Another Reason to Support Edwards

[asdjrocky]

The Dems have some fine and qualified candidates in the field for 08. I admire each of them for different reasons, and would be proud to support any of them in the general election. But for me, since John Edwards has found his voice,it's been a voice for the middle class and working poor of America. This story is one of the many things I see John Edwards out front on.

From Associated Press - 2 hrs ago
By Holly Ramer

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards will outline a plan Sunday to provide immediate relief to families struggling with high heating oil bills and to ensure affordable prices in the future.

Noting that home heating oil prices in New Hampshire have surpassed $3 a gallon, the former North Carolina senator is calling on Congress to release some of the nation's home heating oil and crude oil reserves as a way to bring down prices by increasing supply. He also is urging Congress to fully fund the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, according to a copy of his plan provided to The Associated Press.

Earlier this month, President Bush vetoed a Democratic health and education spending bill that included $2.4 billion for heating subsidies for the poor, $480 million more than Bush requested.

A few words from Edwards.

"American families are facing skyrocketing home heating oil and gasoline prices, while big oil companies earn massive profits," Edwards said in remarks prepared for delivery Sunday afternoon in Rochester. "We need to stand up to the oil companies, increase the use of renewable energy and create affordable choices for regular families."

For more:

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gCNtoMOkSwSncqLCkduzsa9v_PmgD8T4DN3O0

[spag68]

1. meanwhile

The idiot in the whitehouse continues to fill those reserves with 100$ a barrel oil. If they just got him to stop buying that oil it would help oil prices. But get serious folks, we need to buy and install solar cells on poor peoples homes< anyone making under 30k a year> and continue to do renew-ables for everyone else after getting that done. Want to bring oil prices down, get new jobs, invigorate the economy, all in one stroke, do it.

[asdjrocky]

2. Wonderful idea.

[saltpoint]

3. Quite a good post, both in content and in the fact that while endorsing

a strength of John Edwards you expand the range of consideration for others' candidates.

The specific issue is critical and Edwards and his team do seem to be very out front with it. It prompts me to wonder if Al Gore might decide on endorsing someone prior to Jan. 3rd. Al's keeping his cards close to his chinny-chin-chin, but he's got a tough decision ahead of him if he decides to endorse.

As you say, our field of candidates is notably strong.

Of the pack, I think Edwards would be a table-setter for the sort of country I want to live in. Both on the issue in your post here and also for judicial appointments.

Plus he has a great dog.

[asdjrocky]

7. OC, Ya hit the nail right on the head.

Here it is...

"table setter for the sort of country I want to live it."

Wonderful sentiment. And don't get me started on judicial appointments. Whit him and the right VP, we could have 16 years of progressive appointments to the bench.

[saltpoint]

8. Sixteen years of progressive appointments to the bench?

I'm in!

Go, Johnny, go!

[keep_it_real]

4. JFK went against all those who support him

When JFK saw the state of America and our foreign policy in th middle east he was willing to forgo all those who supported him for president and put the welfare of America first instead of those who gave MONEY to his election. Some writers of history say JFK's policy of the middle east and Israel is what killed him, time will tell.

[saltpoint]

6. Hi, keep_it_real, and welcome to DU.

I peeked at your profile and have to tell you that I got a strong pang of jealousy and homesickness for New York. I lived in NYC for a while long ago and return to it as often as I can.

Great, great city to live in, and a great city to be a Democrat in.

There was a startlingly thoughtful and deep sense of commitment to principle in JFK. I agree with you completely.

[gateley]

19. Hey OC -

Where do you live now? I peeked at your profile too, but you're sooooo mysterious! :7

Were you a native New Yorker?

[saltpoint]

21. Hi, gateley. O gosh, this is hard. I really am more homesick for NY than I

realized.

Ok. I'm snapping out of it now...

There. No, not a native, but I fell in with some very hardcore Democratic friends in some of the communities on Long Island and in the Westchester area and before long I was living in Queens.

Bella Abzug was alive then and almost became NYC's mayor. Ed Koch, Mario Cuomo, Bella Abzug, and Herman Badillo (then a Democrat) all finished in a photo-finish for that mayoral primary. Those were heady days!

We travel all over in more recent times, but haven't made it back to NYC in a little while. Three or four long stays in the Bay Area, ping-ponging between Berkeley and San Francisco. Book shops matter!

Only 40 more days until the Iowa vote!

[gateley]

24. Good Lord -- I haven't heard Bella Abzug's name in years! She was SO COOL!

How wondrous for you to be there at such a time!

The reason I asked is because I find I'm YEARNING to go home to Seattle - my home town. I've only lived away for 6 years, but with every passing day I ache for it a little more.

