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Friday, January 18, 2008

Attntion NV and SC voters: Are you going to let the media decide your candidates?
Posted by Jill | 11:27 PM
If you're supporting John Edwards, or even if you're leaning towards supporting him or are unsure; if you're troubled by Barack Obama's continued insistence on using right-wing framing to sell his candidacy (the latest being to praise Ronald Reagan for bamboozling working people in 49 states to vote for an anti-union, anti-middle-class elitist in 1980); or even if you don't like the fact that Timmeh and Brian and Katie and Charlie and Morning Joe and Tweety are trying to turn the Democratic contest into a steel-cage match betweeen the woman and the black guy (where are the "two Jews and a cripple" (sic), consider donating to John Edwards today.

If your friends and family who don't eat, sleep, and breathe politics the way you do don't know that Edwards is in the race, or if they think that he's a fringe candidate like Mike Gravel, perhaps this is why:






This rally in Reno on Wednesday attracted over 1500 people:





On the Republican side,

I've made no secret that I'm supporting John Edwards in the primary race. Some of the Obamaniacs who spam the diaries at Le Grand Orange trying to squelch all criticism of their candidate, have called for Edwards to leave the race in the name of party unity. I say fuck that. The primaries are the only place (and this year, even New Jersey has a voice) where you can vote for the candidate you want. I haven't wanted to turn B@B into an Edwards campaign blog, because his campaign already has an excellent one. But Edwards' campaign wants to send a message by raising $7 million in one day -- today.

So if you've been thinking you really should donate, today is the day, and now is the time. Click the image above or here.

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7 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
What, so only Obama is the problem? I think if you're going to call out Obama supporters with the (very thin) argument of his theoretical conservatism, perhaps you might also be good enough to swing that bat at Clinton too -- the pro-war, pro-lobbyist, pro-corporate-greed candidate?

Criticize Obama all you want, though...he's a big boy, he's got to take it. I would just say that if you're an Edwards supporter who reads the polls intensely, you can see that Obama and Edwards are splitting the progressives in this primary race. Edwards can stay in as long as he wishes...but he's only helping Clinton become the nominee at this point. That's not pessimism, that's research.
1/18/08, 9:57 AM  
Blogger Jill said...
Neither Obama nor Clinton is the problem.

I hope you're not going to let differences in whom we're supporting in the primaries jeopardize a 10-year friendship.

I've done plenty of bat-swinging at Clinton in this blog as well, and actually a lot less about Obama's remarks about Reagan than some other bloggers have. Tristero over at Digby's place seems to think that this is dog-whistling at right-leaning independents. I hope he's right, but I've seen enough of this kind of thing out of Obama that I'm at the very least concerned. I don't want to have to read between the lines. Either a progressive agenda stands on its own or it doesn't, and I'm not all that convinced that Obama doesn't really believe the stuff he says.

The thing with Clinton is that we KNOW what she is. We KNOW she's the pro-war, pro-lobbyist, pro-corporate greed candidate. Obama is trying to sell himself as a progressive while using right-wing framing -- and that troubles me. Which Obama are we going to get?

The primary race is about choices. It's the one chance you have to vote for the candidate you really support. To say that we should knock it down to two choices after three states have voted is completely anti-democratic.

Now if it comes down to a situation on Feb. 5 where Edwards is still coming in third everywhere, is way behind in the delegate race, and Obama is within just a few percentage points of Clinton in NJ, then I will seriously consider switching my vote to try to put Obama over the top. But right now there are three dogs in this hunt. Michigan doesn't count because its delegates are so far not certified.

If Edwards manages to pull out a win in Nevada, it'll be hard for the media (which is really what this post is about, not the candidates) to spin it as a two-person race.

But remember, these people are the same ones who are painting Rudy Giuliani, with his two sixth-place finisher, as a "winner" because none of his opponents have established a pattern of winning. Giuliani is finishing somewhere south of Ron Paul and polling behind Huckabee in Florida, and Joe Scarborough is practically fellating him every morning. But Edwards is a non-factor? I don't think so. At least not yet.
1/18/08, 10:50 AM  
Blogger Joshua said...
Aaaaaaaand, donated.

If the progressive vote is split between Obama and Edwards, than it's on the damned progressives to vote for the candidate who actually stands for their values instead of just being vaguely for "change" while at the same time repeatedly declaring his support for the status quo.

And here's the thing about Obama. He's not presidential material. Sorry, he's just not. He's a talker, not a leader. And as for his actual record in Congress? And the whole "bipartisan cooperation" thing? Hey, that'd make a great Senate Majority Leader. Somebody who can bring folks together to grind through the day-to-day business of running the country, that's what his Senate record shows him to be. The presidency just doesn't play to his strengths as I see them.
1/18/08, 11:06 AM  
Blogger Bob said...
It really is discouraging. I thought, it'd be great to vote for an African-American, it'd be great to vote for a woman. But neither is sufficient unto itself. This nomination is wide open as of today, & may yet be on February 5th. I'm motivated not by stopping Hillary, but by casting a vote for the candidate who at this point most closely expresses my views AND can win in the general election: John Edwards. That's the only decision I have to make right now.
1/18/08, 1:08 PM  
Blogger Melina said...
And also, what if we have dismissed Edwards so easily and it turns out that the country doesn't really have the stomach for a woman or a candidate of color? Besides their positions, what if people just choose by what color they are? Why do we want to strong arm eachother in THIS arena? Its not like Edwards is Nader...we are talking about someone who is right up there, and who still is in the running.
I truly believe that Edward's policies and positions are what is right and what will work for the country. I also think that he is sincere...in his ideological struggles and in his sure stances. One thing that is for sure is that he believes in the law and the constitution. Its also true that he thinks about and struggles with all of his decisions. But, he cares about people, and his calling is bigger than just himself and his own path to fame.
This guy is fantastic...

and I gave him some cash today, which I hope everyone does!...
I am a very pragmatic politico, but I want Edwards to go all the way to the convention. I think that he deserves to, just on message alone, and I think that the country deserves to take its time making this decision, rather than knee jerking on one perception or another.
Its just too bad that we are living in an age when the media can pull crap like this and get away with it!
1/18/08, 8:18 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
This is the kind of Obama-bashing that drives me crazy; fear of "other" peoples' racism, media-fueled talk about his lack of experience or policy (when researching his record proves otherwise quite easily), etc.

Jill, my dear friend, of course our friendship will never be in jeopardy over politics. But I await the person who's opposed to Obama who will criticize his ACTUAL proposals, his TRUE experience, and not succumb to the Clinton press machine.

Was it smart of Obama to praise Reagan? If you're trying to win Nevada and South Carolina, it sure is. As a native son of Georgia, I know the way the South deified Reagan. It's a part of the cultural landscape down there that can't be ignored.

John Edwards, as a son of the South, gets a pass on this stuff...the thinking being that "he's FROM here". I've seen it with every Southern politician of my lifetime...they get passes from Southerners on the issues, because of perceived familiarity.

I really dig Edwards. Truthfully, he's now my (close) runner-up candidate to Obama. I mean him no harm, other than to say that if he really wants to be the contender you suggest he is, he's got to start winning. Period. Or get out of the way.

And here at B&B, one of my favorite sites in the universe...I await the post that slams Clinton's Reagan-loving statements as hard as this one.
1/19/08, 8:15 AM  
Blogger Rena said...
FYI: The $7 million in a day fundraising idea was not from the Edwards campaign; it started with KingOneEye at Kos and NewsCorpse.
1/19/08, 4:20 PM  
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