“We want every single consumer in America, every person in America, to know that if they walk into a Wal-Mart, that first of all their tax dollars are subsidizing Wal-Mart employees. Their tax dollars are helping provide health care for Wal-Mart employees, because Wal-Mart’s not doing it. Their tax dollars are going to provide housing and food stamps for Wal-Mart employees,” Mr. Edwards told a crowd of 400 at Hill House. “What is wrong with this picture?”

Officials Say Edwards To Enter 2008 Race - Former Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards intends to enter the 2008 race for the White House, two Democratic officials said Saturday.

John Edwards Buys Playstation 3 From Walmart After Bashing It - Last summer Edwards spoke at a Wake Up Wal-Mart bashing the retail giant:

Edwards: Dream is fading - Former Senator John Edwards takes the time on MLK day to race bait.

John Edwards: Turning every question into an answer about poverty - Ask former Sen. John Edwards a question about foreign relations, and he's likely to respond with an answer about poverty.

Edwards Works on Possible Bid in 2008 - Does anyone care?

Edwards looks South in '08 bid - The top "stop Hillary" candidate hopes anti-poverty efforts offer broad appeal as he considers a presidential run.

Edwards Looks Back—And Ahead to 2008 - It's traditional for out-of-work politicos to head to Harvard's Institute of Politics for genial wonk talk. It's also traditional for failed veep candidates to put major distance between themselves and their old campaign.

BRECK GIRL GONE WILD! - Girlyman Vice-Presidential hopeful John Edwards spending way, way too much time primping his hair. "For a guy who's been known derisively to the Bush crowd as the Breck girl," observes Shearer, vice presidential candidate John Edwards seems "way too interested in his hair." He tries to straighten it with his fingers. A makeup technician approaches with a comb, but the senator likes it just so and does the combing himself. He signals he's ready for hair spray by closing his eyes expectantly, like a child. Then Edwards and the technician straighten a little more with their fingers. Please don't tell me that thing in his hand is a compact. Oh, dear. It is. Watch the video here.

What has Senator Edwards Accomplished in Washington? Since Joining U.S. Senate In 1999, Edwards Has Been Lead Sponsor On:

John Edwards On Iraq

September 12, 2002: "We know that for at least 20 years, Saddam Hussein has obsessively sought weapons of mass destruction through every means available. We know that he has chemical and biological weapons today. He has used them in the past, and he is doing everything he can to build more. Each day he inches closer to his longtime goal of nuclear capability — a capability that could be less than a year away.

I believe that Saddam Hussein's Iraqi regime represents a clear threat to the United States, to our allies, to our interests around the world, and to the values of freedom and democracy we hold dear...

The path of confronting Saddam is full of hazards. But the path of inaction is far more dangerous. This week, a week where we remember the sacrifice of thousands of innocent Americans made on 9-11, the choice could not be starker. Had we known that such attacks were imminent, we surely would have used every means at our disposal to prevent them and take out the plotters. We cannot wait for such a terrible event – or, if weapons of mass destruction are used, one far worse – to address the clear and present danger posed by Saddam Hussein's Iraq."