Seattle has some fabulous book shops too, by they way -- so when I DO get back, you'll have to come on up! :)

[saltpoint]

25. I understand why a place would be calling to you. I bet you will sneak back

for a few days in the next year or so and fall in love with it all over again.

And that ain't a bad thing at all.

Good for you. Toss some stuff in a bag and head out there and drink up some of that legendary coffee.

[asdjrocky]

10. Welcome,

The funeral of JFK is the first memory of my life. I hope we live in a time now where it's harder for the "powers that be", real or imagined, to silence the truth.

I believe John Edwards message is reaching the people. And the people are starting to listen.

[gateley]

17. Hi, Keep It Real (great name)

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[Nutmegger]

5. R&K [n\t]

[saltpoint]

11. Hiya, Nutmegger.

Two mighty fine gentlemen in that photograph.

[Nutmegger]

12. Always a pleasure to be in your company OC

Yes, two damn fine Democrats who have done nothing but impressed me.

I was proud when I cast my vote for Kerry / Edwards. While everyone is counting down to the caucus, I'm counting down the days until February 5, when I will have the privilege to vote for John Edwards.

:hi:

[saltpoint]

14. Heroic and to the point. Not to mention I agree with every syllable.

Agree especially that it was a vote I was not only proud of but happy about.

When I'm out on the highways and I see a Kerry/Edwards sticker on another vehicle, I want to pull the car over and kiss the driver.

[Triana]

9. K & R (n/t)

[1corona4u]

13. Funny....when Biden said it

back in the debates, in October, no one paid any attention to it. All of a sudden it's a platform for Edwards....funny too that Edwards now, once again, in a round about way, is saying; "Joe's right".

The Democratic Debate on MSNBC
Published: October 30, 2007


Here was the question;

Most experts believe we're looking at $100 a barrel oil prices, perhaps very soon. Most experts further believe there are some folks in America who may be paying 50 percent more for things like heating oil this winter, let's say where winters are difficult in two states that come to mind, Iowa and New Hampshire, say nothing of your home state of Connecticut. As a member of the U.S. Senate, are these people doomed to paying more, to suffering through these energy costs this winter, Senator? Aside from blue-ribbon panels, what can be done right now about what afflicts the United States on this issue of energy?



Here is Joe's answer;
Senator Biden.

SEN. BIDEN: A big piece of that cost is risk. People are betting on things getting worse. That old joke -- you know, when you're in a hole, you should stop digging. Why do we continue to cause the price of oil to rise by continuing to rattle a saber with Iran? Why do we continue to cause the price of oil to rise by a foreign policy that is (absolutely moribund ?) of any center? And what we have to do immediately to take care of those people in Iowa and New Hampshire, provide for emergency fuel assistance.



Ane here was Edwards answer;

MR. WILLIAMS: Senator Edwards.

MR. EDWARDS: Well, what we can do in the short term and I will do as president is ensure that my Justice Department investigates what these oil companies who are vertically integrated, you know, from refinery to pump, are doing.

But I think there's something else. And we've talked a lot about being straight with people tonight. I think it's really important -- every four years, the presidential candidates roll through Iowa and New Hampshire, promise this, promise that, promise this. Here's the truth. We need to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war. And I want to be the president who says to America: We're in this together.


Figures though, that Edwards acts as if he's the only one, or the first one who thought of it...




So, actually, it's another reason to vote for Biden.

[saltpoint]

15. It would please me, 1corona4U if Mssrs. Edwards and Biden could be our

ticket.

I hold them both in very, very high regard and would let fate determine who is at the top of the ticket.

Imagine a Cabinet meeting where Biden took the lead in forging foreign policy and Edwards in domestic policy.

That would be an America I would like to live in.

[1corona4u]

16. I use to like him...

but the more he talks, the less I like him.

[saltpoint]

18. Well, then, on Biden: I liked DeepModem Mom's post the other day about

Joe pouring coffee for folks in an Iowa cafe.

He's a bit over-qualified for restaurant work but seemed to be doing a great job. The coffee was potent and Joe's smile was genuine.

I won't bang you over the head about John Edwards, unless you'd like to be banged over the head. But I do admire our field and am hoping that whoever wins the nomination absolutely kicks the livin' crap out of the Republican ticket.

[1corona4u]

20. I know...

I gave John a fair shot, but he lost me....and I voted for Kerry...so it was a vote for him too. But, he has changed...so he lost my vote. Everyone changes...we don't live in a vacuum.

[saltpoint]

22. I'm thinking the Republicans must live in a vacuum. Because they all suck.

[1corona4u]

23. LOL...

yes, they do hate change...

