god forbid he does his best job with the cases that he has. i mean it's not like it's his obligation or anything.

1/21/2007 6:33:41 PM

John Kerry attacked Edwards for being a trial lawyer? thats great. Does that mean Edwards is equal to American soldiers in Iraq? Cause John Kerry attacked them too.

1/21/2007 6:33:44 PM

Quote :

"ah yes that case. the one case that "proves" Edwards is evil. "

one case, huh?

Quote :

"In the decade that followed, Mr. Edwards filed at least 20 similar lawsuits against doctors and hospitals in deliveries gone wrong, winning verdicts and settlements of more than $60 million, typically keeping about a third. As a politician he has spoken of these lawsuits with pride. "

good job reading, as usual

^^no he did...but that goes back to how trial lawyers are inherently sheisty extortionists...i guess the lawyer that won millions from mcdonalds over hot coffee was just fulfilling his "obligation"

[Edited on January 21, 2007 at 6:43 PM. Reason : hello?]

1/21/2007 6:33:55 PM

that coffee case is the most overused piece of nonsense. i have no sympathy for mcdonalds. holding your coffee at boiling is not "hot" its a fucking weapon.

The Washington Times article suggests that Edwards was using "questionable science". Yet they say that the science the verdict was founded upon was considered correct until "recently". Second, its a fucking OP ED from the goddamn washington TIMES.

Why is it so evil that he only took the cases where the suffering was extreme and the cases so compelling that there was no way the jury wouldnt find in his favor?

1/21/2007 6:44:59 PM

Edward's lack of substance in his issues he's pushing on his website is pretty terrible. I mean, it's one thing to say "we must fight poverty", but what good does that make in informing the voters? How will he do such a thing?

1/21/2007 7:00:31 PM

its a year before the first primary.
Candidates without an issues page on their website: Hillary, Obama, McCain

Rudy has a "Record" listing, but no policy proposals. Brownback has a bunch of issues and a short paragraph statement about them.

I didnt look at Gravel or Kucinich. Richardson has longer policy positions. But most are just a paragraph long.

1/21/2007 7:12:49 PM

^^ http://johnedwards.com/news/speeches/20060622/

That's his speech given at the National Press Club last June about his plan to alleviate poverty in 30 years.

1/21/2007 7:56:21 PM

^^^watch this

http://tinyurl.com/2pe5t5

The stuff he mentions there, launching his campaign from New Orleans, I think he is serious about fighting poverty.

I think most of the people who said "hey look, even Kerry attacked him" (& of course he would while they were both fighting for the top of the ticket & that hapepns every election cycle without exception) probably don't care much about what Kerry has to say anyways.

His website launching the campaign early effectively gave him 2 launches to the campaign, one online towards a younger audience & one from new orleans, and double the coverage. As for being a lawyer as a "strike against him", here is his response from one of the stories on his campaign launches.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/28/edwards.ap/index.html

http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/12/27/edwards.running.ap/index.html

Quote :

" Republicans have sought to cast Edwards as a money-chasing trial lawyer. It is an image that Edwards has tried to counter by arguing that he represented ordinary people wronged by big corporations. "I spent most of my adult life representing kids and families against very powerful opponents, usually big insurance companies," he liked to say. "And my job was to give them a fair shake, to give them a fair chance.”"

1/21/2007 8:36:07 PM

Nice interview, but he still hasn't said how he plans on combating poverty on a national level. He's done some good with his center, but that's far from a national, taxpayer-funded program. Good fluff that most voters will enjoy, but not any real substance.

Nice to find this gem though, Lincoln Chafee is the man:
http://www.comedycentral.com/motherload/index.jhtml?ml_video=79409

Also shows, the Republicans are still united behind this same agenda Bush has been leading. Pretty sad. The story of the Republican who opposed the tax cuts, talked to the president, and then changed his mind is pretty bizzare. The moderate caucuses are small.

[Edited on January 21, 2007 at 9:41 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2007 9:33:47 PM

i wish more people like lincoln chafee existed. if he had become an independent he probably would have won with 60+% of the vote.

