The one constant is that Edwards does well in many Red states.

[Ninga]

It is curious that there is little to no discussion about how well Edwards plays in the red states....and what that would mean in a GE for the downticket candidates.

The stories the M$M casts into the waters, in many cases are negative suppostions with little to no basis in their theory's of Edwards role in the primary.

Not this one:

JRE Wins Straw Poll in Florida Panhandle
by rssrai, Sat Nov 24, 2007 at 05:06:16 PM EST

John Edwards wins straw poll in panhandle of Florida. JRE is loved here by democrats in my part of the state. John and Elizabeth Edwards are one of the few 2004 democratic presidential candidates who visited us here in north Florida, and Elizabeth grew up in the Pensacola area.

"Former North Carolina Sen.
John Edwards, who ranks third
in the national polls behind
Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack
Obama, was the top vote-getter
in the local poll. He received
31.2 percent of the votes,
followed by Clinton with
29.9 percent and Obama with
14.3 percent."

http://www.epaperedition.com/Repository/ DailyNews/2007/11/24/112407DailyNewsComp lete.pdf#OLV0_Page_0001

[waiting for hope]

1. Excellent!

The M$M is going to be scrambling come January...Edwards? OMG, Edwards!

Thanks! and K&R!

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :hi:

[Ninga]

3. Saturday night party "bounces" for Edwards ! Let's party on and get ready for the

showdown.


:hi:

:toast:

[waiting for hope]

4. I'm on it!

:toast: but I have to put my kids to bed first!

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[havocmom]

18. Yeah, a lot of DEMS for starters. Lots of republicans who woulda voted for Dean in 04 also.

No such thing as an all red state. And no such thing as all blue.

[Name removed]

19. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[1932]

21. Check the map last time Democrats won the presidency...

[MadBadger]

2. Except when it comes to his own state in the general

I expected him to carry North Carolina or to make some other southern states competitive. He couldnt deliver.

[Ninga]

6. NC is one of the most conservative of the conservative...they fly under the radar and

SC gets more press......

Based on the way the 2004 GE played out, and the affect the Swiftboat media blitz had......it's not a surprise.

[XemaSab]

34. Not so fast...

[MannyGoldstein]

10. That Was The Old JE

The new JE has changed his opinion on everything since 2004. Now that he's traded his DLCism for Populism, everything should be different.

[Captain Hilts]

35. He's not leading in NC, SC or VA. NOT a good sign. nt

[surfermaw]

49. Don't you know North Carolina is Helms country

Edwards is one of a few that ever beat his machine... and if he wins Iowa, I expect North Carolina to come around.

[Basileus Basileon]

5. Except for in the last general election, in which he was useless.

[Ninga]

There there, it's Saturday night and you don't have a date or a life, and you have to hang

out in the enemy camp to get your jollies......

So we will all sit in a circle and create an environment in which you can feel safe and warm and help you heal.

[Basileus Basileon]

9. Aww, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings.

There there, dear. Your candidate is very popular, and everyone likes him.

[Ninga]

12. self delete

too much Chianti

[Basileus Basileon]

14. I can feel the love.

[Ninga]

13. If that is an apology, i accept it. It is very sweet of you and I appreciate you calling me dear.

Because I really am.

[Ninga]

7. self delete

[venable]

25. are you aware of how many times he was dispatched to NC in 04

and how many ads they ran there?

the braintrust of the Kerry team wrote the state, and the south, off.

you are aware of this, right?

[surfermaw]

50. And that is an accomplishment

Because North Carolina at the state level is democratic, but at the National level they are usually Republican, Again Edwards beat the Helms machine , something only a few have done, in the 60 years that I have lived in NOrth Carolina.

[saltpoint]

8. There's a compelling slurry of Mudcat (JRE's accent and background) and

David Bonior (his white-hot command of domestic issues and pro-labor position) that lower the threshold of resistance among red-state voters.

I think those voters are short-changing all our people by assuming Republicans and not our Democrats have citizens' best interests in mind, but among the Democrats so wronged by those voters Edwards does appear to bear up quite well in those town-hall-type gatherings.

If you watch some of those appearances on C-Span, the Democrats seem to approach our candidates differently. They seem to know Biden for ages, even having never met him for one second. He's another one who breaks down barriers.

Obama breaks them also -- not so much when he holds back what he knows (and he knows a lot) but when he uses his remarkable gift of speech to lift hearts. It is the public servants' privilege to do that. Not many can. Obama certainly has the gift.

Edwards is not the linguistic master Obama is but voters are sensing that they might well prefer to live in John Edwards' America as opposed to Mitt Romney's America, or even fellow Southerner Mike "Flog that Bible" Huckabee.

