John Edwards on health care: consumers should have a choice

by Randy Bayne

Because John Edwards' health care plan is not an outright single-payer plan many people mistakingly believe he does not favor such a plan. Not true. What he has said all along is that it should be up to the public, not politicians, to decided the kind of health care system they want.

The essence of Edwards' plan is to allow health care consumers to make the choice between traditional private insurance and government plans.

Mr. Edwards, of North Carolina, emphasized in a 40-minute interview on health policy that the choice would be made not in Washington, but by consumers in an open marketplace where private insurance competes with government plans. [NYTimes, 01/25/2008]

The Edwards plan will allow consumers the choice between traditional private insurance and a government plan modeled on Medicare (single-payer). It would be the consumers making the choice, and if they chose to go for the single-payer plan, well, that's just fine with Edwards.

This is in keeping with a basic theme of the John Edwards for President campaign. Empowering people to make choices and giving them the tools and the help they need to be responsible citizens.

Private insurance is in business for one thing. To make money. That is one of the reasons they funnel about 30% of premiums away for actual health care and into healthy profits for executives. Medicare, on the other hand, spends about 3% on overhead. The rest is put into taking care of health needs.

If the government is able to undercut private insurers on price — by forgoing profit, reducing overhead, and maximizing economies of scale — it theoretically could put the private system out of business and become the de facto insurer for the nation.

Edwards decided on his plan because he believes that consumers should have the choice. They will find the better system and gravitate to it. He considered a single-payer plan in the beginning;

"I thought that there was a legitimate and strong argument for it," he said. "But I also believed that there are an awful lot of Americans who like the health care they have and are nervous about entirely government-controlled health care."

One doesn't have to go further than the debate over health care here in California to know how true that is. As people take sides for and against the Schwarzenegger/Nuñez plan, a single-payer plan is waiting in the wings. State Senator Sheila Kuehl's SB 840 has been labeled a "government-controlled health care," but sometimes we need government to control systems that have lost control or have shown they can no longer be trusted to be self controlled.

Perhaps a plan similar to the Edwards plan is right for California. Empower consumers to make their own choice. If they move toward single-payer great. If they don't that's okay too. But at least they get to make the choice, not some politician in Sacramento or Washington taking money from the insurance industry. Let consumers make the choice.



Join me in supporting John Edwards for President

Not sitting on the sidelines in California

by Marcie Bayne

It is very exciting here in Las Vegas. The energy in the Edwards camp is very high. I got the opportunity to attend a town hall meeting this evening at the Carpenter's Hall and the people present were enthusiastic and energized. Senator Edwards looked relaxed and did a great job.

After his speech, Senator Edwards took questions from the audience. He was asked by a young man if he was going to save the earth from pollution. Of course, the answer is to get us off our dependence of oil, change the emission standards on our vehicles and set the example to the world that we are willing to save our planet. Only then, will we make the planet better for this young man. A woman sitting next to me asked about Senator Edwards' position on pulling troops out of Afghanistan and was his position on Afghanistan troop withdrawal different from Iraq. John said that he views Afghanistan in a different way than Iraq. He would leave troops in Afghanistan until we had completed the mission in capturing Osama Bin Laden, reduce the heroine trade and deal with the rule of the Taliban.

I spoke to her briefly afterward and she said she had asked the same question of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and did not feel she got a satisfactory answer. She felt that John had given her a straight answer tonight and will caucus for him on Saturday. It is this same straight answers on the issues I care deeply about that have made me his supporter since the first time I heard him at the library in Sacramento in 2004.

If the conference I am attending here is Vegas affords me a second opportunity to go make calls or do work for the campaign, I will do so again on Thursday evening. My co-workers attending this conference think I am kinda nuts for being so involved politically. My only answer back is, I don't think any of us can sit by the sidelines in this election and be a spectator of the process.

I know that once I get back to CA, I will do what ever I need to do to get the word out about the next President of the United States - John Edwards!!


Join me in supporting John Edwards for President

Why I support John Edwards

x-posted at The Bayne of Blog's California Notes

Last night I spoke to the Sierra Foothills Democratic Club in El Dorado Hill on behalf of John Edwards. Below is the text of my comments as prepared for delivery.

Thank you, Sierra Foothills Democratic Club for inviting me to speak on behalf of Senator John Edwards. If you get all your news and information from mainstream media you may not have heard about it yet, but Senator Edwards is running for President of the United States.

I probably over thought what I could tell you about Senator Edwards this evening. I could tell you about his plan for universal health care that puts us on the road to a single payer system. I could talk about his plan to immediately withdraw between forty and fifty thousand combat troops from Iraq. I could talk about his support for middle-class families and working Americans. His education proposals may interest some of you, and his energy plan works toward energy independence and fights global warming. I could also spend some time talking about his plan to revitalize rural America.

Sure, I could bore you with the details of Senator Edwards’ bold initiatives, but, if you get your news from alternative media sources, you’ve likely heard them — or something similar to them — already. You see, each of the Presidential candidates also have plans that are similar to Senator Edwards’. On the issues, there is little difference between the candidates.

The difference is, Senator Edwards proposed his plans before any of the other candidates, and many of the details of his plans were incorporated into their plans. If imitation is truly the sincerest form of flattery... well, John should be flattered.

Senator Edwards’ plans are nothing new. They are Democratic Party principles put to pen and paper and laid out before the American people. They are bold, honest plans to lead America forward.

You can read the details of his "bold solutions for real change" at www.johnedwards.com.