1/21/2007 9:53:02 PM

If he ran for president as an independent, and the other choices were Clinton and Tancredo, I would drop out of school and campaign for that man.

Hell, I'd do it anyway. He's his own party.

[Edited on January 21, 2007 at 10:09 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2007 10:09:28 PM

as a democrat, if its hillary vs tancredo im leaving the country for a year or so. then, upon getting back i will refuse to ever speak about or read about politics.

1/21/2007 10:28:28 PM

Meh, I'll have too much to lose, not to mention I don't have the money. NC's a nice place to live, I'd still fight for it.

I'll lead a new secession movement for the Carolinas.

I'm an idiot and I will read conservative blogs just as much, probably more, than i read any moderate/liberal blogs. The consensus seems to be that Romney might be the closest thing to Reagan (which is what they seem to like to base their candidates on, always), but there's a lot of support floating around out there for Gingrich, who wants to "pud God in the public square", whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. Lip service, to be sure.

V Oh, wow, I totally missed that post, I apologize

I'll read it. Be forewarned that I've never trusted the man, so I might be a little biased

[Edited on January 21, 2007 at 10:50 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2007 10:39:39 PM

Quote :

"PinkandBlack: Nice interview, but he still hasn't said how he plans on combating poverty on a national level. "

Did you read the speech I posted?

I've upped Edwards' fact sheet from that speech, which details his proposals for alleviating poverty:

http://download.yousendit.com/DB2CBAA9538356EC

1/21/2007 10:48:37 PM

^^The conservatives want to nominate a Mormon? Even with the polls indicating it would be suicide? When it looks like something like 50 percent of evangelical christians consider Mormonism a cult.

They think Rudy is gonna put god where? The man who has cheated on all 3 wives? The man with the video on the net of him in drag?

1/21/2007 10:57:32 PM

Thanks for that, btw!

Ok, reading it now...I like that it's similar to the Blair plan and I like his "workfare" proposals, as well as support for the open shop, plans to cut taxes for low income workers. The HUD reform has me a bit confused, and HUD has always been one of those tricky Great Society programs that never really worked out for everyone. Personally, I'd like to see someone make some sort of proposal that would shift the tax burden somewhat from income and goods to fixed resources. I'll give it a second look later, I'm sure.

Now why doesn't he have this up on his website? Oh yeah, most voters just want soundbytes like "cut and run" or "a thousand points of light" or "flip flop"

Of course, this is only part of the picture. Will he be effective at mending our international image (I think Richardson is most qualified for that)? How does he feel about trade? I know he supports "fair trade", but how far can you go with that? Isn't free trade between free nations sometimes necessary to keep the price of some important consumer goods down? I know some of this, but he needs to get that message out.

^ Dude, read:

Quote :

"ut there's a lot of support floating around out there for Gingrich, who wants to "put God in the public square", whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. Lip service, to be sure."

That quote is straight from Newt's PAC.

As for Romney:

Quote :

""We must return to the common-sense Reagan Republican ideals.""

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/11/25/romney_reaches_for_reagan_touch/

Will the evangelicals vote for him? If given the choice between Rudy, McCain, and Romney, I'd say yes. They'd rather vote for fuzzy Christianity that gives lip-service to Reagan, the #1 GOP hero of the day, and probably for decades to come, that elect a pro-choicer. The non-Evangelical righties are sure to be attracted to him as well if he links himself to Reagan.

[Edited on January 21, 2007 at 11:09 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2007 11:03:08 PM

Quote :

"he comes from working class"

haha, please. he wouldn't know what a blue collar hard days work was if it hit him in the face.

Quote :

"I wonder if he was thinking about the poor when him and his ilk were driving everyone's health insurance rates up with their ambulance chasing..."

exactly, thank you. those of us that grew up in raleigh and were in or around the same social circles know this man's true colors.

i also find this new family they have created in a lab quite disturbing (random comment).

[Edited on January 21, 2007 at 11:04 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2007 11:03:56 PM

Quote :

"exactly, thank you. those of us that grew up in raleigh and were in or around the same social circles know this man's true colors."

so growing up in raleigh makes one believes the bullshit about med mal lawsuits?

