— His proof being that they attack him! Which couldn’t be because they believe his positions are opportunistic, divisive, or plain idiotic, you understand — such a concession, after all, would require that Trippi conceive of Edwards’ critics as sentient beings instead of beer guzzling, gun-toting trailer trash who hate the gays and wish to control The Vagina.
Instead, Edwards’ detractors, per Trippi, attack him because they fear him. It is, in effect, the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, returned:
[“the right wing wingnuts”] are trying to put John away before he even gets started. Because they know what we know. They know that John has led on Iraq. That he has lead on universal health care. That he has led on global warming, on poverty, and on building One America.
And they are seeing what we’re seeingâ€â€poll after poll showing John outperforming all other Democrats against all Republicans. In the latest poll from Rasmussen Reports, John is the only Democrat to beat Giuliani, McCain, Romney and Fred Thompsonâ€â€and by an average of 13 points!
If you’re a right-wing wing-nut, this is the scariest thing you can imagineâ€â€that the Democratic candidate with the boldest vision for America is also the most electable.
So they will stop at nothing to tear John down. We can stop themâ€â€but only if you stand up. We have 5 more days to reach our goal of $9 million. Give what you can today, and help us beat back this vicious tide.
There is, of course, an element of truth to what Trippi says: after all, tens of millions of people cast a ballot for John Kerry in ’04, so there’s reason to fear that those same tens of millions might cast a ballot for Edwards’ hair in ’08, leaving the US with a President who, when it was convenient for him to do so, was quite adamant that he had not been “misled” with respect to the war on Iraq, and that the intelligence all supported the assertion that Hussein indeed had weapons of mass destruction and was a candidate to hand those weapons over to terror groups to help in a proxy war against the US — and yet now pretends that he never took such positions, and is vigorously vying to be the most electable “anti-war” candidate.
This, in the parlance of “progressive” politics, is “leading” on Iraq; crafting “your” positions around polling of the base in the hopes that they will rise up and support you, if only you allow them to pull your strings.
Let my be frank: Edwards is, and always has been, a cynical and dishonest opportunist, a faux-populist whose concern for the “people” is, at best, theoretical (the man across the street from the Edwards’ modest 24000 sq foot estate actually frightens Ms Edwards, what with his refusal to hire a gardener and his insistence that he be able to retain his icky guns) and at worst completely disingenuous: if there really were “two Americas,” he could fit a good portion of one of them into his backyard, feed them all pulled pork sandwiches, and still have money leftover to hire a house band.
And Edwards’ “bold vision” for America, so far as I can tell, consists entirely off the kinds of buzzwords and phrases that might get him elected: “Bush’s War,” “universal healthcare,” “vanishing middle class,” “threat of global warming,” etc. — all so that, should he ever find himself elected (God forfend), he can try to put into place policies that will weaken national security, undermine private healthcare options (though not for the very rich, naturally; I don’t see Elizabeth, for instance, having to wait her turn for any kind of treatment as she fights her way through bureaucratic red tape), hamstring US industry in a global wealth-redistributing schemed disguised as “science,” and tinker with vibrant markets by placing the kinds of controls on them that have, historically, been economically disastrous if not mitigated by a Republican Congress or a chimera like the tech bubble.
In short, bigger government, higher taxes, more regulation, less choice.
Bold, indeed!
If Mr Trippi wishes to galvanize the fundraising base by raising as a foil the Malkin/Coulter bogeyman, more power to him.
But let’s not pretend that any “fear” the “wingnuts” have of Edwards has to do with his righteousness. If anything, the precise opposite is true: Edwards is a complete and ever-changing poll-driven fiction.
He’s The Candidate for the new century — albeit conveniently stripped of the idealism whose loss gave Michael Ritchie and Jeremy Larner’s “John McKay ” a depth that Edwards can only manage when he rubs in his volumizer.
I have it on good authority that Ron Paul is the Right Wing’s worst Nightmare.
