Unanswered Questions About Edwards' 'Mysterious' Support in IA, NH

[Adelante]

Unanswered Questions About Edwards' 'Mysterious' Support in IA, NH
Posted : Sun, 30 Dec 2007 21:36:03 GMT
Author : Kucinich for President
Category : PressRelease


CONCORD, N.H., Dec. 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Only days before the Iowa caucuses and little more than a week before the New Hampshire primary, the Concord (NH) Monitor is raising questions about the sources of nearly $1 million in unregulated funds that are supporting and promoting former Senator John Edwards' campaign to win and influence votes in both states.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071230/OPINION/712300361

-snip

The Kucinich for President 2008 campaign is attempting to get clarification on these and other revelations disclosed by the Monitor today.

"These disclosures by the Concord Monitor are deeply troubling," said a Kucinich campaign spokesman, "and they demand answers."

Website: http://www.dennis4president.com/

Kucinich for President

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/news_press_release,248205.shtml

[CoffeeCat]

1. Why would Dennis do this?

Edwards is the most Progressive of all the Dem candidates. Why is he hurting the guy
who is most in line with Kucinich's anti-corporate, anti-war, anti-neocon beliefs?

Why doesn't Kucinich spend more time kicking around the neocon pantsuit who recently
voted for Kyl/Lieberman--which, in effect, demanded that we catalyze a dramatic response
to Iran.

Edwards is enjoying a groundswell of support in Iowa. He did this last time around. Edwards
is a closer. Many come around to him toward the end. When that happens, money follows.

The Edwards event I attended last night was overflowing with participants. People had
to stand outside the doors. He was truly inspiring and the crowd was mesmerized by him.

He wants to take a sledgehammer to the corporate/political cycle of abuser that has
swept aside "We The People". He's serious about this and he's on fire when he talks
about it. He's drawing many people to his side.

I really think Dennis is being an idiot, by bringing up innuendo and the suggestion of
impropriety, only four days before the Iowa caucus.

[antigop]

4. ...."the neocon pantsuit"....did you coin this? n/t

[CoffeeCat]

10. I did....

...and I'm damn proud of it.

Actually, I said that she was "Richard Perle in a pantsuit" and I heard Andrew Sullivan
say this on an interview.

Did he steal it from me? I'd sure as hell like to think so!

I also said that Hillary is a "neocon in a pantsuit parading as a Democrat"...that has a nice
ring to it.

Her warmongering and absurdity just makes it so easy...

;)

[antigop]

12. I found it rather creative....thanks. n/t

[chascarrillo]

26. I found it rather sexist

But to each their own, I guess.

[dajoki]

25. Good question...

All this kind of stuff is going to come back to hurt us in the general election. Not only this, but all the infighting among the Dem candidates. I do realize that they must be on the attack, but sometimes they cross the line. If there is a line anymore or whatever and wherever that line may be.

[AdHocSolver]

27. I used to like Kucinich, but after this attack, I consider him the Democratic Ralph Nader. n/t

[last1standing]

2. How many times can the same non-issue be posted?

This kind of hateful partisanship is disgusting. It really is.

[Evergreen Emerald]

3. Kucinich is frustrated because Ewards reinvented himself

to look like Kucinich. Kucinich has walked the walk that Edwards now talks for decades. He is the true populist. And likely, he sees that Edwards is taking votes from him. The issue of course is that Edwards recently did an about face in his populist stance.

The facts regarding the big big $ will speak for themselves.

[AdHocSolver]

30. What would Kucinich do for publicity if Edwards actually brought about reforms. n/t

[1corona4u]

5. Seeing this, makes me more sure than ever....

that the "I was wrong" video about JE was from DK....no doubt about it....maybe DK thinks he can get JE supporters...

[Adelante]

8. Yep nt

[MethuenProgressive]

6. Edwards is sneaking in the Big Money he claims to be against, hoping Iowa & NH won't find out.

Iowa and NH aren't as dumb as Edwards hopes they are.

[CoffeeCat]

11. What about Hillary...with her barrels full of lobbyist money?

Gee. Pot meet kettle.

There is no evidence that John Edwards has done what you say. We have
rumors, four days before the Iowa caucuses.

Yet, you're running with this, like your hair is on fire.