^^yeah sorry. completely misread that. but the point about adultery still stands. i think gingrich rudy and rush are all racing to see who can die with the most wives.
also, gingrich is a lying sack of shit, who is as close to a fascist as they come in america.

if the christian right is gonna come together for one candidate i expect it to be someone like brownback.

1/21/2007 11:25:08 PM

Quote :

"so growing up in raleigh makes one believes the bullshit about med mal lawsuits?"

watching newscasts and reading websites is necessarily more accurate than word of mouth from people who have personal experience with him?

1/21/2007 11:28:12 PM

wait im sorry. i didnt know that meeting him once proved the assertion that lawyers are the only reason health care is so expensive. woops.

1/21/2007 11:32:08 PM

yeah thats the exact assertion that everyone was making

i forgot, you've read about him so therefore he hasnt done any wrong, since you didnt read about it

1/21/2007 11:34:47 PM

who cares about everyone. i was responding to one person.

1/22/2007 7:33:19 AM

what ONE person made this assertion:

Quote :

"lawyers are the only reason health care is so expensive."

Who said that? I read the thread and don't recall anyone making that claim

1/22/2007 11:38:01 AM

ds made the assertion that lawyers are responsible for driving up the cost of healthcare.

bigblueram made the assertion that those who grew up in raleigh and knew the family before he ran for senate know how true that is.

its not really complicated tree. everyone is quoting everyone else to respond.

1/22/2007 11:59:12 AM

I'd rather see hillary in office than edwards.

1/22/2007 12:09:29 PM

^^i will ask again, who claimed "lawyers are the only reason health care is so expensive"

who claimed that? as far as I know people only claimed that trial lawyers have increased the cost of healthcare...and denying that would be foolish

1/22/2007 12:11:35 PM

^^ I'd rather see Sir Edmund Hillary

1/22/2007 1:16:15 PM

maybe Hillary Duff...

1/22/2007 3:54:57 PM

Quote :

"those of us that grew up in raleigh and were in or around the same social circles know this man's true colors."

He has been a family friend of mine for over 20 years, and he coached my soccer team for a year or two. I knew Wade quite well. I can vouch for his "true colors". I can attest to his character and virtues, even if I disagree with his politics at times.

I'd be proud to have him represent our state and country.

[Edited on January 22, 2007 at 4:02 PM. Reason : 2]

1/22/2007 4:01:47 PM

Quote :

""Edwards's campaign has stated that its main focus is on eliminating poverty, fighting global warming, and providing universal health care." "

Eliminating poverty...I'd like to hear some specifics of his plans to do so.
Fighting global warming...THIS makes your top 3?!?
Providing Universal Health Care...read, fucking up the health care system.

Yeah, I don't think so.

1/22/2007 5:00:36 PM

Quote :

"I'd like to hear some specifics of his plans to do so."

There's a link up there...apparently his plan is similar to Tony Blair's. Not that I'm sold on it...I'm not...but there is a plan.

Quote :

"Fighting global warming...THIS makes your top 3?!?"

Is this not important (assuming one accepts that something must be done)

Quote :

"Providing Universal Health Care...read, fucking up the health care system."

Depends on what system you're talking about here.

1/22/2007 5:39:02 PM

When Edwards implements a universal health care, will he then sue himself?

1/22/2007 5:54:03 PM

So Edwards would create all these temporary gov't jobs? and ...

Quote :

"..In return, workers must show up and work hard, stay off drugs, do not commit any crimes, and pay child support."

If someone would simply show up and work hard, they could find a job without Edwards help.

Almost every aspect of his plan sounds like the tired old wealth-transfer stuff that democrats have been pushing for years. No where did I see any ideas suggested which would strengthen and promote industry in the country which creates all these jobs afterall.

1/22/2007 8:43:45 PM

you can't get jobs without experience.

1/22/2007 8:49:24 PM

Is that why illegal immigrants do the jobs that Americans won't do?

1/22/2007 8:58:10 PM

fucking up the health care system? you mean by paying twice as much money as any other industrialized country for covering less people and having poorer overall health. oh.