Now that I have not told you briefly about Senator Edwards’ plan, I would like spend the remainder of my time telling you why I support him. People ask me, "why support someone who the media ignores, isn’t polling with the ‘front runners,’ and doesn’t appear to be able to win?"

My support for John Edwards goes back about four years to the last presidential election cycle when I first heard him speak at a library in Sacramento. After hearing him speak, I told my wife Marcie that I felt like I had just heard the next President of the United States. She agreed, and we have been ardent John Edwards supporters ever since. We were understandably disappointed when he dropped out of the race early and the angry when the Republican election theft cost him the Vice Presidency.

Since then, Edwards has been working to bridge the gap between the "Two Americas" that he so eloquently described during the earlier campaign. Our support has grown, and we were relieved to see him enter the race for 2008.

As it turns out, in 2004 I hadn’t heard the next President, but I do believe, and I hope, for America’s sake, I heard the person who will become President in 2008.

John Edwards gives me hope, but more than that, he instills in me the confidence that we are a people and a country that is better than what we have experienced over the last eight long years. I am impressed that Edwards is the only candidate that is talking to the heart of people, he is the candidate that focuses, not on the rich and well healed, but on the poor, on the people that have been left behind and forgotten by a political system that cares more about the size of your pocketbook than the size of your heart.

To be sure, there are important and critical issues that must be addressed, and John Edwards addresses them all, and he is the only candidate that is standing up for working and middle class families.

He stands with us on true universal health care.

He stands with us to strengthen the labor movement.

He stands with us, taking on abusive lenders and helping families get ahead.

He stands with us, strengthening schools and making college affordable.

He stands with us, building a better future for the next generation.

He stands with us to end the occupation of Iraq and restore America’s moral leadership.

He stands with us creating opportunity for all.

Simply put, I believe John Edwards to be the best hope for America in these times. It may not matter much to some people, but I feel it here, in my heart, and here, in my gut. It matters to me.

Don’t get me wrong. Any of the Democratic candidates will move America forward. Any of the Democratic candidates will be a welcome change from the failed policies of the Bush administration. And, whoever the Democratic nominee is, I will support them.

But, John Edwards has given me — he has given all of us — hope that goes deeper than any of the others. He has given me confidence that his bold policies for fundamental change will take hold. He has given me a vision of an America where people, average working stiffs, you and me, matter and make a difference.

I am amazed at the number of people I talk to and hear from who say that they like what John Edwards is saying. They like his policies, agree with him on the issues, and support his bold initiatives to renew hope in America. They even tell me that they align more closely and agree more ardently with John Edwards than the others. Then they look at me and say, "But I’m going to vote for someone else."

Why? When did we start settling for our second or third choices?

We will be voting in a primary election on February 5, and you should vote your heart, your mind, your conscience. You should vote for your first choice, your gut choice, the candidate of your heart. The one with whom you align with closest. And if you are like me that choice will be John Edwards.

Here’s a novel concept. On February 5, instead of voting for the media favorite, vote for the person you want to be President.


Join me in supporting John Edwards for President

Dead heat in Nevada

The press may be trying to spin this as a two-person race — but the voters in Nevada are saying differently.

According to the latest poll from the Reno Gazette-Journal, it's a dead heat — with the momentum moving in John Edwards' direction.

Can you help us build on this momentum as we reach out to caucus goers around the state? More than 500,000 caucus goers have been contacted by thousands of volunteers over the past two months. Just this past weekend, 15,000 potential caucus attendees were personally canvassed by volunteers from our campaign who fanned out across the state.

The momentum is breaking John's way at exactly the right moment — but we need your help to put additional resources into Nevada immediately. Now is when it counts. Please show your support for John — and help us pull off a strong finish in Nevada this Saturday.

Click here to make a contribution for Nevada

A strong finish in the Nevada caucuses means this is still a three way race for the nomination. It means the two $100 million candidates will be forced to compete on the issues that matter, unable to buy the nomination with glitz and glamor.

Your contribution helps us get the extra resources we need into Nevada now, so we can maintain the momentum, expand our ground operation — and hold off any last minute desperate attacks from the other candidates.

Click here to make a contribution for Nevada

John has said that he intends to continue this campaign all the way to the Democratic Convention, win the nomination and then on to the White House.

A strong finish in Nevada will be an important step in that journey for our campaign. It will shock the pundits and reshape the dynamics of this election.

You can make the difference now. Please take a moment and show your support for John with a contribution to help us finish strongly in Nevada this Saturday.

Sincerely,

--David Bonior
National Campaign Manager, John Edwards for President
January 15, 2008

P.S. Don’t forget to watch the Nevada debate tonight on MSNBC at 6:00-8:00 pm PST / 9:00-11:00 pm EST!


Make a contribution for Nevada

CA Majority Report having fun at John Edwards expense

by Randy Bayne

Update:

CMR has corrected the mistake and is now running a legitimate poll between Clinton, Obama and Edwards, thanks to a letter from Arlene Flores of La Quinta.


The folks at California Majority Report are polling to see who readers think will win the Democratic Primary. There is only one problem, they left off John Edwards, the only real voice for real change. They do have Mike Gravel in the poll.

Obviously, the unscientific poll is designed to skew the result towards Steve Maviglio's choice, Hillary Clinton. For those who don't know, Maviglio is on Speaker Nuñez staff. They are obviously afraid that Edwards will embarrass Clinton.

Here's what to do. Go to CMR and vote for Mike Gravel.

If you want to cast your vote for Edwards, do it in a way that really can make a difference and click below to make a donation to his campaign.