Well, OK. So it isn’t good authority, it’s just Mona. But it’s still at least as believable as Trippi.
If Edwards is the best the Dems have to put forward in ’08, Fred might as well start measuring for drapes.
It’s even funnier to watch the Dems argue over who can retreat and surrender first if they get elected.
I mean funny in a I’m-afraid-for-my-future kind of way.
Oh yeah, baby – I’m just scared to death of Breck Boy, you betcha.
Empty suits have always terrified me.
Netroots remind me of nut in saying . . . “Cannot see contents of nut until shell is cracked.”
Mrs. Edwards is so okay with gay marriage that she married John.
Does one have to be poor to help the poor? I don’t recall FDR being a pauper. Ditto LBJ. Look at Pat Robertson. He’s nice enough to help paupers like Monica Goodling become power brokers. In the end, once can feed a man pulled pork and he’ll be hungry a few hours later or one can help create the atmosphere for an economy in which that man had a chance to earn a decent wage, while this man had to fly on the corporate jet rather than his private one (lament him if you will)http://money.cnn.com/2006/06/13/technology/business2_supersonic/.
John Edwards is the only major candidate to repudiate this stupid war you guys cheerlead. He’s intent on rescuing America and American business from the fallacy of private, winner get all healthcare (you know like every other country in the world, including Iraq). I won’t even go to into the ostrich-esque of global warming (when all the scientists in the world, the UN, and the American government can’t convince you, because that yucky Al Gore has a movie about it, WTF could I do?).
The fact remains you do not castigate eventual nominee Clinton in the same way you do Edwards. His hair, his eyes, his former job….he drives you people bananas (I mean the Goldstein family, the vile Ann Coulter, and the irrepressibly jocular Dan Collins) because you’re afraid he’ll repudiate your beliefs and policies. He would. And, in case you’ve missed the last 6 plus years, that would good for all of us.
Go back to hoping some other actor will run. Seriously, what’s with the fascination with actors? Sonny Bono, Freddy, Arnold, Ronnie. Shouldn’t you guys be ignoring Edwards so you can chase down the cast from Saved by the Bell and get them to run for the Senate?
Tim, I was under the impression that you were a bit perverse (which is okay), but I see now that you are delusional. I believe Obama’s been against the war. He’s made an awful killing on suing the medical profession (notice that lib candidates never tout “affordable, high-quality legal representation for every American”). And all the scientists in the world doesn’t even include a majority in the associated professions.
Oh, and Edwards IS an actor. It’s just that he’s terribly unconvincing, you putz.
Does one have to live in a fucking palace just because he isn’t poor?
Don’t get me wrong, I’d live in a fucking palace too if I could afford one — but I’d also refrain from preaching to millions of fucking working-class taxpayers that they don’t care enough about the poor just because they don’t want me raising their taxes.
He is everything I could hope for in Commander in Chief – weak, vaciliating, contemptuous of my leaders and denigrating of my service…
Gah.
or one can help create the atmosphere for an economy in which that man had a chance to earn a decent wage
John Edwards is going to make sure everyone has a really nice pot to piss in.
John Edwards is the only major candidate to repudiate this stupid war you guys cheerlead.
Too bad for him he had to repudiate himself repeatedly to do so, huh?
Shouldn’t you guys be ignoring Edwards so you can chase down the cast from Saved by the Bell and get them to run for the Senate?
Tiffani-Amber Thiessen has more authenticity in one silicon tit than Edwards has in his whole body. And Mark-Paul Gosselaar has better hair.
What the hell are you talking about?
All of them? All of them? There are none who disagree?
You’ve never heard the term “cankles”, have you? Fer crissake, Hillary isn’t attacked as often because it’s just not as much fun. She’s such an easy target…
Don’t get me wrong, I’d live in a fucking palace too if I could afford one  but I’d also refrain from preaching to millions of fucking working-class taxpayers that they don’t care enough about the poor just because they don’t want me raising their taxes.
