Did you know that John Edwards is going all the way to the convention. I knew. Apparently, lots of reporters and the mainstream are just finding out. Slow as usual.
Edwards calling it like it is. As usual Bush falls short when it counts.
Bush plan omits critical state aid from so-called "stimulus" package
Jefferson City, Missouri – During an event in Jefferson City today, Senator John Edwards called on Congress to fix George Bush's flawed economic stimulus plan to include Edwards' proposal for federal financial assistance to states – including up to $375 million to help solve Missouri's looming budget deficit. Missouri is currently projecting a budget deficit in 2010 and beyond.
"States like Missouri need immediate help – or we could see devastating cuts to education, health care and other basic services, along with increases in property taxes," Edwards said. "Providing this assistance to states will not only protect our schools and our most vulnerable citizens, but represents an important and critical step to avoid a recession."
On December 22 – long before Congress, the President, or any other candidate – John Edwards warned about the prospect of a looming recession and proposed an economic stimulus plan that includes extended unemployment benefits, investments in the renewable energy industry to create jobs within 90 days, a Home Rescue Fund to help families avoid foreclosure, and immediate federal financial assistance to states.
Today, Edwards emphasized the need to increase the federal contribution to Medicaid and provide additional aid to states, helping them avoid cuts to education, health care and other basic services and avoid increases in property and other taxes that disproportionately impact working families and seniors on fixed incomes. Under Edwards' plan, Missouri would receive up to $375 million in direct aid to help avert those cuts and stimulate the state's economy.With Congress considering the Bush stimulus plan this week, Edwards called on members of Congress to act quickly to provide this important relief to states.
Federal assistance to the states provides more "bang for the buck" than almost any other form of short-term economic stimulus. It provides five times more economic benefits than business tax breaks, according to a study by Mark Zandi of Economy.com. Nobel Prize-winning economists reached a similar conclusion in a recent New York Times op-ed essay emphasizing extending unemployment insurance benefits and direct aid to states and localities.
Yep. It's been Ground Hog's Day for about seven years now. We wake up everyday in that time and Bush is still President.
TULSA, OKLA. -- Bill Murray was nowhere to be found in the House of Representatives last night. But according to John Edwards, George Bush's State of the Union address looked like one of Murray's movies about repeating the same daily routines over and over again.
"What I heard was more tax cuts for big business, more illegal spying on the American people, and everything's going great in Iraq; if we just stay on course and keep doing the same thing for the next however many of years, everythings just gonna be fine," said Edwards. "Boy, it sounded like 'Groundhog Day' to me. We've heard all this before."
The comments came at the top of his speech to 400 supporters inside a local Transport Workers Union hall.
Following the speech Edwards took questions from reporters. After answering for the umpteenth time whether he'll be dropping out of the race ("I'm in it for the long haul"), one reporter asked him if he' sick of being asked the question.
"It no longer affects me at all," said Edwards. "Now I'm being asked since just before Iowa, so it has no impact at all."
News from Missouri: A Rally in Springfield
Great story from the campaign trail.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — When Bruce Davidson’s 13-year-old son, David, asked him to take him to Springfield on Monday to hear former Sen. John Edwards speak at the Teamsters Hall, he knew he had to find a way to get him there.
Wanting to encourage his son’s interest in the democratic process, Davidson said, “There was no way I could say ‘no.’”
Davidson recently moved his family to Branson from Wisconsin. Davidson said that when he was a young man, he had been inspired by a speech he heard Sen. Robert Kennedy give in 1968.
After hearing Edwards, Davidson was asked to comment on what he had heard. He couldn’t. There were tears in his eyes. Regaining his composure, he said: “What impressed me the most about his speech was when he said he hadn’t taken a dime from a lobbyist. John McCain can’t say that.”
His son said: “It was an excellent speech. He said everything that needed to be said.”
The Davidsons were among several hundred people who waited for more than an hour in a standing-room-only hall to hear Edwards, the Democratic underdog in the race for the nomination, give a 15-minute speech that was punctuated by applause and standing ovations.
Attending the rally were representatives of Teamsters Local No. 823 in Joplin.
Jim McCall, president of the local, said: “The Teamsters have not picked anyone to back. We intend to survey the members and principal officers after the primaries. We do back Edwards as much as anybody.
“The one thing we like is that he is totally for labor and working-class people. He got his education on a union income. He wants health care for everybody, good jobs, good wages and good benefits.”
Edwards attracted a diverse crowd of all ages that included teachers, university students, laborers and veterans. One man, wearing a cowboy hat, stood up with a sign that read: “We know the state of the union. That’s why we are here.”
Edwards was introduced by Joe Maxwell, former lieutenant governor of Missouri. Describing Edwards as the man who will stand up for working people, Maxwell said: “It’s our time to stand up to the corporations. It’s our time to stand up to the rich. It’s our time!”