Join me in supporting John Edwards for President

Nation's Leading Economists Endorse John Edwards for President

From Daily Kos
by Sabre11, Wed Jan 02, 2008

Leading Economists are endorsing John Edwards in a Press Release from the Edwards Campaign dated today.

http://www.johnedwards.com/

Economists pick Edwards because he will fight for sustained growth, full employment and an end to poverty

Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Today, the John Edwards for President campaign announced that more than 30 leading U.S. economists have endorsed John Edwards for president.

"Economists for John Edwards" includes such notable scholars as James K. Galbraith from the University of Texas at Austin; Deirdre McCloskey from the University of Illinois at Chicago; Thomas Palley, founder of the Economics for Democratic & Open Societies Project; Clyde Prestowitz, president of the Economic Strategies Institute; Harley Shaiken from the University of California, Berkeley; and Edward Wolff from New York University.

Sabre11's diary :: ::

"I'm proud to endorse John Edwards and his campaign to build One America.," said James Galbraith, the Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin. "Edwards understands that in order for America to prosper, our economy needs to reward work as well as wealth – and he's proposed detailed and comprehensive policies to address the growing income gap, the health care crisis, job loss and the other critical social issues facing our nation."

"I am honored to have earned the support of this distinguished group of economists," said Senator Edwards. "Today, families across the country are working harder than ever, but struggling to make ends meet. To help middle-class families get ahead, we need a president who will fight for universal health care, smarter trade policies and a new energy economy."
In their endorsement of Edwards, the "Economists for Edwards" signed on to the following statement:

"As professional economists, we support John Edwards for President of the United States in 2008 because we believe that John Edwards has best demonstrated the capacity and the policies to be the next president of the United States.

"We support John Edwards because we believe his campaign is the single best expression of progressive political values in American politics today.

"We support John Edwards because we believe that as president he will best wage the hard fight that lies ahead for the principles and programs we endorse.

"We support John Edwards because as economists, we seek effective public policy aimed at sustained growth, full employment, an end to poverty, and progress toward solving the major social and environmental problems associated with health care, education, trade, taxation and climate change.

"John Edwards' approach to these issues has been uniquely serious, honest, and far-reaching. We urge all Americans – and particularly the Democratic voters of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina - to join us in supporting John Edwards for president."
A complete list of the members of "Economists for Edwards" is included below.

Economists for Edwards

Note that institutional affiliations are for identification purposes only:

Gar Alperovitz Lionel R. Bauman Professor of Political Economy University of Maryland-College Park
Lourdes Beneria Professor of City and Regional Planning Cornell University
Michael A. Bernstein Provost Tulane University
Martha Campbell Associate Professor, Economics SUNY Potsdam
Manuel Castells Chair Professor of Communication Technology and Society University of Southern California, and Distinguished Visiting Professor of Science and Technology MIT
Jane D'Arista Former staff economist U.S. House of Representatives
William Darity, Jr. Arts & Sciences Professor of Public Policy Studies Professor of African and Africa-American Studies and Economics Duke University
Paul Davidson Editor, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics Bernard Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis The New School University
Gerald Epstein Professor of Economics University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Susan F. Feiner Director of Women's Studies Professor of Economics University of Southern Maine
James K. Galbraith Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations LBJ School of Public Affairs The University of Texas at Austin, and Senior Scholar, Levy Economics Institute
Richard Garrett Associate Professor of Economics Division of Accounting and Business Management Marymount Manhattan College
Mary King Professor of Economics Portland State University
Jan Kregel Visiting Distinguished Research Professor of Economics The University of Missouri - Kansas City
Peter Hans Matthews Department of Economics Middlebury College Middlebury, Vermont
Deirdre McCloskey Professor of Economics University of Illinois at Chicago
Richard McIntyre Honors Program Director and Professor of Economics University of Rhode Island.
Thomas Michl Professor of Economics Colgate University
David Miller Assistant Professor of Economics University of California, San Diego (UCSD)
John Miller Professor of Economics Wheaton College
Tracy Mott Professor of Economics University of Colorado at Boulder
Thomas Palley Founder Economics for Democratic & Open Societies Project
Dimitri Papadimitriou President Levy Economics Institute Bard College
Chip Poirot Associate Professor of Economics Department of Social Sciences Shawnee State University
Robert Pollin Professor of Economics and Director, Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Robert Prasch Associate Professor of Economics Middlebury College
Clyde Prestowitz President Economic Strategies Institute
Bruce Roberts Professor of Economics University of Southern Maine
J. Barkley Rosser Professor of Economics James Madison University
Harley Shaiken Class of 1930 Professor Graduate School of Education and Department of Geography University of California, Berkeley
Nina Shapiro Professor and Chair Department of Economics and Finance, Saint Peter's College
Edward Wolff Professor of Economics New York University
Martin Wolfson Professor of Economics and Policy Studies University of Notre Dame
L. Randall Wray Research Director Center for Full Employment and Price Stability Department of Economics University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Senior Scholar, Levy Economics Institute

Join me in supporting John Edwards for President

Edwards Keeps Humming While Others Change Tune

[Editor's Note: Hillary Clinton's third place finish in Iowa Thursday confirms that the era of Clintonism (i.e., pro-corporate, pro-war, DLC centrists dominating the Democratic party) is probably over... thank God! Now the question is whether Clintonism will be replaced by the new centrism of Barack Obama (pro-corporate, making deals with conservative Republicans, etc.) or a genuine progressive populism represented by John Edwards, carrying on the populist traditions of FDR, Bobby Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, and Paul Wellstone. In 1992 most progressives fell for Slick Willie's phony populism. Let's hope we don't make the same mistake by choosing a corporate backed moderate over a genuine progressive. -- PB]

By Jim Tankersley
Baltimore Sun

CONCORD, N.H. – John Edwards has a simple philosophy when it comes to fine-tuning his message for New Hampshire: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Edwards regaled a crowd of more than 200 this morning with indictments of corporate greed and lobbyists' grip on Washington D.C., along with pledges to fight for universal health care, fairer trade deals and an end to the Iraq war. He proclaimed himself the underdog in Tuesday's primary, but added "the real underdog in America is the middle-class, the low-income families in America who are struggling just to survive."