BECAUSE OF THE HYPOCRISY!!! THE GODDAMN HYPOCRISY IS SO GALLING!!!
es one have to be poor to help the poor?
Well, one shouldn’t claim to be against ” the two Americas” when you are unabashedly part of the rich America. I’ll believe his sincerity of criticizing income disparity when he starts giving away his cash. Truth is, he’s fine with his own immense wealth. He’d just like the rest of us to share what we have. That’s my biggest beef with the Breck Girl; he is insincere.
He’s intent on rescuing America and American business from the fallacy of private, winner get all healthcare (you know like every other country in the world, including Iraq).
So … only the winners get healthcare? Funny, I’m not a “winner” yet I’ve been insured all my life, except for the years right after college, when I decided I’d rather have the $75 a month for beer instead of paying for health insurance. How many young adults w/o health insurance have (instead) a nice car? A cell phone?
I have had several relatives who have had medical situations while uninsured. One had a baby, and the other is diabetic with Liver failure. Guess what? BOTH got (and/or continue to get) medical care and neither have had to pay for it.
LOL…Thanks, timmah! That was rich. Not too clever, per your usual, but rich and nauseating. This is why I know you’re an unserious nutjob. In regards to global warming, er I mean climate change. Not too many people, at least in here, are arguing it isn’t happening. It is, and that’s a GREAT thing, btw. It’s the cause, and rate, that’s the thorny point in this whole discussion. And no, not ALL scientists think it’s due to too much CO2. And, BTW, because some animal researcher in Vancouver thinks it’s because of too much CO2, well, so the fuck what. Plenty of REAL climate scientists (you know…the guys that work in the appropriate field) aren’t on your scare mongering team. Now that Christopher Reeves is dead and Breck can’t find his cure, as he surely would have, is he promising re-animation booths for every city in “his” America. Surely, he can make Reeves walk again. Or at least his corpse. Either way, the socialists in Indianapolis will pull their wankers with glee, whether wrapped in nerved ending filled foreskin or not, should Breck get the nod.
Nice answer of the question, McGehee. Both Rossevelts were born into privilege so profound as to make your head spin, yet both used government to help people and break the power of the uber-wealthy over our government. Boo hoo, taxes for Bill Gates and Paris Hilton might go up. Instead of fantastically rich, they’ll have to get by as astoundingly rich.
As for Mj. John, pal, you already have weak, vacillating, and doesn’t care for your service. Just because he mouthed the words David Frum put on the teleprompter doesn’t change his essential worthlessness. At least Edwards would do things like get less Americans killed. I know, hopelessly anti-soldier, but that’s consistency.
Lastly, Dan-O. You might find a dictionary so you can look up the word “repudiate.” Obama has nothing to repudiate, you fatuous parrot, since he didn’t vote for the war.
Free legal representation is not a fundamental human right like medical care is (as I see human rights). Nonetheless, the legal profession has contingency suits, so the poor can still get representation. Oops, Danny tried to make a cogent point and fell and bumped his head. You’ll be okay, Dan. Go back to talking about Edwards wife liking gays ’cause she married him. That was comedy gold.
I do not believe Edwards is the right wingnut nightmare (shouldn’t that be either right wing or wingnut, Tripmeister?) this squirrel thinks he is. And if he is a nightmare, he should be everyone’s nightmare. I thought the president was supposed to lead, not to follow polls. I think Edwards would be worse than Bill Clinton when it comes to putting full sail with the political winds.
I think Edwards gets attention because he’s the most photogenic of the major dem candidates. At least, his hair is. I think his hair could run and get a good percentage of the vote. Then again, perhaps his hair is running, and Johnny is just moving his lips when the hair speaks.
HOW DARE THIS RICH PERSON TALK ABOUT POVERTY!!! IT MAKES ME SO ANGRY AND FRUSTRATED!!
Is timb for real? I thought he was occasionally lucid, but this latest rant is alphie territory.
Afraid of Edwards?