John Edwards - Key Missed Votes

Appropriations - Homeland Security: Edwards missed the vote on final passage of Homeland Security appropriations. (H.R. 2555, CQ Vote #306: Passed 93-1; R 50-0; D 42-1; I 1-0, 7/24/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Appropriations - Homeland Security: Edwards missed a vote on an amendment that would add $5 billion in homeland security spending. (H. J. Res. 2, CQ Vote #2: Rejected 45-51: R 0-50; D 44-1; I 1-0, 1/16/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Appropriations - Homeland Security: Edwards missed a vote on an amendment that would add $3 billion in homeland security spending. (H. J. Res. 2, CQ Vote #3: Rejected 45-51: R 0-50; D 44-1; I 1-0, 1/16/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Appropriations - Education Block Grants: Edwards missed a vote on an amendment providing $4.5 billion in education block grants to states. (H. J. Res. 2, CQ Vote #4: Adopted 52-45: R 50-0; D 2-44; I 0-1, 1/16/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Appropriations - Education Block Grants: Edwards missed a vote on an amendment providing $6 billion for the 2001 education overhaul law. (H. J. Res. 2, CQ Vote #5: Rejected 46-51: R 0-50; D 2-45; I 1-0, 1/16/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Partial Birth Abortion Ban: Edwards missed a vote prohibiting partial birth abortion. (S. 3, CQ Vote #51: Passed 64-33: R 48-3; D 16-29; I 0-1, 3/13/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Energy Policy - Off-Shore Drilling: Edwards missed a vote on an amendment that would strike a provision requiring a survey and inventory of possible off-shore oil and natural gas deposits by the Interior secretary. (S. 14, CQ Vote #221: Rejected 45-53: R 10-41; D 34-12; I 1-0, 6/12/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Edwards Claimed A Month Earlier He Was Leading Fight Against Possible Offshore Drilling. I am “leading an effort in Congress to prevent drilling for oil and natural gas off the Atlantic coast of North Carolina.” (Sen. John Edwards, Press Release, 5/14/03)

Prescription Drug Benefit - Benefit Within Medicare: Edwards missed a vote that would create a prescription drug benefit under the traditional Medicare program available to all eligible recipients. (S. 1, CQ Vote #227: Rejected 37-58: R 0-51; D 37-6; I 0-1, 6/18/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Prescription Drug Benefit - Drug Cost Disclosure: Edwards missed a vote on an amendment that would require private plans being used by Medicare beneficiaries to disclose what costs they pass on to seniors through pharmacies. (S. 1, CQ Vote #228: Adopted 95-0: R 51-0; D 43-0; I 1-0, 6/19/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Prescription Drug Benefit - Premium Cap: Edwards missed a vote on an amendment that would prohibit an increase in prescription drug premiums to no more than 10 percent of the national average monthly prescription drug premium. (S. 1, CQ Vote #229: Rejected 39-56: R 0-51; D 39-4; I 0-1, 6/19/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Prescription Drug Benefit - Drug Patents: Edwards missed a vote on an amendment that would allow generic drugs to come to market faster by placing restrictions on patent-extensions by brand-name drug manufacturers. (S. 1, CQ Vote #230: Adopted 94-1: R 50-1; D 43-0; I 1-0, 6/19/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Prescription Drug Benefit - Drug Importation: Edwards missed a vote on an amendment that would authorize the Health and Human Services secretary to create regulations allowing pharmacists and wholesalers to import prescription drugs from Canada, thereby reducing costs. (S. 1, CQ Vote #232: Adopted 62-28: R 21-25; D 40-3; I 1-0, 6/20/03, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Fiscal 2005 Defense Authorization - Supplemental Military Funding: Edwards missed a vote authorizing an additional $25 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The total authorized funding would include $14.5 billion for the Army, $1 billion for the Navy, $2 billion for the Marine Corps and $1 billion for the Air Force. It would allow up to $2.5 billion of the authorized funding to be transferred among specific categories outlined in the amendment, contingent on prior congressional notification. (S. 2400, CQ Vote #106: Adopted 95-0: R 49-0; D 45-0; I 1-0, 6/2/04, Edwards Did Not Vote)

Editorial Bashing John Kerry still on John Edward's official website.

Taken from: http://www.johnedwards2004.com/page.asp?id=740

Mesabi Daily News Endorses John Edwards For President
The Mesabi Daily News today endorsed John Edwards for President. The full text of the endorsement is below.

We endorse: Edwards
North Carolina senator would be best candidate for Democrats in November

When Democrats caucus this week in Minnesota they will be on the national political radar screen as one of 10 states where presidential primaries and caucuses will be held.

The results will go a long way toward deciding who will be the Democratic presidential nominee in the November election.

We hope Minnesota DFLers give a strong boost to the John Edwards campaign. We believe the North Carolina senator would be the best candidate to carry the Democratic Party’s banner against Republican President George W. Bush.

We definitely feel he is the strongest of the four remaining candidates.