It's essentially the same pitch Edwards gave Iowans in the weeks leading up to his second-place finish in the Jan. 3 caucus (won by Sen. Barack Obama), and it's very similar to the language he employed on an early-fall swing through New Hampshire. And it stands in contrast to several other candidates touring the state this weekend, who have retooled their messages to appeal to New Hampshire's independent-minded voters and to incorporate lessons from the Iowa results.

Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton is delivering a New Hampshire stump speech that warns of sharp contrasts with Obama, and which Boston Globe article this morning called "remarkable for the number of new elements introduced in it." Republican Mitt Romney has re-branded himself a man of "change," and GOP rival Mike Huckabee has toned down his religious references and upped his tax talk

Edwards aides call the success of the former North Carolina senator's message the "unwritten story of Iowa." The Edwards field organization targeted 42,000 Iowans for caucus-night turnout, spokesman Mark Kornblau said. Some 80,000 Iowans ended up choosing Edwards.

"They went and caucused for him based on this message," Kornblau said.

The biggest tweak in Edwards' speech post-Iowa is his attempt to re-frame the nomination fight as a battle between what he calls the two "change candidates" – himself and Obama - and excludes Clinton, who was long perceived as the national frontrunner. Edwards differentiates himself from Obama largely by saying he'll take a more confrontational approach to corporate interests, particularly insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists, when pushing issues such as universal health coverage.

In Concord this morning, Edwards let his favorite campaign surrogate – his wife Elizabeth - distinguish him from his two leading rivals in much bolder terms.

Elizabeth Edwards said her husband had reacted more presidentially to the assassination of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto, telephoning the Pakistani president to plead for democratic progress while his rivals "raced for the microphone". She said he was the most dependable to negotiate fairer trade and the only one of the trio to oppose new nuclear power plants.Without naming names, she said his health care credentials trumped Obama – whose plan would leave an estimated 15 million Americans without insurance, because it does not mandate health coverage – and Clinton, who had the chance to achieve universal care under her husband's administration a decade ago and instead chose "to spend (her) political capital on passing NAFTA."

She also said two candidates had voted for Iraq war funding without withdrawal timelines attached – again, Clinton and Obama – but didn't mention her husband's since-repudiated vote to go authorize the war in the first place.

Asked if Edwards himself would soon start drawing bolder contrasts with his opponents, Kornblau replied "there's time for that." Reminded that only three days remain before the New Hampshire primary, he replied "there's lots of time after Tuesday."

Join me in supporting John Edwards for President

Nader Throws Support to Edwards

Tue Jan 1, 10:13 PM ET

The Nation -- Politico reports that consumer crusader and former presidential contender Ralph Nader has expressed "strong support" for John Edwards.

Nader has been edging toward this "endorsement" in the last couple of weeks. In an appearance on "Hardball," in mid-December, he said Edwards "now has the most progressive message across a broad spectrum of corporate power damaging the interests of workers, consumers, taxpayers, of any candidate I have--leading candidate I have seen in years." He went on to explain that "the key phrase is when he [Edwards] says he doesn't want to replace a corporate Republican with a corporate Democrat." Nader told Politico, " it's the only time I've heard a Democrat talk that way in a long time." For Ralph Nader--and take my word for it, please--that is rare praise for a leading Democratic politician.

In throwing his support to Edwards, Nader was scathing in his criticism of Hillary Clinton--calling her a "corporate Democrat ...[ who ] ... has not led the way against the avalanche of military contracting, corporate crime, fraud and abuse."

Edwards' passionate populism, which has been dismissed in too many mainstream articles in the past weeks as "angry" or "over the top," is speaking to the reality of the concentration of power and wealth in a few hands--a concentration that is working against the vast majority of Americans. Why is what Edwards is saying "over the top" when 72% of the American people told "Business Week" in 2000--- that corporations have too much control over their lives and jobs.

Will Nader's support encourage progressive Iowans to give him a win in Thursday's caucuses? Hard to know. This is an extraordinarily fluid, tight, ideologically fascinating race in which progressive champion Dennis Kucinich has just urged his supporters to go for Barack Obama in a second round. And there's no question that Nader remains controversial among many progressives who believe that he took enough liberal votes from Gore in 2000 to give Bush the presidency.

Whatever happens to Edwards in Iowa, his full-throated populist message is unlikely to disappear from this race. Clinton and Obama are already sounding populist appeals in their speeches. It's up to progressives to keep the heat on so that taking on corporate power, taking back govenment, empowering workers and disempowering the lobbyists remains a cornerstone of small-d politics in 2008 and beyond.

As Nader says, "Edwards is at least highlighting day after day that the issue is who controls our country: big business or the people?"

