Edited to clarify that my use of the word "you" in my first sentence above, is not directed at YOU, personally. I mean "you" in the general/collective sense.

[redqueen]

45. Oh I know Kucinich's supporters did...

I just meant the electorate at large... I don't think many people pay too much attention... and will hop on the bandwagon that seems to have the most momentum after the first few primaries are done.

[onehandle]

9. Any Liberals out there getting this yet?

Anyone? Anyone?

[Clark2008]

23. I get that y'all have been duped.

That, I get.

[Lugnut]

10. Go Granny go!

Well said, Granny D.

"Hillary Clinton has been bought and paid for by corporations, to the tune of $88 million," Haddock said. "Who do you think she's going to be working for: you or the corporations?"

[mzmolly]

11. Good on Granny!

:toast:

[AdHocSolver]

12. Love Granny D. Would that more Democrats understood what is at stake in this election.

John Edwards is the best candidate we could field for president in 2008. Of all the candidates, he understands and talks about the most pressing issues facing this country.

There are five major issues that have to be addressed early on in the next administration to prevent the collapse of the American economy and prevent a descent into a fascist regime.

The five most pressing issues and what needs to be done about them:

1. End the occupation of Iraq, and prevent a war and occupation of Iran.
It is quite evident from looking at how events played out that Bush/Cheney always intended to occupy Iraq "forever" to control the oil there. Their desire to invade Iran is for the same reasons. This occupation is draining this country's treasury (bedsides killing Americans and Iraqis) for corporate profit and must be stopped. Only John Edwards, of the big three, has specifically addressed this issue correctly.

2. Restore civil liberties, end unauthorized spying on Americans, reinstitute habeas corpus, restore Congressional oversight, and countless other measures need to be taken.

3. Institute measures to provide affordable health care for all Americans, regardless of employment. Health care should be the right of every citizen, and totally independent of employment. No corporation should have the ability to take away your health care coverage to control your livelihood.

4. Rewrite or nullify trade agreements and the tax laws that make it profitable for corporations to offshore jobs. Manufacturing is the source of all wealth for a country and manufacturing and other technology jobs have to be brought back to the US. Americans with jobs pay income taxes, Social Security taxes, and buy American products that support other Americans. This action will reduce the trade deficit and the Federal deficit without even increasing anyone's tax rates. The reason the 1990's were better economically was because a lot of Americans had good-paying jobs and were paying a lot of taxes. It is a big lie that offshoring is better for consumers. The corporations do NOT pass along the lower labor costs - they merely pocket the difference as profit. Moreover, the enormous debt due to the trade and federal deficits is devaluing the dollar very quickly, so that your money is worth less and everything is costing more.

5. Reduce dependence on ALL oil as a primary energy source, whether foreign or domestic. Reducing demand will stabilize oil prices. Reducing demand will reduce foreign debt, reduce inflation, since almost all economic activity depends on oil, and spur technology for renewable energy sources. The fastest way to reduce oil consumption is to impose fuel efficiency standards on automakers for all new vehicles. This was done in the 1970's and worked very well to reduce oil consumption and stabilize oil prices. The technology exists today to improve gas mileage fifty percent within five years. The technology to do this has existed for years. The auto companies have refused to do this to keep their oil buddies (and co-investors) in huge profits. An added benefit is that better gas mileage will improve the environment. (The first thing to do is to eliminate the practice of putting corn-based ethanol in gasoline. It does NOT save oil and is causing food prices to skyrocket giving huge profits to agribusiness.)

All of these issues are intertwined. Detaching health care from employment will remove the advantage that large corporations have over small companies in attracting talented employees, and allow small businesses to compete against the multinationals and foreign corporations.