Entering the hall to the song “Our Country” by John Mellencamp, Edwards noted that President Bush would deliver the State of the Union address later Monday and that he most likely would talk about his plan to stimulate the economy.
“But his plan will leave tens of millions of Americans out,” Edwards said. “It will leave out people who work for a living. We need a president who will stand up for you.”Each time during his speech in which he referred to Bush, the crowd booed and hissed.
Reiterating the central theme of his campaign, Edwards said he comes from a working-class family that “worked to make sure that their children would have a better life and that they would leave this country better than they found it. That is the great responsibility of every generation.”
Edwards asked: “Who is going to fight for you?”
A man in the crowd said: “John Edwards.”
Edwards shot back: “You got that right, brother. It’s central to everything I want to do.”
Edwards then launched into a litany of things that he said are wrong with the country and how he would fix them. He said the richest nation on the planet has “dysfunctional health care.” He said he has proposed a universal health-care plan that would cost $90 billion to $120 billion a year, and would be paid for by removing the tax cuts that he said Bush has given to the rich.
“We’ve got to do something about this public-schools mess called No Child Left Behind,” he said. “We need to treat our teachers with dignity and respect again. Instead of punishing schools that do not do well, we need to give them the resources to do well.”
He said protection of the environment and proactive steps with regard to climate change could create a million new jobs in the United States.
“We want a president who believes you can be patriotic about something other than war,” he said, adding that he would end “this mess of a war in Iraq” in his first year as president.
Colleen Murray, media spokeswoman for the Edwards campaign in Missouri, said about 1,000 people attended the rally. She said Edwards would leave Springfield on Monday night for a rally this morning in Tulsa, Okla. He will make a campaign stop later today in Jefferson City.
John Edwards right candidate right now
Endorsement for Edwards in Missouri.
John Edwards is the only presidential candidate who truly represents Missouri. Many will ask if Edwards even matters at this point. Why take the risk on a candidate who has shown little success so far? First, there's no reason to believe that three small states should hold our state's or country's fate. But the simple answer is John Edwards can win the general election and get this country back on track.
Don't believe it? The polls and the substance of his message don't lie. When voters are asked, Democrats and Republicans and independents agree that Edwards is an electable and likable candidate. His support goes beyond bringing together partisans and nonpartisans: His appeal also crosses gender and racial lines. Edwards' message about bringing this county back to the working and middle class has teeth and specifics. His objectives for Iraq have very clear steps. Domestically, Edwards understands that public education and the economy are tied together, health care should be available to everyone and too many jobs are leaving America's shores. For average Missourians, John Edwards is the right candidate at the right time.
It is my hope that Missourians will ignore the emotion and bias injected by the national press, head to the polls Super Tuesday Feb. 5 and vote for a winner for us all, John Edwards. Any registered voter can vote in the Democratic primary. This country and this state need someone like John Edwards now more than ever. I proudly give my endorsement and support.
Jim Kreider Former speaker of the Missouri House of Representatives; former state representative, 142nd District
Edwards speaks of economic hope
The work continues. The message continues. The fight goes on.
Presidential candidate John Edwards' covenant with the working and middle class resonated with the more than 1,000 people who jammed an auditorium to see him Monday in Springfield.
Edwards drew applause and cheers of support as he hit on his keystone issues: creating jobs, enacting trade deals that help U.S. workers, universal health care, support for education and teachers, and more funds to help college-bound students.He talked for about 20 minutes at the Teamster Local No. 245 Hall, surrounded by men and women who identified themselves as union laborers, retired college professors, teachers, college students and factory workers.
In a reference to President Bush's State of the Union address later that night, one man hoisted a sign that drew applause: "We know what the State of the Union is. That's why we're here."
Edwards sparked applause with his pledge to conserve energy and develop alternative fuels to reverse global warming. The crowd leapt to their feet and applauded when he said Americans could "be patriotic about something other than war."
snip
Only during a post-rally press briefing did Edwards address what some of his listeners said weighed on their minds: Edwards' lag in other state primaries and polls behind Democratic opponents Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Several Ozarkers interviewed before the rally blamed the national media for concentrating on the Clinton-Obama cat fight and ignoring Edwards' message.
Edwards supporter Lisa Cooper of Springfield said he did the behind-the-scenes work and wrote initiatives that opponents now espouse. He authored the health care plan they're getting behind, she said, "and his plan would have saved money."
snip
"I'm in this for the long term," he said. "There have already been enormous ups and downs just in the four contests we've had. I expect there will continue to be ups and downs, and I'm going to be there working. That's what I'm going to do."
He told reporters his is a viable campaign and financially strong, having had the best fundraising month online since he began.
"And secondly," Edwards added, "I know when I get heard, this message works."