Join me in supporting John Edwards for President

Edwards Only Top Dem to Take on Wall Street

By Dean Baker
Posted on December 26, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/71650/

It would be difficult to identify much difference between the three leading Democratic presidential candidates' positions on major economic issues. They have come forward with comparable positions on taxes, healthcare and trade. Insofar as it is possible to identify differences between Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama, it is primarily due to judgments about their level of commitment and the powers to whom they will answer.

On taxes, all three candidates have said they want the wealthy to pay a larger portion of the bill, which starts with taking back the Bush tax cuts on families earning more than $200,000 a year. All three have proposed eliminating various loopholes that primarily benefit the wealthy. Edwards has gone the furthest in this respect, calling for raising the capital gains tax rate back to the pre-Clinton level of 28%. This tax increase almost exclusively affects the wealthy. Most of the capital gains earned by middle-class families are either from selling their home, which is generally not taxed, or in retirement accounts that are subject to normal income tax rates.

All three contenders have proposed a national healthcare system that is a variant of the plan developed by Yale political scientist Jacob Hacker. The basics of the plan are to require that all firms either insure their workers directly or pay a fee to the government. The government then uses this money to heavily subsidise insurance for low- and moderate-income families. It also establishes an expanded Medicare-type public plan that people will have the option to buy into. In addition, it reforms the private insurance market, most importantly by requiring that insurers not discriminate based on pre-existing conditions.

Both Clinton and Edwards would impose a mandate that everyone buy into this system. Obama has claimed that he would not require a mandate. As a practical matter, the healthcare system that any of them are able to put in place will depend on the arms they twist and the pressure they can bring to bear against the insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry and other powerful actors who will be hurt by real reform.

Any serious plan will require a mandate - this directly follows from its requirement that insurers take all comers. Without a mandate, no one would buy insurance until they had serious bills. This would be like letting people buy car insurance after an accident, and then sending the company the bill. That doesn't work.

All three contenders have said that they want to break with the Bush-Clinton-Bush trade agenda. Since recent trade deals like Nafta and Cafta are hugely unpopular, especially among Democrats, this position is not surprising. What their position means in practice remains to be seen. For example, in spite of her newfound opposition to these trade deals, senator Clinton found the time to vote for the recent Peru trade pact, which is largely in the Nafta/Cafta mode.
As a practical matter, the country has already gone about as far as it can in placing its manufacturing workers in competition with low-wage workers in the developing world. The impact of any future trade deals on the US economy will be almost imperceptible. A decline of the dollar by an additional 10% against the currencies of our trading partners would swamp the impact of all currently pending trade deals.

On this issue there are likely to be substantial differences among the candidates. Former Treasury secretary Robert Rubin is likely to be the guiding light for economic policy in a Clinton or Obama administration. Rubin was the architect of the high dollar policy of the 1990s, which led to the massive trade deficits of recent years. He remains an enthusiastic supporter of a high dollar. Therefore Clinton or Obama would be more likely than Edwards to sacrifice the jobs and wages of manufacturing workers in order to prop up the dollar.

Rubin's Wall Street agenda would also apply to other areas of economic policy, most importantly the budget. Rubin places balanced budgets and even budget surpluses at the centre of his economic vision. A push to a balanced budget will seriously curtail the ability to extend healthcare coverage, promote access to childcare, promote clean technologies and address other neglected priorities. By contrast, Edwards has clearly stated that he does not view a balanced budget as a priority, arguing instead for deficit targets that prevent the debt from growing relative to the size of the economy. The willingness to accept deficits may prove especially important in the context of an economy that could be in recession when the next president takes office.

In short, Edwards has set himself apart from the other two top candidates by indicating a clear willingness to challenge an agenda set on Wall Street. If a President Edwards actually carried through with this course, he would pursue a very different economic agenda than his two leading rivals.

Dean Baker is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.© 2007 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.View this story online at: http://www.alternet.org/story/71650/


Join me in supporting John Edwards for President

Iowa First Lady Mari Culver endorses John Edwards for President

Endorsement Builds on Edwards’ Growing Momentum in Iowa

Des Moines, Iowa – On the last day of his "Main Street Express" bus tour and following a widely praised debate performance, today Senator John Edwards will receive the endorsement of Iowa First Lady Mari Culver. Culver believes Edwards’ lifetime of fighting for those without a voice makes him the best candidate to stand up for America’s families and bring change to America. Culver’s endorsement adds to Edwards’ growing momentum in the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Edwards recently was endorsed by Congressman Bruce Braley and continues to gain support from community leaders and undecided caucus goers.

"With all the challenges facing our country, we need a leader who will fight for our families," said Culver. "I am proud to endorse John Edwards for President. John has spent his career standing up for children and families in their hour of need. I admire his commitment to speaking out for those who have no voice and look forward to working with him to make sure children here in Iowa and across the country are safe and secure and have the opportunity to realize their dreams."

"I am honored to have Mari’s support," said Edwards. "She has been a passionate advocate on behalf of families and children in crises. Her commitment to helping the less fortunate is exactly the kind of the leadership America so desperately needs. With Mari’s help and the help of the people of Iowa, we can build the One America we believe in."

Culver’s support adds to Edwards’ strength in Iowa. He has strong grassroots organizations in all 99 Iowa counties. He also enjoys the support of Caucus for Priorities, which represents 10,000 Iowa caucus goers. Edwards has the support of numerous labor groups who are actively working to put him in the White House. He has been endorsed by the Iowa State Council of the SEIU and 11 other SEIU state councils representing more than a million SEIU members. Additionally, he has been endorsed by the Iowa Postal Workers Union, the United Steelworkers, the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, the Transport Workers Union of America, the United Mine Workers of America and the UNITE HERE Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board.

