Karoli @ Crooks & Liars calls bullshit on WaPo Op-Ed RE: John Edwards

[Amerigo Vespucci]

May 29, 2011 03:00 PM
Ruth Marcus Is Dead Wrong About John Edwards

By karoli



http://crooksandliars.com/karoli/ruth-marcus-dead-wrong-about-john-edwards

Ruth Marcus has an op-ed out that is so reflective of Beltway thinking and so wrong that it just shouldn't be allowed to stand as the final word.

Her argument:

But being a jerk, even on an Edwardsian scale, is not a felony, which is what federal prosecutors have been pursuing for more than two years. The original theory of the case was that Edwards misused campaign funds to support his mistress, Rielle Hunter. That would have been a serious matter, except the theory fizzled.

Yes, that theory fizzled largely because large donors, like Fred Baron and Rachel Mellon decided to pony up the funds to keep Rielle Hunter out of sight and out of the media's eye. They only did that for one reason: To keep Edwards' primary bid alive. To that end, they spent nearly one million dollars.

Marcus thinks that's not a felony.

[JDPriestly]

1. So instead of Edwards' wealthy supporters, we got Obama's

wealthy Goldman and Morgan,Stanley supporters managing our government.

Same difference. So why the outrage?

Who knows what secrets about other politicians are hidden from our view by the money of the rich?

[Monk06]

2. My question is why Edward's? He's a broken man, no threat to anyone politically.

They are after someone else. This is a fishing expedition.

[struggle4progress]

3. Bush-appointed US Attorney George Holding is using the Edwards case to stay in office

Obama has twice nominated a replacement -- but Holding and the Republicans have repeatedly squealed that replacing Holding would interfere with the "investigation" of Edwards

I supported Edwards with enthusiasm in several campaigns, and I was sad to see him go down in flaming wreckage -- but I think it was his own fault

I also think Holding's motives are entirely political. He's been "investigating" Edwards for about three years now, and I expect a federal prosecutor can probably find a technical violation by anyone so extensively investigated -- and so I think Holding will eventually be able to get Edwards to plead guilty to some small technical violation, that actually looks rather silly compared to the scale of the "investigation"

[Kurmudgeon]

4. So Holdings is the new Kenneth Starr? He needs booted just for that reason alone.

[Citizen Worker]

5. Edwards' populist economic message must be destroyed and it has little to do with which political

party is in control of the prosecution.

[rasputinkhlyst]

6. I am tired of my tax dollars supporting Repugs

spending millions investigating Democratic Politicians while their own violations including potential war criminal investigations are flushed down the toilet. The investigation was a waste of money for Clinton/Lewinsky and now for Edwards. Let's look into the banking crisis, how we gt into Iraq with everyone reputable saying there were no weapons of mass destruction, voter election fraud with the fixed machines, especially Ohio and FL, etc. And this is for starters!!

Laws need to apply to all classes and all political parties!