Posted on 07/06/2004 12:56:02 PM PDT by NotchJohnson
Kerry & Edwards: Liberals Through & Through
Hollings Says Edwards, Doesnt Have Nearly the Experience
(Columbia) Democratic Presidential Nominee John Kerry picked first term United States Senator from North Carolina John Edwards this morning to be his Vice Presidential choice. And while some Democrats might like to think that Edwards can help Kerry by wooing Southern voters with a smooth Southern drawl, the reality is that neither Edwards nor Kerry are in tune with South Carolina voters. In fact, the only real difference between the two senators is their accents.
"John Edwards has the right accent, but the wrong record to win in the South," said Katon Dawson, Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party. "Both Kerry and Edwards are out of touch with mainstream South Carolina voters on the important issues like taxes, partial birth abortion, the war on terror and national security.
According to the National Journal, "Kerry and Edwards aren't all that different, at least not when it comes to how they voted on key issues before the Senate last year. The results of the vote ratings show that Kerry was the most liberal senator in 2003, with a composite liberal score of 96.5. But Edwards wasn't far behind: He had a 2003 composite liberal score of 94.5, making him the fourth-most-liberal senator." (Richard E. Cohen, "How They Measured Up," National Journal, 2/28/04)
And a seasoned political analyst says Senator Edwards' Southern roots aren't likely to be an asset to the ticket.
UVA Professor Larry Sabato: He has only one term in the United States Senate. There's no other public office experience. It is really going to be impossible for John Kerry to stand up and say if he does pick Edwards. I pick the most experienced person best able to take over the presidency if need be. It is just not true and anybody would know it...don't forget Edwards does come from North Carolina but he is not particularly strong in his home state. He barely won the senate seat. Most polls over (the) last six years have shown him with low popularity. I am not sure he can carry North Carolina." (Fox News, "Fox and Friends," 7/6/04)
And Senior Democratic South Carolina Senator Fritz Hollings says, I know he was born here and he and I are good trial lawyers together, but he doesn't have nearly the experience to go all the way and really take that White House." Hollings said Edwards lacks Kerry's "hard experience." (Hollings throws support to Kerry for state primary, January 24, 2004, Greenville News, by Dan Hoover you can access on John Kerrys website - http://www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/clips/news_2004_0124b.html)
I guess this may be one of the first and last times Fritz Hollings and I are going to agree on anything, added Chairman Dawson. ###
I am a Tarheel, and this is Bush Country. We have dem-liberals who are always trying to steal elections here, but we will not go with Edwards. If Kerry thinks Edwards will help him in NC, he got bad information....we are and were Bush/Cheney!!
I've got a home up there Kackikat ... and I agree. My parents have moved up there as well, in the mountains near my wife's and mine second home. My wife is from NC and my oldest daughter is graduating from UNC this year as a journalism major who was down here covering the Dem primary for Carolina Week TV ... and even she says she doubts Edwards could carry NC much less SC. Old Fritz, as much as I dislike his old socialist bones ... he is right about this. Kerry means nothing to us down here. Not enough to help the Kerry ticket one iota.
Could George Bush have said that about Dan Quayle in 1992? Kerry chose Edwards because he is seen as another, more attractive face for the Democrat ticket. A better communicator. He also chose him because the majority of the party leaders and rank-and-file wanted Edwards. Expereince didn't enter in to it.
That's right, NC is more conservative than most people think, especially here in Mtns. I have friends farther east, and this is a boost to Edwards, because he would not have been reelected in NC. Maybe he can get a teaching job like Al Gore after election is over, or return to private practice.
We have people here who are registered democrats, who vote republican.
Where is "down here", Florida?
I agree. The days of the Dims being able to hoodwink the South with an affable southerner are probably over. I think the choice of Edwards has more to do with targetting younger undecideds, and especially younger women, than southerners.
It is a double-bad choice for Kerry; Edwards will not help him pick up any states in the South, and the lack of Gephardt on the ticket will dampen union turnout in the key battleground states.
I agree completely, and have said so in a number of other threads today . . . . .
I agree. It's going to be fun to watch. I don't think he'll be able to flip flop his way out of this one.
This should be enough to sink ths dim ticket. There are 100 senators in the US senate. Ano two of the four most liberal of that 100 make up the dim ticket. There should be a way to present this information in a simple, graphic way that would make it very, very obvious to anyone that this ticket is much too liberal for mainstream America.
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I think times have changed a bit, don't you? When you've got terrorists crashing into the Pentagon, it sems reasonable to make sure the second in command isn't a ninny. I think the presidency, in general (and W in particular), is a bigger target these days.
I would have thought that that would always have been a consideration.
Rubbish. Edwards lies and takes money for a living. He has plenty of experience. :)
BOOKMARKED.
The sourced quotes are GOLD.
For those with less than an excellent chance Sir Lancelot told them to pound sand.
Quayle was one of the fastest rising, most respected Senators at the time he was chosen. Unfortunately, he got Borked, in the political sense. He was definitely a hot prospect for Senate leadership or the White House at the time. By '92, he was dead in the water.
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