Culver will join Edwards today at his “Main Street Express” bus tour finale events in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport. During the eight-day tour, Edwards has been highlighting his plans to fight for regular families like the ones he grew up with in his small, rural hometown.


Please help John during this critical phase of the campaign.

Edwards supporter makes daily 6.1-mile trek to rally voters

by Kiley Miller
Thehawkeye.com - 12/13/2007
http://www.thehawkeye.com/Story/vote_edwards_121307

NEW LONDON, IA -- It was a touch after 3 p.m. Monday and Carrie Duncan had just finished another day on the job.

Now she was ready to go the extra mile for John Edwards.

Make that 6.1 miles.

Read the rest of story at thehawkeye.com.


Join me, and Carrie Duncan, in supporting John Edwards for President

Roadtrip to Reno!

What: Roadtrip To Reno!

When: Saturday, December 15th at 10:30 AM

Where:
700 Smithridge Dr., #101
Reno, Nevada 89502

Event Description:

Looking for a way to help John Edwards WIN an early state? Going to Iowa would be great! But if you can't manage Iowa, the next best thing would be to help John Edwards win Nevada. And Nevada is just a short, scenic drive away from us!

This weekend, a number of Edwards supporters from California will be roadtripping to the official Edwards for President Office in Reno to help out. So why not join in the fun? Help out, see the sights, and have some fun! A statewide Nevada canvassing effort for John Edwards is scheduled for Saturday, December 15th from 10:30AM to 5:00 PM.

For details, directions, and even free lodging, contact Sandra More, the Reno volunteer coordinator. She can be reached at more@unr.nevada.edu, 775-338-5382.

The Reno office itself is located at:

700 Smithridge Dr. #101
Reno, NV 89502
775-829-2008

If you can't make it this weekend, you are still needed. The Reno office needs volunteers seven days a week from now until the day of the caucus, January 19th. So, pick a day that fits your schedule, and roadtrip to Reno. All they ask is at least 24 hours notice of your arrival.

If, by chance, you would prefer to help in Las Vegas, please contact Amanda Clausen, aclausen@johnedwards.com, 702-434-3978.

And if you want to help in Iowa, please be sure to call Abby Curran in Iowa at 515-883-7803

For more information, and to RSVP for this event, please click here:
http://blog.johnedwards.com/event/3597



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New CNN Poll: Edwards Only Dem to Beat All Four Republican Candidates

A CNN poll released today concluded that Senator John Edwards is the only Democrat who can beat all four major Republican candidates.

"On the Democratic side, Edwards performs best against each of the leading Republicans. In addition to beating Huckabee by 25 percent and McCain by 8 percent, the North Carolina Democrat beats Romney by 22 percentage points (59 percent to 37 percent) and Giuliani by 9 percentage points (53 percent to 44 percent)."

CNN article: http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/10/poll.head.to.head/index.html

Full Polling Results: http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2007/images/12/11/tue6ampoll.pdf


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Road Trip for One America

With so little time left until the caucuses and primaries begin, we need your help now! Please join other supporters from all over the country as we travel to the earliest voting states—Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina—for a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks to help engage voters and spread John Edwards' powerful message.

Except for possible travel conditions over the Sierra, Reno is an easy day trip from Sacramento and other Norcal locations.

To sign up to help go to John Edwards.com and click on the Road Trip for One America Graphic, or just click right here.

If you can't travel but would still like to help come back here to see more opportunities. And, as we all know, money is always needed.


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John Edwards speech at DNC Fall Meeting

John Edwards addressed the Democratic National Committee this morning.

Here's the Webcast from the DNC Website.


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John Edwards Releases Plan to Combat Hunger

By MIKE BAKER – Wedenesday, November 21

CARRBORO, N.C. (Associated Press) — Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, in his fight against domestic hunger, called on Congress Wednesday to take immediate action to fund programs that provide food services for millions.

"This is an issue that we can actually do something about," Edwards said, calling on Americans to do their part at an individual level.
"I think we have a moral responsibility as a country to stand up and take action to where no man, woman or child in this country should feel hungry."
Edwards' proposal urges Congress to pass a farm bill that would provide food stamps and support food banks. It asks lawmakers to reform the food stamps program to help more families get more assistance. The plan also urges Congress to quickly provide $5.1 billion to help low income families pay their winter heating bills to free up extra money for food.

The former North Carolina senator said that he would help low-income children get more access to healthy meals, support programs that provide meals for the elderly, and develop a new program that would identify and provide for neighborhoods that don't have full-service supermarkets.

Edwards announced the plan shortly before a scheduled appearance at a food bank in Carrboro. More than 35.5 million people in the United States went hungry in 2006, according to a Department of Agriculture study. Of those, about one-third reported they had "very low food security," meaning they had a substantial disruption in the amount of food they typically eat.

On the 'Net:John Edwards, http://johnedwards.com/






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Sacramento Edwards supporters help campaign in Reno

Friends,

What a weekend!

Our carpool left Sacramento for Reno a little before 8 am on Saturday morning. We returned last night, almost exactly 36 hours later, with new friends and great memories that will last a lifetime.

