Political Money Could Dilute Edwards' Populist Message, Analysts Say
By Fred Lucas and Matt Purple
CNSNews.com Correspondents
June 14, 2007
(CNSNews.com) - John Edwards has tried to set his 2008 presidential candidacy apart from the pack by highlighting poverty and criticizing corporate power, but the North Carolina Democrat in recent years has accepted tens of thousands of dollars in donations from individuals working for the tobacco, pharmaceutical, oil and other sectors.
Last February, Edwards told a crowd of supporters gathered in Washington, D.C., "We have to stop letting the health insurance companies and the big pharmaceutical concerns decide our nation's health care policy."
But in his 2008 presidential campaign, Edwards so far has accepted about $24,000 from officials in the health care industry, including executives from the drug maker Pfizer and the insurance firm Blue Cross Blue Shield. And when he sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, individuals employed by Novartis, Purdue Pharma and other health care and drug firms donated $25,700 to his campaign
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