Sen. John Kerry is the clear favorite and at this point will be hard to beat. But Edwards more than rivals him in many ways and on many issues. We are also very troubled by how out of touch Kerry was with an economic development project — the proposed Excelsior Energy power plant that holds the potential of 1,000 construction jobs and 500 permanent jobs — on the Range. An energy bill currently being debated in Congress contains, because of the hard work of Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., $800 million in federal loan guarantees for the project that could serve as a vital catalyst for private investment in the $1.2 billion clean-energy coal gasification plant. Kerry was one of five senators who signed a letter last year calling the provision of loan guarantees for the Range project “pork.” That’s bull. To sign such a letter at the same time he is campaigning on investing in new jobs in the country makes him, on that issue, a “walking contradiction” — which is a label he has given to President George W. Bush.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio speaks with sincerity the language of the American worker. We applaud him for bringing that passion to the campaign. If it had not been for Kucinich, we do not believe Kerry and Edwards would now be speaking as much as they do about the grossly unfair loss of U.S. jobs overseas. Kucinich also has a hands-on knowledge of just how devastating illegally subsidized imports have been to the steel and ore industries. But the reality is he currently has two delegates — one being himself. He will likely finish the campaign with but a few more. Presidential nominee? No chance. Position in a future Democratic administration in a trade or labor role? Absolutely.

The Rev. Al Sharpton is a hoot in the debates. He is quick with one-liners and good-natured jabs. A black man, he also brings needed diversity in race and life’s experiences to the campaign. But voters, even in states with a large black vote, have given his campaign little credibility. He’s just a bit too “Shady Grady” to even challenge double digit vote totals.

We like Edwards for several reasons:

* Trade: Kerry has been a strong supporter of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has helped to terribly constrict the nation’s middle class, from the start. He now is trying to position himself as someone who will battle for fair trade and against the loss of American jobs. But he has been part of the problem, not the solution. It’s easy on this issue for Edwards to say he would have voted against NAFTA if he had been in the Senate back in 1993. He wasn’t. So who really knows? But we believe Edwards does have a better understanding of the embattled middle class. His upbringing and life experiences — his father was a mill worker in North Carolina and he, too, put in a stint in the plant, better puts him in touch with the everyday worker. He has connected on the jobs and trade issue with voters in several states. We believe he would continue doing that in a general election against Bush.
* Electability: Kerry was the leader of the pack a year ago, then fell far and fast behind former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean last fall and into the new year, before doing a trampoline routine and bouncing back to the lead in the days leading up to the Iowa caucuses and the days and weeks following. He did so in large part because he was viewed as the most electable Democratic candidate — and especially the most electable when compared to the often erratic Dean. However, we believe that Edwards would be the most electable for the Democrats against Bush. We believe he would give the Democrats a much better chance in some border and southern states — such as North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Georgia and even Louisiana — that have become fairly solid Republican presidential territory. A native son in the South, we believe he would be a much more credible candidate there than would Kerry. Edwards has also shown he can attract Independents and Republicans in certain primaries — and the Democratic candidate will not be able to build a November victory solely by rallying the party’s core believers.
* Style: Edwards brings a refreshing can-do outlook to the campaign trail. He doesn’t just criticize with an angry tone — which has been far too prevalent in this Democratic field. He talks about what we can do together by being optimistic, not just negative. He exudes hope. And that is something the country is always looking for, regardless the political party of a candidate.
* Lack of Washington Experience: Too often, Kerry falls back into the murky Washington bureaucracy. That can come with the territory when you have been there for decades. That experience can certainly be a plus. But we believe there is a strong need at this time for someone to come not as beholden to that bureaucratic grip. Some would argue that Edwards does not have the Washington experience to be president. However, history has often shown otherwise.

It could very well be that after “Super Tuesday” Kerry will have built a nearly insurmountable lead and his nomination will be inevitable.

However, we hope that is not the case. We hope that the Edwards candidacy will gain enough strength on Tuesday to move ahead, either to win the nomination or else to keep pushing Kerry to be a better candidate.

Minnesota Democrats can help make that happen on Tuesday.

 

 

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