Using my best McEnroe voice, “YOU CAN’T BE SEEEERYUSSS???????”
both used government to help people and break the power of the uber-wealthy over our government. Boo hoo, taxes for Bill Gates and Paris Hilton might go up. Instead of fantastically rich, they’ll have to get by as astoundingly rich.
Hey, you mean Edwards may be able to break the power of George Soros? That man needs to be stopped. Perhaps I should I vote for Edwards.
The Essential Edwards:
House, Hair, Hedge Fund.
You can be rich and talk about poverty, Moops. I encourage it. But when your message is “soak the rich,” I would prefer you not try to set yourself up as a liberal. Because what you are is a quasi-socialist using populist language — and worse, you are the kind of advocate of socialism to whom the rules need not apply.
After all, you have a right to SOME rewards for your unwavering support of the “correct” message, right?
Just ask the Kennedy clan.
Edwards is not despicable to me because he’s a hypocrite. It’s because he is a baldfaced opportunist who stands for nothing but his own desire for power.
What occasionally seems to be missed about John Edwards and his Huey Longish populism is that it ain’t really about the poor or the rich. It’s about those of us are in the middle class and how we want to stay there or maybe even move up. If you follow John Edward’s and Ten Year’s After’s advice and tax the rich out of existence, that’s only going to last a couple of years at best. Then what? The dirty little secret is that there are still going to be poor people. My God, even if we could move everyone who is currently poor into the middle class (which we can’t, except perhaps definitionally, even if we tried — and I don’t even want to bother with the immorality of what would have to be done to try) Congress and Preident Bush are going out of their way to keep the pressure in the perpetual poverty pipeline at overload. Weren’t we promised in 1986 that this would be the last amnesty of illegal aliens, full stop, absolutely the last, cross their hearts and hope to die?
This gets so profoundly fucking depressing after a while.
Wouldn’t it be nice if he actually, you know, did something about it instead, Moops?
I think you maybe should have done that dictionary thing yourself first, Timmah! Repudiate is not synonymous with flip flop.
1. to reject as having no authority or binding force: to repudiate a claim.
2. to cast off or disown: to repudiate a son.
3. to reject with disapproval or condemnation: to repudiate a new doctrine.
4. to reject with denial: to repudiate a charge as untrue.
5. to refuse to acknowledge and pay (a debt), as a state, municipality, etc.
Ya big dummy.
“to cast off or disown: to repudiate a son.”
Pablo, can you read? Edwards has DISOWNED his vote. Are the words small enough now?
John Edwards is nobody’s nightmare. He’s just easy (can it even be called attacking?) to make fun of.
Hmmm. I wonder what was deliberately absurdist about my Edwards joke?
That’s not the question, knucklehead. This statement:
Obama has nothing to repudiate, you fatuous parrot, since he didn’t vote for the war.
…is drivel. It’s something a drooling moron might say, or a hydrocephalic ignoramus. He is indeed repudiating the war, without question. That would make you wrong, and it also makes you look like a fool because you didn’t bother checking the definition before you decided to start dropping dictionary and fatuous parrot cracks.
Pull your pants up, Timmah!
Lead by example. If Edwards, gave away enough of his fortune, including tithing his income, sold his house and moved into a middle class naeighbourhood, bough a Honda Prius and commuted an hour to work in downtown Charlotte he would get points. For leading. For keeping it real.
Otherwise – what is he really saying? Hey, the money, the crib, the whip? Its not all that dawg?? I would rather be you??? I would rather you be me????
John Edwards is the Vanilla Ice of classism. Blackface for the new millenium.
“Comment by Major John on 6/26 @ 10:40 am #
He is everything I could hope for in Commander in Chief – weak, vaciliating, contemptuous of my leaders and denigrating of my service…
Gah.”
Ya know, MJ, I don’t think I’ve ever thanked you for your service.
Thanks, Major.
How old are you again, timbot? Do you not remember 1992 and 1993, when the Clintons ran for president on the promise of a tax increase only for the very rich, and a tax cut for the middle class?
