NH Sends a Resounding FUCK YOU to the Poor and Middle Class

[paparush]

I cannot believe Edwards' numbers.

He's the only viable candidate who consistently highlights the plight of the poor and working poor in "the Richest Nation in the World (tm)"

Sucks to be poor.
Sucks to be me..and you..and your neighbor.

[denem]

1. 'highlights the plight of the poor and working poor'

He's a politician. Highlights his hedge funds has less appeal.

[cali]

2. no, NH

said they aren't buying John Edwards. The poor and working class trusts Clinton more than either Obama, who has the real record fighting poverty, or JE.

[Tesha]

13. And *OF COURSE* it's not because Republican-leaning "independents" crossed-over to vote for Hillary.

(Which they did.)

[Tom Rinaldo]

3. I hear Hillary got her strongest support from blue collar type working class precincts

They seemed to think nominating her is in their best interests. Are you arguing that only intellectuals are smart enough to know what is best for them?

[Armstead]

8. I think lack of access to information is the problem

The Clintons are moderate, socially liberal Republicans. Actually, they are probably economically closer to the conservative wing of Republicans, with their embrace of that Ayn Rand acolyte Alan Greenspan during their administration.

They have condoned and supported an approach to the economy and government that has reamed the average person, and basically ignored the poor. Deregulation, privatization, tossing out any concern over anti-trust, allowing Big Capital to determine all policy.

The problem is that these same interests control the media, so too many realities have not been clearly explained or exposed over the years.

[HughBeaumont]

9. And that's the aspect of them I find the most disgusting.

You have to wonder whether that 1996 Telecommunications Act was just a little less than short-sighted on Bill's part.

[Armstead]

15. Short-sighted was an understatement

he Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of
United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years. The
broadcasting industry couldn't get the legislation through under Reagan
or George H.W. Bush, but it succeeded under Clinton. The day he signed
the bill into law, Clinton boasted, "Landmark legislation fulfills my
administration's promise to reform our telecommunications laws in a
manner that leads to competition and private investment, promotes
universal service and provides for flexible government regulation."
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:5ICT9F99r7cJ:nosimplematter.livejournal.com/+Hillary+Clinton,+Telecommunications+Reform+Act,+1996&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=63&gl=us&client=firefox-a

The Act removed the legal barriers to local and long distance phone
companies acquiring each other. The results were immediate and massive.
In 1996 there were eight major U.S. companies providing local telephone
service and five significant long-distance companies. By 1999, these 13
companies had merged into five telecommunications giants, in a series
of record-breaking merger deals.

Prior to this law, tightly regulated broadcasters could own just 40
stations nationally, and only two in a given market. Suddenly, without
the FCC's input or any public hearings, ownership limits on radio
stations was eliminated and a feeding frenzy took place.

By 2001, there were 10,000 radio station transactions worth
approximately $100 billion. As a result, 1,100 fewer station owners
were in the business, down nearly 30 percent since 1996. Two companies
-- Clear Channel and Viacom's Infinity Broadcasting -- controlled
one-third of all radio advertising revenue; in some individual markets
their stations commanded nearly 90 percent of the ad dollars. Clear
Channel alone owned nearly 1,200 stations, the result of buying up 70
separate broadcast companies.

[ProudDad]

26. And thus we got a media that unquestionably supports

the corporate capitalist masters...

And their stooges...

The ignorance of the public is their friend...

[Uben]

4. Give it time

There's a long way to go.

[HughBeaumont]

5. Why ANY Dem would support a free trader/job offshoring supporter is beyond me.

Do Americans CARE about change or do they just not want to veer from their "name recognition" crackpipe?

[dmallind]

6. yeah because nobody's heard of Obama have they? NT

llj

[HughBeaumont]

7. It's about momentum.

The media salivates over stuff like this. You're going to see in the coming weeks the marginalized coverage of Obama and Edwards in favor of "The Inevitable".

I don't know, I guess Clinton's the NAME you can trust. You know, because Bill's presidency was wine and roses for ALL people. Especially factory workers. Oh, and those who like their media not biased in favor of corporate needs. :sarcasm:

And I'm fine with Obama winning. I'd welcome an Obama or Edwards candidacy. At least with THEM I know which one's going to show up.

[Evergreen Emerald]

10. He does not have a market on protecting the middle class and poor

In fact, his rhetoric is opposite of his actions.

[Scriptor Ignotus]

17. thank you

see, we can find common ground sometimes, lol.

[DangerDave921]

11. NH tries to be different

I have family in NH. All of them consider themselves indpendent people, removed from the media, individuals, etc. You know -- the typical New England iconoclast type of person. As a state, NH does not want to be seen as simply following what Iowa did. So a lot of voters do the opposite of what the media expects and the opposite of Iowa. If Clinton had won Iowa, I think Obama would have won NH. It's NH's way of saying, "We are independent."