Upon arrival at the Reno headquarters slightly after 10 am, we received a very warm reception by Reno staff and volunteers who thanked us countless times before turning us loose on the phones. After what seemed like a split second, our group had made over 1,500 calls to Reno area residents, encouraging their attendance at a town hall the following day. The campaign supplied a pot luck dinner and everyone enjoyed the family atmosphere as we talked of the campaign, politics, and life in general. As dinner wrapped up, Oliver Gottfried, the Nevada State Director, huddled up the crowd and spoke of the campaign's strategy and answered questions. Carter, another campaign staffer, then addressed the group about the following day's activities.

We arrived at Proctor Hug High School yesterday morning at 9:30 to help with set up. Matt (a carpool participant) and I addressed hanging the backdrop and signage as others helped with setting up chairs, laying out literature, visibility, and a variety of other tasks. Before long, tasks shifted to signing people in, directing parking, and generally welcoming attendees.

Nevada assembly members Debbie Smith and David Bobzien addressed the crowd before John Edwards took the stage. Edwards tackled Iraq, health care, education, immigration, and other important issues passionately and directly. The crowd joined in agreement numerous times in his desire for change by giving multiple standing ovations.

Edwards shook a countless number of hands, posed for photos and talked to many. Everyone from our group had the opportunity to meet him, get an autograph and take a photo if desired! Eventually, Edwards returned to a room at the side of the building and made a few phone calls.

We helped with clean up and near completion of our tasks, when only a dozen or so volunteers remained, we were given a pleasant surprise – Edwards was still there!

After wrapping up his last call, Edwards exited the room and thanked us. He posed for a few more pictures and signed a few more autographs in the smaller, more intimate setting.

Shortly after, our carpool floated back in the direction of Sacramento on a natural high. We had reached Auburn before we realized we should probably eat our first meal of the day (it was now about 6 pm).

I arrived home at about 8 pm. After hugging and kissing my wife and kids hello, I presented both my son and daughter with an Edwards rally sign, each one signed and personally inscribed to them by the next President of the United States!

Our group will organize another carpool to Reno next month. I hope you can join us!

Zak Ford
Office of Assemblymember Jones
916-813-6658

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In Support of John Edwards

by KATHERINE S. NEWMAN

Nation Magazine, November 26, 2007

If the Democratic presidential primary were held today in your state, whom would you support? Cast your vote in the Nation Poll.

The recent news that SEIU's chapters in twelve states--representing more than a million workers--endorsed the candidacy of John Edwards is a loud wake-up call. The race for the Democratic nomination is still that: a real race. For my money, there is no other candidate who will work as hard as Edwards for the nation's low-income families, the working poor, struggling students and the 47 million Americans who desperately need health insurance. Organized labor sees him the same way, which is why he has garnered this seal of approval and the boots on the ground that it represents--even in the face of the Clinton juggernaut. They know that Edwards is the candidate who can actually win the general election, the one who is thinking about people like them.

They know because Edwards stood with them through every state-level campaign to raise the minimum wage long before he announced a run for the White House. They know because he was first out with a health insurance plan that actually provides universal coverage while acknowledging what we all know to be true: the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans will have to be rolled back to pay for it. And they know because he has been solidly, unambiguously in favor of withdrawing from Iraq, even as the Democratic Party has tacked back and forth on the issue, despite overwhelming public support for ending the war.

I first met Edwards at a gathering at the University of North Carolina's Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity. Hurricane Katrina had devastated the Gulf Coast only a few months before and exposed the "two Americas" of which Edwards had spoken throughout the 2004 campaign. He called the country's experts together--across party lines--to debate the causes, consequences and remedies for poverty in an era of unprecedented wage inequality. For two days we discussed what should be done to enhance the mobility of the working poor, how we should deal with the competition from low-wage countries like China and what the trends in out-of-wedlock births mean for single mothers below the poverty line.

Most politicians would have given their obligatory keynote address and retired to the comfort of their leather chairs. Edwards stayed the whole time, ran virtually all of the sessions, asked intelligent questions, probed for more practical answers and stuck around to talk with the presenters about how to cull from their academic research workable ideas that could form the basis of a campaign that has as its centerpiece the eradication of poverty in this wealthy nation.

My conversations with Edwards persuaded me that he is the genuine article. Some doubt his commitment because they think a wealthy trial lawyer is not a credible force on behalf of the dispossessed. The next time Nation readers are tempted to think this way, I suggest they take a ride up to Hyde Park and check out the sprawling Hudson River mansion FDR called home. No greater contribution to the welfare of the indigent, the elderly, the unemployed and the sick has ever been made than that which Roosevelt enshrined in the New Deal. Notwithstanding the New Deal's flaws (and there were many), the social policy triumphs of the 1930s stand as an exemplar of what can be done when the will is there. If those victories could be catalyzed by one of the richest men ever to occupy the White House, then it can be done again by a self-made millionaire who earned his fortune attacking negligent corporations in the courtroom.

But enough of the cheerleading based on background. What exactly does Edwards propose to do for the country's low- and moderate-income families? First, he tells us, we must raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2012 and put legislation in place to ensure that it does not fall behind again. Second, he proposes the creation of public employment opportunities for those who cannot find jobs because they live in rural areas, blighted neighborhoods or communities without transportation.

He stands with organized labor, even as it has taken body blows over the past forty years. Despite opinion polls showing that workers want union representation, the ranks of unions are dwindling. Why this disconnect? Edwards has part of the answer: the rules governing the organizing process were written to favor management. Edwards has endorsed the Employee Free Choice Act, which will give workers a chance to organize and use their clout to increase their wages and benefits. At a time when the gap between CEOs and the rank and file is at an all-time high, this is a critical first step toward returning to workers a fare share of what their extraordinarily high productivity has contributed to the bottom line.