Of the "big three" only Edwards has addressed these issues in a way that convinces me that he understands what is at stake and what he needs to do about it. The other candidates pay lip service to these issues, and Clinton has convinced me that she won't do anything "anticorporate". A telling comment for me was when Clinton said during one of the debates that she would have health care reform by the "end of her second term". Since she would be a lame duck president in her second term, meaning she would have little clout, that convinced me that health care issues did not mean anything to her. Another action of hers was voting for the Kyl/Lieberman amendment. She could be forgiven for voting for the Iraq war amendment, but again, in light of recent history, giving Bush/Cheney carte blanche ability to start a war with Iran is unforgiveable. Obama is, in my estimation, lightweight. He might be a viable contender in 2016, but the 2008 election is far too important to select a candidate whose main virtue is his charisma. John Edwards has more substance.

Go Granny D. Go John Edwards.

[asdjrocky]

13. I love Granny D-

Granny D

[Nutmegger]

14. Beautiful

[asdjrocky]

15. Lol, I like your picture better. n/t

[JohnLocke]

20. Great image, thanks

[DemDogs]

16. Love that she just showed up

The candidates solicit endorsements but she decided who she wanted and just showed up, speech in hand. What a special woman. What a great endorsement of Edwards.

[polichick]

26. Very cool - wish I'd been there to see it! nt

[cali]

17. Now that's a wonderful endorsement

Good for the Edwards campaign. She's a longtime hero of mine.

[MagickMuffin]

18. I saw Granny D during her walkathon, she had a police escort and others

I was on my way to work when I noticed a small crowd around her. She's one tough cookie walking 3200 miles @ the tender age of 89. It was a marvel to see. I only wished I could have stopped to shake her hand and let her know what an inspiration she was to me.

I guess it isn't surprising she would endorse one of the most progressive candidates.

Granny D :yourock:

[mirrera]

19. Kick...

[ClayZ]

21. Yay! K and R

[Clark2008]

22. That's sad.

All these people being duped by rhetoric over reality.

I like Granny D, too. Maybe she should have read his Senate record while she was walking.

[LSK]

24. maybe you should read his book Four Trials

And pay more attention to his 20 year law career fighting Corporations instead of focusing on a few iffy votes when his Party was in the MINORITY.

[polichick]

25. What a perfect avatar! :)

[GreenArrow]

28. I'da thought she'd choose Kucinich

I guess she's going on "electability."

[JohnLocke]

32. Oh, the Edwards smear people show up again.

[redqueen]

42. She did last time around.

And I think so, yes.

*sigh*

[JohnLocke]

31. Granny D knows exactly what she's talking about, far more than you ever will.

[ShaneGR]

46. Let me rephrase.....

Blah blah blah, ignore everything he's ever said, focus on one vote 6 years ago.

[Mark Twain Girl]

27. That's a great endorsement indeed -- much respect for Granny D

I remember this fantastic interview she gave on Democracy Now a few years back. A very funny, outspoken woman -- I do imagine Edwards was tickled!

[bvar22]

30. Go, Granny, GO!!!

Granny D is MAD as HELL, and NOT going to take it anymore!

Just say "NO" to the Corporate sell outs.

[JohnLocke]

33. Kick, need a few more votes to get on front page

[Laelth]

35. I am not surprised to find the great Granny D ...

... supporting John Edwards, the progressive who can win.

:patriot:

:dem:

-Laelth

[Quixote1818]

36. Kick

[frogmarch]

37. Granny D has spoken!

And she deserves respect from every Democrat, regardless who their favorite candidate is. As the article quoted in the OP says, this woman, Doris Haddock, walked 3,200 miles - from California to Washington - eight years ago, when she was 89 (!) campaigning for campaign finance reform.

[goodhue]

39. cool

eom

[JohnLocke]

43. Kick

[ozone_man]

47. Granny D's speech at Wartburg College, Iowa on November 6th.

I read it in Vermont Woman today during lunch. She's an amazing free thinker and explains how we have become a fascist state.

http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/node/view/5112

And then to find out that she supports Edwards. :loveya:

[sandyd921]

48. Yay Granny D!!!

n/t