Free Republic

[T]he participants in the vice presidential debate this evening are opposites. Dick Cheney... speaks in short declarative sentences and uses few unnecessary words. And he prefers to conduct the affairs of state in private. John Edwards, by contrast, has been an elected official for only six years. Few expect that his meteoric rise in politics will end if he and John Kerry lose this race. Sen. Edwards... is a loquacious lawyer who has made millions as a direct result of his ability to tell stories. And he's not afraid to lay it on thick. In 1985, Mr. Edwards channeled a...

YOU'RE INVITED!!! Elizabeth Edwards to Visit Northern Virginia and Richmond on Wednesday Meets with Families to discuss healthcare Elizabeth Edwards, wife of Democratic candidate for Vice President John Edwards, will travel to Virginia on Wednesday to speak with voters in Northern Virginia and Richmond about the Kerry-Edwards plan to provide health insurance for American families and to discuss the impact of the Bush administration's recent announcement of a record increase in Medicare premiums. In Northern Virginia, Mrs. Edwards will be meeting with Northern Virginian families to discuss the challenges of increasing premiums or their lack of health insurance. In the...

Please join us in welcoming John Edwards to Beckley, West Virginia, on Tuesday, August 31. Come hear John Edwards outline the Kerry-Edwards vision for a stronger America, and make sure to bring your friends, family, and neighbors to see the next vice president of the United States. Tickets are required for this event. To print your complimentary ticket(s) or to volunteer at the rally, please click here: http://www.johnkerry.com/beckley WHEN: Tuesday, August 31 Gates open at 10:30 a.m. WHERE: Beckley Courthouse Main Street at Shoemaker Square Beckley, West Virginia DETAILS: Due to security, please do not bring any outside signs, coolers,...

I'd like to introduce you to my neighbor. I'm from Raleigh, North Carolina, and for several years I've lived around the corner from Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards. My neighbor John has been in the news a good deal lately, but it's hard to tell about the man himself from the coverage. Maybe I can help you get to know him better. Even several years ago, before he was elevated to the national stage, my neighbor John didn't socialize much with other neighbors. He didn't gather with other neighbors at the Fourth of July and he didn't come out to...

The Men Behind Edwards Our editor, Walter Olson, has covered this territory before, but it's worth revisiting as Kerry and Edwards make their way across key states in their bus caravan campaign. The report on the men behind John Edwards at EdwardsWatch makes for interesting reading.:According to published reports, Edwards received $4.65 million from 3,220 lawyers, 29 paralegals, 17 legal assistants and 555 people with the same address as a personal injury attorney contributor (such as a spouse or close relative). The $4.65 million represents 63% of the total money raised by Edwards. Over one-third of those contributors gave the...

When Dennis Kucinich unveiled his Grandfather Twilight Endorsement, I figured the Democrats had ridden the Ozzie Osbourne Crazy Train to the final railhead over the rainbow. Now we have John Deadwards holding courtroom seances. Sean Hackbarth, AKA The American Mind, provides us with an ample Fisking. Edwards' abortion problem comes from a winning trial 19 years ago where he stood "before a jury and channeled the words of an unborn baby girl." Two NY Times reports went on to describe Edwards' closing argument: Referring to an hour-by-hour record of a fetal heartbeat monitor, Mr. Edwards told the jury: "She said...

ALT="Support our Advertisers! Click Here!" BORDER="0"> href="http://www.reason.com/subscribe.html"> src="http://www.reason.com/ads/rsubadx.gif" alt="Subscribe to Reason" border="0">     Reason DailyRecent stories John Edwards' Bursting Media Bubble (7/7) Harmless Groupies (7/6) Moore Didn't Start the Fire (7/1) Reason Daily archive July 7, 2004 John Edwards' Bursting Media Bubble Will real press coverage help or hurt the VP candidate? Charles Paul Freund The central Republican charge against John Edwards, at least in these opening days of his role as John Kerry's running mate, is that Edwards is an insubstantial lightweight. Given the GOP's own history of nominating candidates manifestly unready to hold national office, that's...

MIDI - A KIND OF HUSH It is time to flush both Johns without a delay Flush both of those Johns...it is critical...do it today So, what do you say? They are so far left...they've fallen off the continuum They've fallen right off...and they're counting on their base being dumb So listen very carefully...just pay attention and it's not hard to see You'll surely agree The problem will be so immense If they're entrusted with this nation's defense Do not do that ever! It is time to flush both Johns...and there's no time for delay There's really no time...so...

Sources are saying this morning that Senator John F. Kerry consulted Disney Chairman George Mitchell while selecting John Edwards as his running mate. Internet sources are reporting that the senator "reached out" to Mitchell for advice and counsel. The Disney chairman oversees the ABC Television Network and ABC NEWS.

Election 2004: John Kerry assures that his choice for a running mate is "a man who understands and defends the values of America." Since when is suing the pants off everyone an American value?Because that's exactly how this "champion of the middle class" — in Kerry's words — has built a net worth estimated by some to be as high as $50 million.In his practice as a trial attorney, Edwards won more than $175 million in judgments over 12 years ended in 1997.His specialty: suing doctors, hospitals and insurance companies over infant cerebral palsy cases that were allegedly caused by...