Some voters won't vote for anyone "back east." Some back-easters won't support anybody from down south.

Edwards consistently demonstrates an ability to establish rapport with different kinds of Democratic audiences, and a great deal of that rapport spills over happily into those red voters we need.

No question about it IMO Edwards enhances our odds of winning disaffected red voters who these past 7 years have watched their mean-spirited little cowboy abandon New Orleans, gut federal programs, opt for senseless war, and embarrass all of us in the world community.

[venable]

26. Old Crusoe, I agree with just about everything you say

and I love your wit and learning. But I disagree about Edwards not being the linguistic master that Obama is. I think that oratory is Edwards main advantage over BOTH Obama and Clinton. (As well as, IMO, his policies and courage and electability and wife and biography, etc.).

Obama has some nice moments (not so much HRC), but when Edwards is on, the heart races and the crowd soars.

[saltpoint]

32. Hi, venable. Well, I'm on board with that. When he's on, he's white-hot

and people listen with their whole bodies. I think they like him and I think they believe he makes sense.

They aren't interested in his big house. They're drawn to his big heart.

I stand corrected, and happily so.

Meanwhile, I hope things are to your liking these days. Only 40 more midnights until we begin the process of removing Pretzel-Head from the White House!

[venable]

40. right you are

about people listening with their whole bodies - it's beyond rhetoric and oratory. Imagination resides in the body, and people are very influenced, beyond what they know, by their imagination.

When Edwards says 'it's time for the Democratic Party to develop some backbone', his frustration, and his hope and optimism, shines through.

As to whether things are too my liking these days - well, life is good in the home, but not so sure about how life is in the commonwealth.

I hope the Democratic voters put forth the best candidate, and gather around whoever that might be. But I'm worried. We can leave it at that, since it's still technically the thanksgiving holiday.

Cheeers to you, Old Crusoe.

[Ninga]

11. I am going to burn a candle and meditate. i will create positive energy and a warm aura of

goodwill.

I will have a lovely glass of chianti, and some rich cheese and fresh apples and grapes.....along with a chunk of crusty fresh bread.

I will work toward understanding and kindness toward those who are still searching.

Then I will eat some more.

Life is good.

[AlertLurker]

16. Male, White, Anglo-Saxon Protestant. Southern Baptist - even better!

As long as you've got the first "Big Four" covered, you could run a corpse in the red states...and WIN!

But you DO have a point. No easy ride for Hillary or Obama here...

[patrice]

17. He's the one who can actually talk with those Red-necks everyone

has been wondering about why they keep voting against their own economic self-interests. He understands them; they understand him.

[mtnsnake]

24. John Edwards: The Rednecks Candidate

Something just aint right with that picture.

[asdjrocky]

33. Is that because you don't support him?

After all Snake, this is the guy who said, "You can't make a pig heavier by weighing it," When he was speaking at Hug High School in Reno, Nv on No Child Left Behind. Sounds like this is a man who speaks fluent "Red-Neck".

[mtnsnake]

38. Support him or not, Edwards would be 1 of the last candidates I'd associate w/any redneck appeal

I don't think any of our candidates could aptly "speak" or "look" redneck, but there are some others who come closer than Edwards does. If I had to send one Democratic candidate to the annual Democratic Rednecks Picnic, I'd probably send Biden, and even then I don't think he fits the picture either. I definitely wouldn't send Dennis.

[JDPriestly]

20. Edwards' economic views and economic values are shared by many southerners

Job losses are a big problem in the south -- especially in the textile industries. John Kerry did not incorporate Edwards' economic views into his campaign. It is my understanding that Kerry also did not spend money in southern states. Remember, Dean introduced the 50 states plan after the 2004 election -- and won big in 2006.

[disndat]

22. How about

Edwards/Obama ticket with Al Gore's endorsement?

[asdjrocky]

23. That's what I've been sayin....

K&R

[Carrieyazel]

27. I don't think he plays that well in red states.

He's attempted to position himself as the most liberal candidate in the Democratic field. Most red states are far from liberal. I see him losing his home state in a general election, as well as every other state in the South. Which means he loses his home region by a wide margin. Kind of defeats the purpose of nominating a Southerner, doesn't it? He could win Ohio, or other non-southern red states, but it'll be a tough slog for him.

[venable]

30. except that polls say he does. nt

[surfermaw]

51. I'm from North Carolin

And if this German Scotch state loved Edwards, then you would know something was wrong with him, heck the Germans in this state fought for the Crown for a good while during the Rev.War. That is how stubborn they are, in one of their strong holds they elected the dumb ass Patrick Mc Henry, enough said!

[Yukari Yakumo]

28. It's a straw poll in an isolated section of Florida.

And even Kathleen "More Make-up than Tammy Faye" Harris can manage to win a straw poll. Straw polls, especially ones like this, are worthless.

