Keep John Edwards' Hope Alive

[kurth]

Keep John Edwards' Hope Alive

The Nation -- He ended where he began. Against the backdrop of a battered New Orleans, John Edwards spoke eloquently of Americans' "moral responsibility to each other. We must do better if we're going to live up to the promise of this great country." And as he has throughout the course of the campaign, Edwards laid down a marker for the remaining two candidates. End poverty in America.

Edwards said that both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama "have pledged to me-- and more important through me to America--that they will make ending poverty central to their campaign. And more important, they will make ending poverty central to their Presidency."

Edwards didn't make it out of January. He never had Obama or Clinton's $100 million campaign war chest required to wage a national campaign in this frontloaded system. What he did have was a powerful message of democratic populism: rewarding work, repairing ravaged pensions, confronting spiraling inequality, supporting organized labor, calling for public investment, and working for an end to poverty, Edwards was the only leading candidate to connect the war and the home front, arguing that an ambitious domestic agenda required cuts to our bloated miitary budget. And his campaign put the central issue of our time center stage: Who controls our country--corporations or the people?

What Edwards brought --and we can't lose with his exit--is that fighting moral spirit to take back our government from corporate power and interests. It's up to progressives to ensure that Obama and Clinton heed Edwards' words --and that we keep driving the issues of economic fairness, justice and dignity into the next primaries and election.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20080130/cm_thenation/45277678

[Yael]

1. The only way that I can think to do that is to remain uncommitted

and let them vie for my vote AFTER I vote for Senator Edwards in my primary.

I have to follow his lead on this.

[Unrepentant Fenian]

2. Vote

I'm still considering voting for Edwards in the primary as well. I think a LOT of us should do the same.

[Yael]

4. Thank you for your voice

[OzarkDem]

3. Wait, be patient

If a Dem wins the GE (and that's a very big if), we may be able to make an impact in 6 years if they're re elected and the Dems have power in Congress.

The Democratic Party's window of opportunity for change has sadly closed. Our presidential (and many of our congressional) candidates have already fallen victim to the "golden handcuffs", large corporate donations that will help them buy their way into office. Politicians just don't take those kind of risks.

Those golden handcuffs stay on for a very long time, and it will take a special convergence of events, something outside the Dem party, to allow an opportunity to put in a wedge and begin to take back our government.

The money has been donated, accepted and the promises have been made. The backroom deals have been cut. Its over. Regardless of who wins, the doors are closed for now. We are locked outside of our party and our government. Some day we will be able to recognize and seize the moment again. Be patient, watch and wait. That's all we can do.

[tyedyeto]

5. I vote this coming Tuesday

and will be voting for Edwards, since the other 2 still have not convinced me they deserve my vote.