Pretty rich if you ask me. Edwards has NEVER, during his entire political career
in the Senate, taken one dime from lobbyists or special-interests groups.

Not one dime!

What about Hillary? She could line the walls of her pantsuit ten times over
with the tens of thousands that have been dumped at her doorstep!

After all, as Hillary said---We shouldn't DARE stop taking dollars from lobbyists
because, "Lobbyists are people too!".

Oh that's rich. You just can't make this stuff up folks.

[MethuenProgressive]

15. When Edwards is called on his hypocrisy, why do his supporters cry "Hillary!!"

As though that excuses his behavior?
Are you trying to say that if Clinton does it, it's OK the Edwards does it too?
That's nuts.

[surfermaw]

33. With the little money Edwards has spent, the others are ashamed

and are crying foul, now how much has Obama spent, how much has Hillary spent, and how much has Rommney spent, Edwards is giving them a lesson on how to save money and win ...Something Dennis and ever rep. we have in the house and senate should stand up and take notice of.

[bunnies]

13. Thanks MP...

I think thats the nicest thing you've ever (indirectly) said about me. hug hug hug :hug:

[Joe the Revelator]

7. Kucinich has been a huge baby the last few months

nt

[Armstead]

9. This might be one of the answers -- If it's the same Alex Forger

Since all of the news references on Google only refer to his as "a lawyer listed in New York city property records as holding power of attorney for (Mellon)".........(Funny how quickly memes travel)...Here's the only other reference to Alexander Forger attorney I could find on a reasonably quick search.

It's from American Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Awards...If it's the same guy, the description gives one good reason he is supporting Edwards. And a r4eason totally consistent with Edwards message....And presumably he is smart enough not to be fleecing rich widows to advance worthy causes.

(Maybe I'm wrong here, but when dealing with mud, one has to work with what one can..)


http://www.americanlawyer.com/LAA.html


Alexander Forger
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy

In private practice, Alexander Forger's clients are the kind of people for whom money is no object and influence is inherited; in public service, he has always dedicated his strongest efforts to those who have neither money nor influence. As chair of New York's Legal Aid Society, Forger helped bring top-level legal advice and assistance to the indigent. When he went to Washington to serve as president of the Legal Services Corporation under President Bill Clinton, he fought fiercely in Congress to rescue a federally funded program that gave poor people meaningful access to the courts, restructuring the organization to adapt to severe budget cuts and restrictions on the types of cases that it can take. If charity begins at home, then Forger's assistance to his partners came in the form of tough love: helping revitalize an old-fashioned firm and ensuring its competitiveness in the modern era of global business, while also urging a greater commitment to pro bono and public service.

[dkf]

14. I think the problem is that it came from a guy that has power of attorney for a 97 year old woman.

Makes you wonder if she was taken advantage of in any way. Financial dealings with the elderly always need more scrutiny than with younger people. And the power of attorney angle makes it even more suspicious.

[Armstead]

16. I had power of attorney for my elderly mother...

and she sure as hell wouldn't have let me get away with anything.

Circumstantial evidence is what this is based on.

[dkf]

22. Your mom sounds like she is quite competent

But in addition you are probably her beneficiary.

In the end its always the beneficiaries that sue.

And yes it is circumstantial. But the lawyer won't say whose money this is. If there weren't some nosy reporters no one would ever know this was going on.

[Armstead]

23. er, she's no longer with us

She died in October.

But my point was that before spreading the tale, it should have been checked out to determine whether or not Mrs. Mellon was senile or otherwise unknowing or didn't have provisions in her agreement of how the money would be used.

[dkf]

35. I'm sorry to hear about your mother.

My uncle is going through Alzheimer's now so I am finding myself in this position also.

He has mail from the RNC the DNC the DCCC, the NRA, the Reagan Library, the Clinton Library, Hillary, Obama, Richardson, our local University, McCain, just gobs and gobs of mail asking for donations. And he used to give anyone that asked so he is a member of the RNC and the DNC which I tell him doesn't really make sense.

Frankly, I could get him to just donate to the people I like and chuck the rest, but he is going to need his money for when he gets worse.

[MethuenProgressive]

17. Does she know her lawyer (a top Edwards funder) is cutting 1/2 Million dollar checks to Edwards?

It's a legitimate question.

[Armstead]

20. Sorta like "Did John Kerry really hide under his boat in Vietnam?"

If it is proven that this lawyer fleeced a client, then it is a legitimate issue.