1/22/2007 9:37:15 PM

the poorer overall health has more to do with self inflicted health problems than the health care system itself.

Most americans are too fucking stupid to stop eating so goddamn much and too lazy to get off their fucking couch unless they're going outside to smoke a cigarette.

1/22/2007 9:57:47 PM

what does that have to do with infant mortality rates? other than the cigarette smoking of course. but i think more people in europe smoke. but that could be very wrong.

1/22/2007 10:45:52 PM

You bitch a lot for somebody who enjoys much better health care than the typical European.

1/22/2007 11:19:03 PM

Quote :

"Is this not important (assuming one accepts that something must be done)"

Well you have yourself a fairly circular argument going there, but I'll try to take a crack at it anyway.

So, something MUST be done about it? Must it be done now? Is it also one of the top three major problems in America that must be dealt with?

1/23/2007 12:35:03 AM

^ One could say, if it's not in the top three, one day everything below that won't really matter.

Beyond that, though, think about this from a purely political standpoint: why global warming? I mean, it's not like it's been talked about recently by some other potential presidential candidate...




Oh wait..



From a purely political point of view, you're taking Al Gore's key issue. There's no way Edwards is going to beat Al Gore on this issue, but if Gore thinks someone's legitimately pushing global warming as one of the top three issues of 2008, then he's definitely out of the race. That's the bigger benefit.

Edit: I should clarify by saying I don't know Edwards' position on global warming or what he'd do about it...I'm just saying, it's a shrewd political move.

[Edited on January 23, 2007 at 12:52 AM. Reason : edit]

1/23/2007 12:50:31 AM

Quote :

"So, something MUST be done about it? Must it be done now? Is it also one of the top three major problems in America that must be dealt with?"

Yes

1/23/2007 12:55:04 AM

let's just all forget about Edwards. It's obama time.

1/23/2007 12:58:14 AM

Quote :

"He has been a family friend of mine for over 20 years, and he coached my soccer team for a year or two. I knew Wade quite well. I can vouch for his "true colors". I can attest to his character and virtues, even if I disagree with his politics at times."

congratulations for all that, but your judgement is obviously clouded by it. the words character and virtues do not belong in a thread about him imo.

i'm not saying he's the devil or anything, he's a nice enough man and has endured a horrible tradgedy to lose a son. i just don't think he's a worthy leader of this country based on many of his life decisions and practices.

i'm also very offended whenever he trys to talk about being working class.

1/23/2007 2:09:27 AM

did he not grow up working-class? Are you holding it against him that he is no longer working-class?

1/23/2007 2:19:30 AM

I like edwards. i dont think he's able to win the presidency, however.

he's far too short.

1/23/2007 2:34:34 AM

Quote :

"i'm also very offended whenever he trys to talk about being working class. "

quite true, i grew up with wade since kindergarten, he was in 4 classes with me (and we share the same birthday) when he died in 95 - i know john, a nice enough guy, but he lived quite the opulent lifestyle. hell, he bought a building for the high school after wade's death.

That being said, I don't blame him for being rich, get it however you can IMO - but don't run for president as a LIBERAL with that attitude!

1/23/2007 7:46:24 AM

Quote :

"- but don't run for president as a LIBERAL with that attitude!"

Do what now?

[Edited on January 23, 2007 at 11:37 AM. Reason : .]

1/23/2007 11:36:57 AM

^^ Their new house might be a different story, but there's nothing about their former lifestyle (and home) that I'd call opulent. I was actually surprised by how ascetic it was.

1/23/2007 11:51:46 AM

Quote :

"exactly, thank you. those of us that grew up in raleigh and were in or around the same social circles know this man's true colors."

No shit. Don't even get me started on the 3 years of bullshit my family went through at the hands of him and his lying cocksucker plaintiffs. And no, my family is not even in the medical or insurance business.

Oh well, John Williamson was our lawyer

John Edwards is just another highly protected eliteist democratic politician who will say anything on the record in attempt to disguise the fact that he thinks he knows what's best for you and your life whether you're going to like it or not.

1/23/2007 12:37:43 PM