[JDPriestly]

36. We have a really great choice.

The only one I have doubts about is Hillary. I think that if she could detach herself from her corporate advisers like Robert Rubin, et al., she would do OK. But even Bill Clinton bought into the economic philosophy of the "free market" to an extent that, in the long term, has hurt the country.

My dislike of Hillary is also based on other factors, but the economic factor is the biggest. Edwards, Dodd and Biden are very clear on protecting the Constitution. I really like that. I suspect that Obama is also great regarding the Constitution since he taught Constitutional law, but I haven't focused on that aspect of his platform.

[saltpoint]

43. I'll accept my fellow Democrats' decision in the primary face and the

nominee's decision for a veep nom in Denver, but while I acknowledge her strengths and attributes, I am less enthusiastic about Sen. Clinton's candidacy than the other 7 announced candidates.

Agree with you on Obama and Constitutional law -- both he and Joe Biden have been around the block on that count, and were either not to be presidential nominee, either could be Attorney General.

It's a deep bench. Most of our people could serve quite well in many different capacities.

I would like to see our next president put Max Cleland in charge of veteran affairs.

[JDPriestly]

44. Agreed

[asdjrocky]

45. How do we go about finding a cabinet post for you OC?

My pick in 08.

[saltpoint]

46. What a great photo of the Carolinian.

The Carolinian who will be our next president.

_________

p.s. I don't want a Cabinet post. I want to be tour pianist for Emmylou Harris. Can that be arranged?

[asdjrocky]

47. I'm on it.

You have the lyrical timing of a musician by the way.

[saltpoint]

48. asdjrocky, I'd love to take that compliment, but it belongs to the

musicians whose music has flooded my head from way back.

Give me Emmylou Harris doing "From Boulder to Birmingham" at any hour of the day or night.

Give me James Taylor doing "Lighthouse" or "Carolina in my Mind."

When John Edwards wins the White House, and he will, I hope James Taylor will sing "Carolina in my Mind" at the Inaugural.

It will be one damn reverential moment at my house if that scenario plays out on my tv screen.

[Froward69]

26. check it out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFeGEJ9JEX8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Dfj52L9SEk

[gateley]

28. Wow. Hadn't seen these, Froward -- you're good!

I hate to hijack a pro-Edwards thread, but want to say that the promo piece from Biden was especially impressive. That was posted on YouTube in MAY, and recently the other candidates who are saying that we the people have to sacrifice are receiving ooohs and aaahhhhs for laying it on the line. Again, as Corona said, that seems like another instance of "Joe is right". Amazing.

Sorry, folks -- had to say it and that's the last pro Biden post I'll do on your thread - promise. O8)

We now return you to your regular programming.

[gateley]

27. I'd forgotten about this, Corona -- thanks!!

As usual, he not only tells what he'd do to immediately address the problem, but takes a moment to describe the bigger picture and the broader solution.

I think Edwards has a great idea, too, but I have a feeling that releasing the reserves won't get people heat in their homes fast enough. Biden's approach -- essentially give them the fuel they need NOW and then we'll hammer out the specifics -- is probably more realistic.

Man, every single facet of this country -- and the world -- is faced with problems. Sigh.

[JDPriestly]

35. Biden is great, but he does not have Edwards' ability to

communicate with people. Edwards has developed that ability before juries. As a senator, Biden is used to talking to people who know what he is talking about. Edwards and Biden might make a good team.

[AzDar]

29. K & R...

:kick:

[asdjrocky]

30. Sometimes, I just kick myself,.

[waiting for hope]

31. I'll give you a kick and a rec!

Another wonderful reason to support Edwards! Thanks asdjrocky!

[asdjrocky]

32. Thank you

[asdjrocky]

34. Thanks again.

[waiting for hope]

37. You are welcome and I'll give it

another kick! :)

[AmBlue]

40. you're funny

here's another.... just a glutton for punishment
:kick:

[Czolgosz]

33. Nice article

[Stop Cornyn]

38. nice

[AtomicKitten]

39. Edwards kicked the door open on the "inevitability" meme of this primary.

I am very grateful for that. I cannot vote for him because of his support of the IWR, however, am very glad and thankful that he as well as the rest of the Dem bench opposed Kyl-Lieberman. That vote put Hillary far and away at the back of the pack in my view.

[Ninga]

41. I will consider this thread a "nite cap"....and a great way to close a Sunday. Nighty night

from frosty Ohio.......


Sweet dreams......President Edwards.

[asdjrocky]

42. Thank you!

Good night Ohio!


Now go to bed.