Progressives Should Vote Edwards by Joel Rogers

[spooky3]

"I'll be voting for John Edwards in next week's Wisconsin presidential primary. I think all progressives should vote for him in all remaining primaries..."

snip

"...He is unabashedly pro-union. He regularly challenges white audiences to confront "the white problem" of continued racial injustice. His "two Americas" stump speech is all about class. He appreciates and notes the sheer pervasiveness of corporate crime--from tax evasion to union avoidance, predatory lending to environmental degradation, unsafe working conditions to subsidy abuse. He is sharply critical of the "Washington Consensus" on international trade and finance. He talks about the growth of poverty and dead-end jobs. And he's the only candidate who does this in engaging language ordinary voters understand."

snip

"...So, for example, Edwards wants to commit America explicitly to promoting "high road" competition--high wage, low waste, more socially accountable--and getting off the "low road" that's dragging down wages and increasing inequality. He wants to raise labor and environmental standards, invest heavily in worker training and continuing education, and build the public infrastructure--some crumbling, some never built, some bricks and more, some organizational--needed to achieve a shared prosperity."

more

February 8, 2004
http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml%3Fi=20040223&s=rogers

[cryofan]

1. I agree. Edwards will have my vote when he comes to Texas

However, Dean is not in meltdown when compared to Edwards. Dean is actually doing better than Edwards lately.

But Edwards is using populist language more than Kerry, and I believe it more from him than Kerry. Also, Kerry has already been put to great use as a frontrunner: he was really one of the big reasons why the AWOL story has legs. But since that story is already out, we don't need Kerry any more. Not that he is a bad guy; I just think Edwards is talking more populism than Kerry.

Also, Edwards could chose Clark as VP and use that to bring up AWOL again.

[SangamonTaylor]

2. cryofan, help Edwards here in TX!

go to www.wintexas.org to help jumpstart the TX grassroots movement for John Edwards

[flpoljunkie]

3. My email response to Joel Rogers.

John Edward's populist rhetoric belies his actual voting
record in the Senate--which is hardly "progressive."

John Edwards twice voted for the egregious bankruptcy bill, a giveaway to the banks and credit card companies.

PIRG lists these votes and others on its Congressional scorecard which grades members of Congress on consumer, environmental and good government issues.
Edward scored 60% in the 107th Congress. His lifetime score stands at only 74%, compared to John Kerry's lifetime score of 94%. Edwards also voted against
increasing the renewable energy standards, to weaken the Safe Water Drinking Act, to continue factory farms (i.e., hog farms) and to limit the liability of the nuclear industry.

Recently in his stump speech, Edwards spoke passionately of those, who through no fault of their own, have to file for bankruptcy. I wondered if any of the "regular folks" in the crowd were actually aware of how Edwards had voted on the punitive bankruptcy bills cited above.

Perhaps John Edwards has had an epiphany; I genuinely hope this is the case, as many feel he would make a fine running mate for John Kerry. His "Two Americas" speech
was born on January 3, 2004, on the steps of the City Hall in Nashua, New Hampshire.

One might reasonably see this "Two Americas" speech as a campaign ploy in the runup to the first contests of 2004; indeed, the speech was very favorably reported and remarked on by many pundits--who undoubtedly have no idea of
Senator Edward's actual voting record.

[anti-NAFTA]

4. He's better than Kerry, but still not entirely trustworthy.

I'll see how he does at the next debate and whether he really wants to put NAFTA on the table.

[SangamonTaylor]

5. do you have anything to back up your questions about his trustworthiness?

Credibility is one of my primary concerns, and I look at JRE as the best of the bunch!