[venable]

29. can she? or does this just sound cool?

nobody said it was the final General Election tally, but it is something. Why pretend it's nothing?

[asdjrocky]

31. Because that's what they do.

[Basileus Basileon]

36. Yeah, she can.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061009/COLUMNISTS0502/610090374/0/FRONTPAGE

[venable]

41. my question was rhetorical, but thanks.

my point was other: that one can say this is a straw poll, not a random sampling, so it's not quite as impressive as a large sample, randomly chosen. that would be a temperate, judicious, accurate way of saying the same thing, and though it would not be as cute, it would be a bit more adult, and would reflect what this result, in fact, is. How come others lost this poll? One could say HRC and Obama couldn't even win a straw poll, when a nut like Harris, even, could win one. But nobody said this, because it's not an accurate reading of the relationship between their candidacies and hers.

The point is there was a poll, however slight it might have been, that Edwards won. It may not be much, but it is something, so why pretend it's not.

[Yukari Yakumo]

42. My point: Why do you pretend it's something when it's really nothing. {nt}

uguu

[venable]

46. oh well, I guess there really wasn't even a straw poll. don't you hate it when people make up news.

ciao.

[Basileus Basileon]

43. It isn't anything. A straw poll is meaningless. In actual polls,

Edwards is in the teens, Obama in the 30s, and Clinton in the 40s.

As for your questions: The other candidates lost this poll because it is meaningless, and someone must win. It's like picking names out of a hat. If I were to pick names out of a hat, and Biden were to win, trumpeting that would be silly. Saying, "Well, if it's so pointless, how come Edwards, Obama and Clinton couldn't even win it? Heck, I threw a bunch of other names in there, and my dog won yesterday. If a dog can win it, why can't Hillary?" would be downright stupid.

Straw polls are meaningless. They are not something at all.

[venable]

48. did they pick the names out of a hat? thought not.

your argument is pointless.

if ten people sat around a dinner table, and were asked who they would vote for, and 6 said one person, and the others got two votes each, did that not happen?

you seem to be mistaking what I said for something I didn't say.

bye.

[Basileus Basileon]

53. Supposing the dinner table happened. Sure, it happened, but

is non-statistically-significant, prone to multiple biases, and is exactly as relevant to a primary as picking names out of a hat.

[venable]

55. sort of hard to imagine why you're even doing this.

some voters were polled. they picked Edwards. it's nothing more than that , and I'm not going to hang around and argue something as absurd is your saying that it's the same thing as pulling names out of a hat. you know that however insignificant it is, it is not the same thing.

I'm not sure you fully understand the meaning of the word 'exactly'.

so long. off to more ...(insert positive characterization here)... conversations.

[Basileus Basileon]

56. But it is. A straw poll has no statistical significance whatsoever. Zero. nt

[Ninga]

37. Time to break out the hot coffee, and put a lid on the Chianti.....morning has broken and still

no winner.

I woke this morning fully expecting to see an overwhelming win for (insert your candidate of choice here))...........

Point being......it ain't even close to being over and the countdown to Iowa is 36 days.......

Have a wonderful day all of you dear, and passionate people.....I love you all ...... including my favorite anti-Edwards smash mouth detractors.

[Stop Cornyn]

39. Don't put a lid on the Chianti. Mix it with Freska, fruit and juice and serve it over ice at brunch.

[AtomicKitten]

44. I don't see this translating to votes this go so far.

:shrug:

[asdjrocky]

45. Kick for Edwards.

[DaLittle Kitty]

52. John Edwards connects with people from all backgrounds!

There is no question in meeting this man that he is genuine. No pretensions, just a man who is interested in what you have to say. How many people have you heard talk about him looking them square in the eye and listening. John Edwards may be rich and successful, as he is so often criticized of such by his opponents, but he has never forgotten his roots. Working people have recognized this and that has certainly helped him dominate in garnering union support. :-)

[femrap]

47. Maybe this has been mentioned, but I never

hear or read about it...Who thinks the South will vote for Obama? All I hear is how much people hate Hillary and how she is so divisive.

Over the past seven years, this racism of the South has been encouraged by the present administration of neocons. Sometimes I wish the South were a separate nation...I know there are alot of cool liberals down there, but I think they're outnumbered by the assholes.

[Stop Cornyn]

54. nice

[BenDavid]

57. The red states-better known as Dumbfuckistan

[asdjrocky]

58. Not everyone in the red states are red.

There's many good blues, I've known them, around Austin Tx. And in other red states in the south. Their not all dumb, and having a candidate that can speak to and for them, might not be a bad idea. Just a thought.


My pick.