Are you too young to remember how the tax cut turned out to be a flat-out lie, and the “very rich” turned out to be most of the fucking middle class? Because IF YOU ONLY RAISE TAXES ON THE VERY RICH YOU DON’T GET ENOUGH NEW REVENUE?
You need to catch up on what’s been going on in the world, youngster.
Has someone explained that we pick on Johnny Boy, not because he is a threat or that we take him seriously (he was bested by Kerry after all), but because he is a doofus? He’s our political appetizer to whet our appetite while we wait for the main course of roasted Hillary or Obama. Given that both in fact voted for cloture & that most of the politicos seem to be ignoring what the majority of people, on both sides, want in immigration reform, this next election cycle just got real interesting & Edwards won;t even have a place to sit at the table.
Wasn’t it Gore who said you’re a millionaire if you make $50,000 a year?
I don’t understand the bit about Edwards getting rid of private healthcare. If he did that, all his trial lawyer supporters would lose a significant defendant population to rape in contingency fee arrangements. Who is everybody kidding with this nonsense?
THAT THIS SOCIALIST WANTS TO RAISE TAXES AND HAVE UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE HAS ME SO ANGRY I CAN’T SEE STRAIGHT!! IT’S EXACTLY LIKE RUSSIA IN 1917!!! AND PABLO WANTS HIM TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT?!?! TRAITORS EVERYWHERE!!
Oh, boy. Honey, turn on the radio and call the kids! It’s time for Lectures from the Dachau!
Let’s take up a collection and donate so that Moops can buy a new caps-lock button. His seems to be broken.
Mmmm…trippi. Very, very trippi.
They know that John has led on Iraq. That he has lead on universal health care. That he has led on global warming, on poverty, and on building One America.
Yes, remember when he led on all that during his one term as senator? When he bothered to show up, of course. Seems like he was gone for 3 years of that running for president/v-president. But other than that…huge leader. So as long as he only wants to raise the taxes of the super rich, those richer than me, I’m ok with it. But what if it turns out I make more money than 50.1% of the voters? They can raise MY taxes because it only effects the people with more money than them. I dont know if I like that trend.
I THINK I’LL MAKE SOME SHIT UP AND PRETEND MOOPS SAID IT!! WHO’S WITH ME!? BOOOOSH EATS BABIES! BUT ONLY WHEN HE CAN WRESTLE THEM AWAY FROM CHENEY!! YEAAAARGH!!!
Wasn’t Obama the one going to crush the Republicans and put America back on the righteous path? I’m confused now.
Anyway, in a very in-your-face off-topic, here’s a paper (PDF) by some scientist who have good reasons to think that global warming is more a natural phenomenon than anything.
I KILLED A GUY WITH A TRIDENT!!!!!!
oh…and uh…..CHIMPLYMCSATANHALIBURTONNOBLOODFOROOOOOOIIIIILLLLL!!!!!
So … guys…. what’s happening since I’ve been gone?
Oh … timmy and moops went completely teaspoons bat flappin’ looniebins?
*YAWN* I’m gonna take a nap…
Edwards doesn’t really have any new vision for dealing with poverty – what he has is warmed-over FDR and LBJ. Massive government programs or spending doesn’t end poverty. Encouraging education helps; changing personal and social behavior helps (much like Edwards’ own education and work is how he escaped from the poverty of his parents); and Edwards hasn’t said one thing other than soak the rich and that hasn’t worked in the past and there is no indication that will work in the future. You can’t have government ‘transfer wealth’ our way out of poverty.
I don’t understand the bit about Edwards getting rid of private healthcare.
It is probably some more of that reality based logic: don’t elect Bush because he was in the oil business and will pander to his oil company buddies to run up oil company profits. But if we elect doctors and lawyers from the healthcare industry they will reform healthcare, screw all their industry buddies and themselves, and save us a bunch of money. But they are the smart ones so it must make sense.