Bush won Iowa in 2000, then McCain trounced him by 18 points in NH.

[Tesha]

12. Hey! It's what we *DO*! Haven't I told you many, many times, that the NH Primary is very bad for...

Hey! It's what we *DO*! Haven't I told you (DU) many,
many times, that the NH Primary is very bad for
Democrats and progressive ideals?

Tesha

[TheCowsCameHome]

14. Romney being beaten contradicts that statement.

He is the worst thing that could happen to America'cs working class.

And he lost.

[ecstatic]

16. No! There is a huge disparity between what Edwards says and does

He says he's a champion for the poor, but look at his track record: IWR, bankruptcy bills, etc. Little or no pro bono work, pennies towards the Katrina victims whose homes were foreclosed on by the investment company he made millions off of.

[Mythsaje]

20. You DO realize that the "pro bono" argument is bullshit, right?

Oh, nevermind.

[Occam Bandage]

21. Why, because it makes Edwards look less saintly?

Edwards was willing to Fight Really Hard For Working Class People so long as there was a multi-million-dollar slice of the pie in it for him. He has yet to prove that he's willing to fight for people when there isn't a fat paycheck involved.

[Mythsaje]

23. Because contingency cases require a great deal of

investment in time and money that comes out of the lawyer's pocket with no guarantee of a return at all.

That's why. Duh.

[Occam Bandage]

25. "With no guarantee of a win."

So the argument that Edwards was Fighting Really Hard For Working Class People is that he wasn't absolutely guaranteed of a five-million-dollar paycheck every time he agreed to take a case? That does absolutely nothing to erase his overwhelming financial incentive. And it does not at all explain why, if he was acting purely out of desire to fight for the common man, he continued to take enormous chunks of their settlements even after he had earned enough to be comfortable for the rest of his life.

I don't begrudge Edwards his money. I think that any lawyer would aspire to be as successful as he was. Being a good lawyer is not immoral by any means. But at the same time, winning one's self an enormous amount of money is not at all evidence of character, either.

[Mythsaje]

27. So there's no moral difference between representing

ordinary citizens harmed by corporate malfeasance on a contingency basis and representing corporations for a steady paycheck with no personal risk whatsoever?

I disagree.

[Occam Bandage]

29. Not realistically, no. The difference is how willing you are to gamble.

Represent the plaintiff, and you might win big or lose big. Represent the defendant, and you're guaranteed a paycheck, but you won't be super-rich.

If you want to help people, go be a civil-rights attorney, a D.A., or a public defender. Barack Obama worked for years as a civil-rights attorney in Chicago. He helped poor people, and for little financial benefit. My aunt worked for years as a labor-law attorney in Milwaukee, and she had so many clients who couldn't pay, she had to declare bankruptcy. My cousin is a public defender, despite placing in the top quarter of his class; he believes in equal representation for all. Those are all helping the common man. Those are all sacrificing personal gain for the good of the disadvantaged.

Edwards worked for personal gain in a manner that happened to help a handful of disadvantaged people. I am not moved.

[Mythsaje]

35. But none of those options allow you to stick it to the corporations...

The ones who are TRULY screwing Americans and getting away with it every day of every year. Product liability and corporate malfeasance cases have made us one hell of a lot safer than we would have been if not for their efforts.

Prosecutors play politics with peoples' lives. Public defenders are not only underpaid, they are often unable to save even people they know are innocent. It's a thankless task that can produce a terrible emotional and psychic burden.

There is nothing wrong with the path Edwards took. Nothing at all.

[Occam Bandage]

40. So he was winning himself fortunes to "stick it to the man?" You'd think

he would have stuck that money in consumer-protection organizations, rather than in hedge funds. (And yes, he does have that Center for Poverty, Work, and Opportunity at Chapel Hill--which he created for this campaign, and summarily abandoned once it had ceased being useful.)

[Mythsaje]

41. Abandoned?

I want to see evidence of that.

[Occam Bandage]

43. He stepped down when he declared for the Presidency,

and has not supported it in any way since, nor does it retain links to him.

[Mythsaje]

44. He can't run it and run for President at the same time.

And if it's a non-profit, there are probably rules that dictate that he CAN'T be connected to it. Stepping away was probably for its benefit, not his.

[Little Star]

18. My family made a pretty good living during the Clinton yrs.

[bvar22]

19. Whay is the median income for a NH resident?

Do 70% make a living in the Health Insurance Industry?
or Armaments?
or maybe they are corporate lobbyists?
If they are in the top 6%, Hillary WILL protect them by NOT raising the SS cap, so thats something.

Otherwise, they just voted AGAINST their economic interests.

Maybe they just watch too much TV.

I want a candidate that will FIGHT for me....not one who will HOPE for me.