The approach seemed to work during the Springfield rally, where he essentially told Ozarkers that he is like them and their worries are his worries.
In the only reference to Bush's State of the Union address that night, Edwards said Bush would lay out an economic stimulus package that leaves out tens of millions of Americans who need help now. It's not expected to produce any results for months, he said.
Edwards also told the crowd that many Americans fear losing their jobs because they would lose health insurance, while millions live in fear of getting a serious illness because they have no health insurance at all.
snip
When asked how he would return jobs to America — such as hundreds in Springfield lost to Mexico when Zenith Corp. left — he blamed lost jobs on "terrible trade deals ... and NAFTA is one of the worst."
He said America needs to change its trade laws before it loses more jobs.
"That bleeding has to stop," Edwards said.
The country could create one million to three million jobs, alone, by removing its addiction to oil, he said. "I think that is a great economic opportunity, particularly for a place like this."
Edwards emphasized his education initiatives: stop penalizing schools for poor performing students and instead give them the resources for good schools and to attract good teachers; add universal pre-kindergarten programs; and make it easier for kids to go to college through a program that provides funding for youths who agree to work part-time and attend school.
Edwards' remarks prompted hearty applause from the raised arms of Jordon Wright, 19, a first-time voter who is throwing his support behind Edwards partly for his education stance. He's working now and plans to enter Ozarks Technical College in the fall.
Courtney Fuselier, 23, said she could use some help. She works and attends Missouri State University.
"I'll have a mountain of debt when I get out," she said. She has no health insurance, and hopes to avoid medical bills at least until she gets married next month and gets on her husband's health insurance plan.
Edwards also vowed to "end this mess of a war in Iraq," promised he would never order anyone to cross a union picket line and take their jobs, and vowed, "there will be no debate in America about what kind and when torture is permissible."
In a conference call with reporters on Monday, senior advisers to Democratic hopeful John Edwards said the former U.S. senator is "competitive" in the 22 states that vote Feb. 5, including Georgia.
U.S. Rep. David Bonior (D-Mich.) said the campaign will launch a series of television ads in 10 of the Super Tuesday states, but he would not say if Georgia would be one.
But Edwards does now have paid staff in the state, including a Savannah-based press secretary.
Despite not winning a single state thus far and finishing third Saturday in South Carolina, Bonior said Edwards has real strength in Georgia.
"[Former] Gov. Roy Barnes has been very active on behalf of our campaign as well as our legislative leaders," Bonior said, adding that supporters from organized labor will be helping.
"We have a good ground game," Bonior said.
Power Through Delegates May Be Edwards Strateg
The know-it-alls back in Washington are scratching their little heads over Edwards strategy.
After finishing third in three of the four primary contests so far — except in Iowa, where he beat Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York for second place by less than one percentage point — Mr. Edwards has shown no sign of quitting, and his advisers have insisted that he still hopes to capture the nomination.
But they have also floated other rationales for a continued Edwards candidacy, suggesting that his delegates could be used to promote his platform or to help him act as a power broker at the Democratic convention.
“We’re still hoping that John is the nominee,” said David Bonior, the national campaign manager. “But with a chunk of delegates, you can leverage what you’ve been fighting for and standing for. You can raise these issues to where they should be on the Democratic agenda. We’re running for those two reasons: to get the nomination and to have his voice heard on his issues.”
snip
Mr. Edwards has accumulated some delegates, giving him a seat at the table — or at least in debates — with Mrs. Clinton and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois. He has often steered the conversation on policy, and was the first candidate to outline a universal health care plan and an economic stimulus proposal.
Mr. Edwards is keeping up a relentless schedule, this week in Georgia, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota and Tennessee, all states that will vote on Feb. 5, and he is running television advertisements in 10 states.
Money is still not a problem, his aides insisted. Though Mr. Edwards has raised significantly less than Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Obama has raised, his campaign has been on a budget of $1.2 million a month and has enough to go through the primaries. He has raised more than $3 million this month, in part because of liberal bloggers, who recently organized a one-day fund-raiser that brought in more than $300,000.
Edwards Goes To Plan B: Hang Tough
All the way to the convention baby.
But in the aftermath of a disappointing third-place finish in the Palmetto State's Democratic primary Saturday, Edwards and his supporters say they are moving to Plan B:
A marathon run in which they plan to stay in the race with the hope that one or more of the two front-runners, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, will implode.
"We believe it will go to the convention," said Joe Trippi, Edwards' chief strategist.
In the worst case scenario, they say, Edwards will enter the Democratic national convention in Denver in August as a power broker, helping drive the agenda on issues that he has championed such as health care, poverty, and the inequities of bad trade deals.
And they say that anything can happen in this topsy-turvy political year. As proof, they point to Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who has moved from front-runner, to politically dead, only to become a front-runner again.