And while we're at it, how about focusing some attention on the regulatory structure that ensures we have safe food, clean water and working conditions that do not expose employees to hazardous chemicals? The protective legislation we rely on is all but devoid of enforcement capacity as a result of budgetary strip mining. Inspectors are disappearing, fines are not levied or enforced and families have to worry about whether the spinach on the table is safe to eat. Edwards is the only candidate who has emphasized the importance of targeting abusive industries that sacrifice worker safety and public health.

Edwards has also made serious, imaginative proposals for improving public schools, protecting people from predatory lenders, increasing college access and extending the school system to incorporate the millions who have dropped out and need a second chance. These are not pie-in-the-sky ideas or handouts: they are sound investments in the fiscal health and educational well-being of the country.

There is every reason to expect that the Democrats will end up with solid majorities in the House and Senate in 2008. We need a President who will grab this brass ring. We should not squander the opportunity on tepid, middle-of-the-road, blow-with-the-wind candidates who will be too busy trying to paint themselves as tough on crime or hard-nosed on Iran to seize a chance that may not come again in our lifetime.

Katherine Newman is the Director of The Princeton Institute for International and Religious Studies, and the Director of Princeton University's Doctoral Program in Social Policy. She is the author of No Shame in My Game: The Working Poor in the Inner City (1999), A Different Shade of Gray: Mid-Life and Beyond in the Inner City (2003) and Rampage: The Social Roots of School Shootings (2005), and the co-author of The Missing Class: Portraits of the Near Poor in America (2007, Beacon).

Other Essays in This Series:John Nichols for Joseph BidenEllen Chesler for Hillary ClintonBruce Shapiro for Christopher DoddRichard Kim for Mike GravelGore Vidal for Dennis KucinichMichael Eric Dyson for Barack ObamaRocky Anderson for Bill Richardson

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Edwards Labels Clintons "Corporate Democrats"

Chicagotribune.com
By Rick Pearson, Tribune political reporter

DUBUQUE, Iowa, November 14, 2007 -- Former Sen. John Edwards today linked presidential rival Hillary Clinton and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, to a "crowd of corporate Democrats" who Edwards said have no more interest in changing Washington's culture than Republicans.

Edwards criticized Hillary Clinton's acceptance of donations from special-interest lobbyists and pointedly reminded a regional conference of the United Auto Workers that it was a Democratic White House under Bill Clinton that failed to advance universal health care but delivered what he said were job-jeopardizing trade agreements.

"That's what I mean when I say it's not going to change anything if we trade a crowd of corporate Democrats for corporate Republicans," Edwards said.

Among Democratic rivals, Edwards has been the most direct critic of the Democratic senator from New York. But his rhetoric has taken on an even harsher tone as the time to Iowa's nation-leading presidential caucus on Jan. 3 draws nearer.

In soliciting labor support by portraying himself as the candidate most attuned to union issues, the former North Carolina senator repeatedly cited Sen. Clinton's continued acceptance of campaign donations from federal lobbyists, which both he and Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois eschew.

"The person who has raised the most money from Washington lobbyists, the presidential candidate, is not a Republican. It's a Democrat. The person who has raised the most money from the drug industry, from the health insurance industry is not a Republican. It's a Democrat. The person who has raised the most money—and this is most startling to me—from the defense industry is not a Republican. It's a Democrat," Edwards said. "The answer to every one of those questions is Sen. Clinton."

Asked by reporters afterward if Clinton was a "corporate Democrat," Edwards said, "She is part of a system that includes a lot of corporate Democrats."

Edwards also noted that in the early 1990s, when Hillary Clinton as first lady failed in trying to construct a universal health care plan, Democrats controlled the House and Senate as well as the White House.

"We were in charge of every branch of government and those (special-interests) still killed universal health care," he said. "And we didn't get what we needed—universal health care. Man, we got something we didn't need. We got NAFTA. And NAFTA, just to remind you, did not pass and was not pushed by a Republican administration. NAFTA passed in a Democratic administration."

Organized labor has been highly critical of the North American Free Trade Agreement pushed by President Clinton, and subsequent free-trade agreements, contending they have led to huge job losses in the country, particularly in the manufacturing sector.

Hillary Clinton, who appeared earlier in the week before the UAW's Region 4 conference—which includes representatives from Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota—told the group that the nation should take a "time out" from NAFTA to examine its negative effects on labor.

Edwards also defended his call to act, as president, to take away federal health care from members of Congress until they approve a universal health care plan. Hillary Clinton and others have questioned Edwards' rhetoric by noting that the president does not have the power to take away federal health benefits.

"The response of Sen. Clinton and members of Congress is to circle the wagons and focus on protecting their health care instead of what needs to be done for America," Edwards said.

Edwards also touted his own universal health care plan, which mandates coverage. "Sen. Clinton's plan is similar to mine," he said. "Some would say she copied it. Understand, I didn't say that."

Rap30@aol.com

Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune

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Edwards supporters at Central Valley Democratic Convention

On Saturday Democrats from the Central Valley gathered in Fresno for the first ever Central California Democratic Party Convention. It was a great event that you can read about at The Bayne of Blog.

What I want to post here is these two pictures showing that the Edwards for President campaign is alive and well in the Central Valley. Gary Alford and Brenda Emerson are manning the table.

Gary Alford and Brenda Emerson work the Edwards for President table at the convention.

Gary Alford tells delegates why they should support John Edwards for President.

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