The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

[ArkySue]

22. breakdown of voting patterns in NH

Sorry I don't have a link as I saw this on one of the "news" programs.
Edwards came in 3rd among union members and 3rd among the poor.
Guess they don't buy what he's selling.

[incapsulated]

24. No, maybe they sent a big "fuck you" to a phony

Posturing politician who remade himself a populist leftist after being a right/centrist for his single term in office.

[Mythsaje]

28. Phonies don't spend all their time telling the people the truth

whether they want to hear it or not.

[Occam Bandage]

30. They do if there's something in it for them. Nobody ever said a phony was a pathological liar.

[Mythsaje]

33. What's in it, precisely? A losing campaign?

He hasn't changed his tune throughout the race. Not once. Even if it wasn't polling well. He's not changing it now, even when he's sucking hind tit.

Not phony. Reformed and committed.

[Occam Bandage]

37. But his best shot at a winning one. The fact that his gamble didn't pay off

doesn't make it any more moral. Going into the race, Clinton was set up as the establishment, centrist candidate, and Obama as the fresh-faced outsider post-partisan candidate. The only opening in the narrative was for a progressive/populist insurgent. He went to Iowa with that message, and tried to win with it. He didn't, and lost.

The fact that he managed to lose does not mean he is not a phony. Mitt Romney, for instance, will lose, and he's the phoniest man running for President. He, too, has been consistent all campaign; he, too, suddenly re-invented himself when the campaign drew near.

[Mythsaje]

46. Comparing Mitt to Edwards is just wrong.

Comparing Mitt to ANY Democrat is just wrong.

[jackson_dem]

32. Edwards was always a populist. "Two Americas" ring a bell?

[Yukari Yakumo]

50. Don't make me laugh.

What he said and what he has done are two entirely different things.

He sways where the polls lead him. If polls convinced him that wearing a propeller beanie hat would win him the nom, he'd scramble to get a dozen. There are no core fundamentals leading Edwards actions, we have no idea where he really stands. That is a very dangerous thing.

[ProudDad]

31. One can't blame the average working person for being ignorant

about how things actually work in corporate capitalist USAmerika...

But it's frustrating to see them cutting their own throats 'cause they think they might someday win the lottery or have Publisher's Clearing House show up at their door...

I'm afraid most people in the western capitalist countries don't have a clue where their interest lie.

[Mythsaje]

34. The irony is that they're FAR more likely to take a tumble

to the bottom than rocket to the top. Yet they vote like the latter is more likely than the former.

[MrSlayer]

36. That's the way it is in Corporate America.

It's really getting to the point where it seems silly to continue on in this charade that we call the electoral process.

[DivorcingNeo]

42. I'd have to agree with that

It's literally becoming a farce and the two major parties might as well be one. Most of them are in it to retain their own power and position. Surely they are rarely fighting for the constituents they are "suppose" to represent.

[harmonicon]

38. "only viable candidate" my ass....

.... once you've let the corporate media pick your candidates, what is the point in even voting? Yeah, it sucks to be poor, I guess. I'd rather have my life where I'm poor and educated with no car or house than some rich bastard with an SUV and a McMansion. And ask yourself which one of these is Edwards more like himself?

[paparush]

48. I'm a Dennis Kucinich support.er Dennis will not be nominated. Dennis will not be elected.

DK will not be chosen as VP.

Out of the remaining candidates who DO stand a chance, Edwards' populist message sounds sincere to me.

[harmonicon]

49. but what does VP mean?

"thanks for the populist message. Now here's a largely ceremonially post. Keep quiet." Even if I bought into what Edwards is saying, I don't see how him being vice president will help our country. I just don't think it matters who the vice presidential pick is, unless it's a really smart pick, like Al Gore was, or an incredibly stupid pick like Joe Lieberman was (yeah, I see the irony, but those were honestly the two extreme examples I could think of - I guess you could swap LBJ for Gore or something).

[Hippo_Tron]

39. I like Edwards but he needs to change up his speeches a bit

The stories about the guy who didn't get his clef palate fixed until he was 50 and Natalie Sarkesian are great the first time I hear them but after the 50th time it gets old.

Edwards talking about the guy with the cleft palate, Natalie Sarkesian, and how he worked in a mill are about as predictable as Rudy talking about 9/11.

[Mythsaje]

47. I can understand that position.

But his point is that no one else is talking about people like them. They're just not. And the invisible and silent people in this country are a national disgrace.

[JI7]

45. actually, they are the ones who gave Hillary the NH win

[Bread and Circus]

51. What's interesting is that the poorer and less educated folks broke

for Clinton

[bunnies]

52. Yessirree. All us rich white folks in NH with our million dollar a year jobs.

We dont know SHIT about the poor and middle class.

:rofl: too funny.

[jlake]

53. What an outrageous & baseless thing to say. Get a job at Fox.