Adding to the volatility is the increasingly negative and polarizing tone of the campaign, with Clinton and Obama making personal attacks against one another. Trippi pointed to the acrimonious debate held in Myrtle Beach last week, where the two front-runners clashed while Edwards scored points by staying above the fray.
"If you want to know why we're still in it, go look at the debate," Trippi said. "There are two people trying to tear each other down. We can win this thing. People will get sick of that real fast."
Edwards to stay in race until convention, campaign says
The MSM is finally getting that Edwards is NOT DROPPING OUT. Shock 'n Awe.
NEW YORK -- Presidential candidate John Edwards, who has yet to win any of the Democratic nominating contests, will stay in the race until the party convention, campaign advisors said Monday.
After placing second in Iowa on Jan. 3, Edwards has run behind Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama in subsequent states and trails his two rivals in delegates to the convention.
Edwards' deputy campaign manager, Jonathan Prince, said the campaign soon would begin running ads in 10 of the more than 20 states voting Feb. 5 and would seek delegates until the convention begins Aug. 25 in Denver.
"There are numerous scenarios that lead to us being nominated," Prince said Monday in a conference call with reporters. "This thing is going for a long time."
Edwards has 26 delegates out of the 2,025 needed for the nomination. Obama, who won the South Carolina primary on Saturday, has 63 to Clinton's 48.
Prince said it was "essentially impossible" for one person to get a majority of delegates with three candidates in the race. Edwards could have a deciding role if the nomination ends up being decided in a brokered convention.
Edwards eyes a brokered convention
Is it me or is the talk of a brokered convention increasing?
Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) has his sights set on playing kingmaker at the Denver convention in August, one of his most senior campaign officials hinted Monday.
While dismissing suggestions that this implied Edwards had accepted he was out of contention for the nomination, Deputy Campaign Manager Jonathan Prince said the candidate would probably get enough delegates to play a decisive role in tipping the Democratic nomination under party rules.
Party insiders could also give Edwards the nomination at a brokered convention if they judged him more electable in a match-up against GOP front-runner Sen. John McCain (Ariz.). “At a brokered convention, all bets are off,” said Prince.
Prince told reporters in a conference call that in “a worst-case scenario” Edwards would control 20 to 25 percent of the Democratic delegates heading into the convention. He predicted that Sens. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) would each have 35 to 40 percent of the delegates, well short of half the 4,049 needed to win the nomination.
The race could leave Obama and Clinton with nearly the same number of delegates because complex rules would divide delegates evenly among candidates who win more than 30 percent in the congressional districts that make up each state.
John Edwards campaigns in Tulsa
TULSA — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards criticized President Bush’s State of the Union address during his stop at a Tulsa union hall Tuesday, but steered clear of attacking his party's frontrunners.
No mention was made during the 20-minute speech of his primary opponents — Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Clinton of New York — first- and second-place winners, respectively, last week in South Carolina.
Edwards said what he heard President Bush say was “more tax cuts for big business, more illegal spying on the American people and everything is going great in Iraq if we just stay on course."
“Boy, it sounds like groundhog day to me,” he told the 450 people reportedly crowded into the Transport Workers Union Local 514 union hall. The local represents more than 6,000 employees at the American Airlines Maintenance & Engineering Center at Tulsa International Airport with some in four smaller cities. The local also has more than 2,700 retirees in the Tulsa area.
Edwards to speak at Carpenters hall tonight
Edwards in Minnesota tonight.
ST. PAUL - Presidential candidate John Edwards will speak at 7 p.m. today, (Tuesday, Jan. 29) in a free event at the Carpenters hall in St. Paul.
The event will be held at the North Central States Regional Council of Carpenters, 710 Olive St. Doors open at 6 p.m. The Carpenters have endorsed Edwards for president. The event is free and open to the public.
Blog Roundup
Edwards to Return to New Orleans to Call for Renewed Focus on Poverty and End to Petty Squabbling by TomP
To Obama Supporters from an Edwards Supporter by nannyboz
I Want a New Deal with Edwards by sarahlane
Edwards in Missouri - Crowds and a true Human reaction - w/ donation drive - Updated by kevin22262
Edwards' Record and Personal Transformation by pbriggsiam
The Art of Politics and Why & How to support John Edwards by Valhalla
Senator Kennedy, like Bobby, John Edwards fights for justice. by KaritaHummer
Edwards supporter here! by Acebass
Why Burn the Midnight Oil for Edwards? by BruceMcF
Meanwhile, Edwards talks policies: QUICK LOOK A SHINY OBJECT by Chaoslillith
Will Edwards be the only matching funds candidate? by by thisniss
John Edwards $200,000 Day: January 30, 2008 by poligirl
For those interested in actually winning the general election, swing by here and drop a few dollars in the bucket. It's for your own good.
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