But otherwise, it's simply a "Do you still beat your wife" slander.

[AdHocSolver]

28. Yeh, like all those "younger" people who took out ARM mortgages that they could never pay off. n/t

[FrenchieCat]

18. The Edwards' campaign is "tolerant" to this kind of thing......

afterall, it helps them.

[MethuenProgressive]

19. I'd tolerate a $495,000.00 check too.

As long as it clears before Bunny Mellon balences her checkbook at the end of the month.

[FrenchieCat]

24. LOL!

[AdHocSolver]

29. And, Clinton and Obama will work for health care reform after huge donations from insurance firms.

[gmudem]

34. And you have proof of this?

Like there's even a point in asking lol.

[Adelante]

21. The Nation: Ari Berman

He referenced this period in New Hampshire not long ago, saying that "back in the period where, you know, the Rockefellers and the Mellons and the Carnegies, all these people, owned most of America or a big chunk of America and they used their money and power to dominate what was happening in the government and to dominate what was happening in the economy."

-snip

But the thing is--Edwards is that skillful. His campaign decided to accept public funds in the primary with the understanding that well-funded 527s would likely swoop into Iowa on his behalf. After all, the Alliance is run by Edwards campaign manager in '04 and there are emails from back in October linking the group's backers to the campaign.

When the Obama campaign criticized this arrangement, Edwards first distanced himself from the group, saying the ads should stop, and then said he was proud to have the support of the unions that were supposedly financing it. Liberal columnists, like the New York Times' Paul Krugman and my colleague Ari Melber, have argued that Obama's counter-attack will backfire because of the popularity of unions in the party. Yet the huge donation from Mellon, hardly a vanguard for working America, makes that argument difficult to swallow.

The rank influence of money in politics is not specific to Edwards or his supporters. The other top Democrats have raised millions of dollars from the very industries they've pledged to regulate as president. At the same time, Edwards deserves the scrutiny he's received on this one. It's especially hypocritical to campaign on behalf of "One America" and then rely on the other to help you win Iowa.

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters?bid=45&pid=264073

[AdHocSolver]

32. There is an assumption in the article you cite that all wealthy people are against Americans.

The specific quote I am referring to is:

-----
It's especially hypocritical to campaign on behalf of "One America" and then rely on the other to help you win Iowa.

-----

This assumes that all wealthy people are "bad" and trying to screw the country. This is patently false. I know and have met very affluent people who fight for Democratic causes, help out with charities, and who are progressive on many social issues. I know a well-to-do retired physician who is a Democrat, and has advocated universal health care for many years. I worked with a multimillionaire who supported charities, advocated for social issues, and personally helped out individuals resolve issues with both time and money.

There are foundations that are progressive on social issues. One such is run by an heir to the Mott family fortune (General Motors). Wealthy people can be part of "One America". This country was saved by a wealthy aristocrat named Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

If you want to expose hypocracy, spend your bandwidth on all the wealthy CORPORATE interests who are donating to Clinton and Obama, and answer the question of how, after accepting all that money, they would then fight for the American people for affordable health care, environmental issues, job issues, trade issues, and on and on.

[Luminous Animal]

36. More smears with no evidence and some lies thrown in.

1) Mellon did not donate a half a million dollars. The money came from an entity associated with Mellon (close friend of the Kennedy's)

2) There has been zero evidence presented in any news article or from the email itself that the Edwards campaign was aware that a 527 would swoop, float, or skip into Iowa on his behalf.

3) The email (singular) cited was between union reps, not the Edwards campaign, before any 527 was organized. That would be labor folks. You know, one of the backbones of Democratic organization.

Next up on DU, "some say" Edwards invented the internets!


By the way, Kennedy was rich. FDR was rich. Every single presidential candidate is wealthy beyond most of our wildest dreams. There is only one way to run a campaign and win a presidential election and that is with other people's oodles and oodles of money. The implication is that a poor man with $25 dollar donations can run a campaign and be president. There is no doubt in my mind that no one here who is advancing this Mellon narrative is willing to advance that argument.

[Madam Mossfern]

31. Holy cow!

Was it my donation?:wow:

[Perry Logan]

37. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

[Didereaux]

38. Dennis needs his diapers(Depends) changed again.