You guys are seriously underestimating the threat that John REDwards and his one-world government wealth redistribution schemes pose. HIS CAMPAIGN THEME IS THE INTERNATIONALE FOR CHRISSAKES!!!HE’S JUST LIKE LENIN EXCEPT NOT BALD!!
How can you underestimate the threat John Edwards poses?
Difficult, happyfeet; very difficult.
IT’S A WIG!!!1!!
You guys are seriously underestimating the threat that John REDwards and his one-world government wealth redistribution schemes pose.
Thank God that his chances of getting elected are about the same as Paris Hilton’s.
Nothing would make this right wing wingnut happier than seeing John Edwards nominated for President by the Democrats. That’s because any GOP nominee would beat Edwards like a bad drum.
IT’S A WIG!!!1!!
Further evidence of his duplicity!!! Is there no perfidy too foul for this modern-day Bolshevik!? DON’T UNDERESTIMATE HIM!!
well, he can’t be all bad. I did get my free bumpersticker
And here I thought Lenin had a full head of thick, virile hair. The things you learn on the innertubes.
Rumor has it he capped his teeth.
Pure lookism.
I demand blood.
AND PIE!
For the record, Edwards doesn’t frighten this right wing shill.
Joe Trippi is kind of creepy, though…
Funny. All this time I thought of Edwards as the chauffer of the democratic party clown car. Was I supposed to be taking him seriously? My bad.
He invented the practice of calling a small coffee “grande!”
I KILLED A GUY WITH A TRIDENT!!!!!!
Very nice. Very!
N.O. don’t have to do that – if you run into me ever on a Veteran’s Day, buy me a Diet Coke with Lime. We’ll call it square.
I guess Tim and I will have to disagree about Edwards vs Bush on the whole CinC thing – of course, I have had one as my CinC – literally had my life on the hook re: that little fact. So, sorry if I weigh my own experience and opinion a bit more than your increasingly erratic and bitter expressions of opinion.
Edwards is the easy meat of this campaign. Thats why everyone takes a turn.
and let’s not forget the bunnies. nobody likes sad bunnies.
“We can stop themâ€â€but only if you stand up. We have 5 more days to reach our goal of $9 million. Give what you can today, and help us beat back this vicious tide.”
This sort of reminded me of …was it Oral Roberts(?)… who said he had to raise $500K or a mil or somesuch or the Lord was going to call him Home.
What kind of scary presidential candidate has his wife phone to a political talk show to complain to a commentator about her treatment of her husband and then said wife of said scary presidentail candidate proceeds to get bitch slapped by said political commentator?
I wonder how much that little victim routine raised for the campaign?
Uwargh, timmah.
LURK MOAR, NEWB.
Sadly, Edwards is not only not unique he’s pretty much a congressional every man. He and his political colleagues stand for election. Beyond that it’s damned difficult to say what they stand for. What we need to do is throw all of them out, but we can’t very well do that and they know it.
[…] know that the “right wing wingnuts” so fear John Edwards’ vision that they simply must attack him. Or, in the case of Coulter, presumably, fantasize about his […]
Daley, I watched some video of that exchange and Mrs. Edwards kicked Coulter’s bony ass. Only one of them received an applause line and only was caused the exasperated host to sigh, while going to break, “we’ll read the whole paragraph out loud for the [drips with sarcasm] intellectual context.”
That said, i suppose you like your world.
Major John, Georgie saved you personally from death in Afghanistan? I was unaware he’s ever been there. But, then again, he’s a super-hero. Wait, no, he’s not, he’s a man who supported the Vietnam War, but refused to fight it (and checked on his application for the Texas Air National Guard that he would not serve overseas). How brave (here’s the cite: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/campaigns/wh2000/stories/bush072899.htm)
Simply put, I’m glad you have faith in the leadership of this government. Your job would be harder if you did not, but this man is not the hero you make him to be.
#Comment by daleyrocks on 6/27 @ 12:34 am #
“I wonder how much that little victim routine raised for the campaign?”
I’m guessing not much. The Breck Girl is the new Dennis Kucinich.