Jan. 28, 2004--Earlier today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a non-profit legal watchdog group, sent a letter to President Bush asking that he call upon the White House Counsel to investigate Vice President Cheney's confirmation of leaked classified information in an interview with the Rocky Mountain News on January 9, 2004. Federal law prohibits leaking classified information. Confirming information that has already been leaked is also prohibited. In his Jan. 9th interview, Mr. Cheney referred his interviewer to a story that appeared in The Weekly Standard's November 24, 2003 issue. The story, written by Stephen F. Hayes, discussed...

A Lackawanna County jury ruled Friday that two doctors employed by Geisinger Medical Center in Danville were not negligent in the sudden death of an 8-year-old patient from Schuylkill County. More than seven years after Megan Shala died, and after enduring almost six years of litigation and five days of courtroom testimony -- full of autopsy reports and graphic testimony about their daughter's final hours -- Patrick F. and Maureen Shala left the courtroom empty-handed. "It was a difficult case for the lawyers and the parties," attorney John L. Jenkins, who represented the Shalas of Lost Creek, said afterwards. "We...

TAMPA - Charles Gable Yerrid, the son of prominent Tampa lawyer Steven Yerrid, will not face criminal charges in an August traffic accident that left a woman dead. The Pinellas County State Attorney's Office determined that Gable Yerrid's conduct did not rise to the level of culpability for vehicular homicide or driving under the influence- manslaughter charges, Assistant State Attorney Scott Rosenwasser said. His office declined to prosecute. Gov. Jeb Bush received a copy of the state attorney's office summary report Friday, and Yerrid's case was officially closed, Rosenwasser said. Tampa police are expected next week to issue Yerrid...

John Edwards Responds to 'Junk Science' Allegations By Marc Morano CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer February 02, 2004(CNSNews.com) - Sen. John Edwards, the North Carolina Democrat who's running for his party's presidential nomination, conceded that infant cerebral palsy usually is not the fault of the doctors who deliver the baby -- even though he argued otherwise in his days as a trial lawyer. Edwards was responding to allegations first reported by CNSNews.com on Jan. 20. The CNSNews.com report noted that a large part of Edwards' legal career was based on "junk science," which allowed him to win hugely lucrative legal judgments...

The superstar trial lawyer accomplishments of John Edwards, which allowed this son of a truck driver to amass a personal fortune, finance his successful U.S. Senate run in 1998 and catapult himself into the 2004 race for president, may have been partially built on "junk science," according to legal and medical experts who spoke with CNSNews.com . Edwards, who with a late surge finished second in Monday's Iowa Caucuses, continues to cite one of his most lucrative legal victories as an example of how he would stand up for "the little guy" if elected president. Edwards became one of America's...

WHO IS JOHN EDWARDS? An Unaccomplished Liberal In Moderate Clothing And A Friend To His Fellow Personal Injury Trial Lawyers.     "Edwards has become a captive of the trial lawyers and the left-wing special interests in Washington. He has lost touch with the average American. Clearly, he is not ready for 'prime time.'"   (Marc Rotterman, "Way Out Of Touch," The [Raleigh] News And Observer, December 8, 2002) THE FACTS ABOUT SENATOR JOHN EDWARDS (D-NC)  EDWARDS IS UNACCOMPLISHED AND "NOT READY FOR PRIME TIME" •      Short Of His Work To Protect The Interests Of Personal Injury Trial Lawyers, Edwards'...

  Edwards still top Texas fund-raiser among Democratic contenders State's lawyers boost his campaign ADVERTISEMENT By Ken Herman AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Monday, November 17, 2003 Howard Dean heads to Houston on Tuesday to pocket some more Lone Star cash, but he has a long, long way to go to catch up with the Democratic presidential contender who has had the most success dipping into Texans' wallets. Though he's made little impact on rank-and-file Texas voters and his national campaign may be in Hail Mary condition, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards has raised more money here than all the other Democratic presidential...

America is a land of second opportunities — even for disgraced, trial-lawyer hacks. Remember the 1993 side-impact crash fiasco on Dateline NBC? The Los Angeles Times called it "the biggest TV scam since the Quiz Scandals." Unbeknownst to viewers, model rockets had been attached to the "side-saddle" gas tank of a GM pickup truck and set off by remote control to ensure an explosion during the collision. Now the man who bragged that he was instrumental in staging the phony explosion has a new cause. As executive director of the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), Ben Kelley is trying to...

RALEIGH, N.C. -- In the final week of Fox's American Idol, it was hard to find anyone here who wasn't rooting for hometown boy Clay Aiken. But another native talent with outsize ambitions was having a tougher time. For Sen. John Edwards, there were no celebratory front-page stories or arenas jammed with cheering fans, just the usual commentary and letters to the editor arguing that A, he's an opportunistic novice with no business running for president, or B, he's one of his party's brightest hopes and a credit to his state. Some Democrats look at Edwards and see ''Bill Clinton...

I found this to be funny. The 'Notepad' is a feature on ABC.com's website where campaigns can put out a 200 word item every day. They are encouraged to be irreverent in it, but it has to be 200 words or less.That highly intelligent trial lawyer John Edwards submitted his for today:Dateline: Room 629, Center of New Hampshire Holiday Inn, Manchester (via Blackberry): For Senator John Edwards this weekend, it was non-stop, grilling debate prep sessions broken up by a star-studded dinner Saturday night. This debate prep was no "inside the beltway" Ginsbergian enterprise, but a series of q and...