Posted on 10/29/2007 2:32:24 PM PDT by Red Badger
Candidate: Sacrifice must be priority, too John Edwards says if he's elected president, he'll institute a New Deal-like suite of programs to fight poverty and stem growing wealth disparity. To do it, he said, he'll ask many Americans to make sacrifices, like paying higher taxes.
Edwards, a former Democratic senator from North Carolina, says the federal government should underwrite universal pre-kindergarten, create matching savings accounts for low-income people, mandate a minimum wage of $9.50 and provide a million new Section 8 housing vouchers for the poor. He also pledged to start a government-funded public higher education program called "College for Everyone."
"It is central to what I want to do as president to do something about economic inequality. I do not believe it is okay for the United States of America to have 37 million people living in poverty," he said in a meeting with Monitor reporters and editors this week. "And I think we need, desperately need, a president who will say that to America and call on Americans to show their character."
At every stop, Edwards said, he tells voters he'll ask them to sacrifice. Asked to describe what he means, he described his plan for increases in capital gains taxes, saying taxes on "wealth income" should be in line with those on work income.
"I think if we want to fund the things that I think are important to share in prosperity, then people who have done well in this country, including me, have more of a responsibility to give back," he said. Later, he added: "There are no free meals." Like other Democrats, Edwards named his top three priorities as ending the war in Iraq, enacting universal health care and overhauling the American energy system. "Those are three things instantly I would do," he said.
Edwards also ripped fellow Democrat Sen. Hillary Clinton, who leads most polls nationally and in New Hampshire by a wide margin, for taking campaign contributions from federal lobbyists and for her recent vote in favor of naming Iran's Revolutionary Guard a terrorist group. Edwards barely mentioned Sen. Barack Obama.
Both Edwards and Clinton have proposed universal health care plans that mandate insurance for everyone, while Obama has proposed a plan that requires coverage only for children. Edwards, who was first to propose a plan, called Clinton's a "carbon copy" of his but said he is better positioned to negotiate because he has the "clean hands of not taking money from lobbyists."
"Senator Clinton has over the years has taken millions of dollars from lobbyists and defends the status quo system," he said. "She just basically says the system works and her argument is, 'I'm experienced, I can operate within the system.' "
Clinton spokeswoman Kathleen Strand questioned the line Edwards has drawn. He takes money from state lobbyists and from a variety of industry groups; according to a Washington Post roundup, he's taken more than $8 million this year from lawyers and law firms, including some that also employ lobbyists.
"It is disappointing that instead of taking the opportunity to lay out his ideas to New Hampshire voters, John Edwards is consistently choosing to engage in misleading, desperate attacks against Senator Clinton," Strand said.
Edwards called the Iran vote made by Clinton and others "a signal" to President Bush about what's permissible.
"Are we going to hear six months from now, Bush invades Iran, 'If only I had known then what I know now?' " Edwards said. "How long does it take to learn this lesson? There's a very hard lesson that I've had to learn from Iraq."
As a senator, Edwards voted to authorize the war in Iraq, as did Clinton. Since then, Edwards has apologized and called the vote a mistake, while Clinton has not, saying that she "takes responsibility" for her vote and she would end the war. Edwards has often criticized Clinton for stopping short of an apology.
Edwards said he would pull combat troops out of Iraq within 10 months, while leaving behind a strike force in the region and limited troops in Iraq with missions like protecting the American embassy. He said it's impossible to predict the future of the country.
"No one knows what's going to happen in Iraq. We're in a bad place, the choices are ugly," he said. And we have to make the best choices under the circumstances to maximize the chances for success, but there are enormous risks in Iraq. And a lot of it is out of our hands."
Edwards billed himself as a "rare combination": The most progressive of the major candidates as well as "the most electable." He pointed to the fact that he was elected to the Senate from a "red state" and that he comes from a rural area, two factors that he said prove his electability.
Edwards said the time has passed for "poll-driven, careful, cautious ideas."
"I think you have to say, 'There's something rotten in Denmark,' " he said. "The system needs to be fixed."
I think it would exacerbate the problem. Many, if not most are paid under the table and under minimum wages.....
I’ve got those. I want a Saleen Mustang!...........
It’s really Robin Hood in reverse.
Robin Hood took from the government (King John and his cronies) and gave it back to the people. Libs want to take from the people and give it to King John (the Government) to redistribute amongst their cronies.............
He is very smart. This is what he did in court every day of his life: vet a compliant jury and convince them to stick it to The Man, The AMA, The Rich Physician, The Insurance Companies. Take some of that gleaming gold from their deep pockets. Robbing the rich to give to the poor.
That's what he's doing now.
Every little envious slacker and neer-do-well out there will find appeal in sticking it to The Other America, The Rich People, The Widescreen TV People, The BMW/Mercedes Crowd. They don't care about anyone including the children and single Moms, so it's time to TAKE IT from them. After all, I deserve just as much as that software engineer and that book publisher and that shoeshined business consultant.
Hold muh beer while I TAKE IT FROM 'EM!
I’m glad to see the candidates are abandoning generalities and getting down to specifics. Edward’s platform is insightful, but he should tighten up his campaine slogans and sound bites to be more consise. For example, “Dictatorship of the Proletariate!”
At least he practices what he preaches.
He has sacrificed ANY chance of ever becoming POTUS. (that's a good thing)
>> Hold muh beer while I TAKE IT FROM ‘EM!
Yep. And in the same way that “progressive” is a euphemism for “communist”, the euphemism for this sort of “class-warfare thief” is “populist”. Or maybe “Robin hood”.
The Pubbies have one of these, too. His name is Huckabee.
See #24......
Edwards.
This assclown is running for president because he wouldn’t be re-elected senator in North Carolina.
He is little more then an ambulance chasing p.o.s. lawyer.
Sort of like the rest of the dem field.
:-)
I wonder if ol’ Robin Hood’s ears are ringing...
Like Hillary and Franklin..he must be getting advice from Eleanor.
He'll send jack booted thugs to convince you otherwise.
Don’t get the story of Robin Hood confused with these socialists. Robin Hood took not from the “rich”, but from the GOVERNMENT because they were taxing the people into poverty.
Ok, I am going to run for president as a Dem and here’s my plan. I am going to tax everyone 100 percent of the money they make and then mail a check for exactly the same amount of money to each and every citizen. We will have exemptions of course, all politicians will be exempt, movie stars, dedicated left wing moon bats, etc.. For the most part though we will all be taxed 100 percent and reimbursed each week with a check for $25.80. This will make us all equal don’t you think? Do I really need the sarcasm tag?
I had a feeling that was gonna be the answer.
He is not promising anything that the other rats are not also promising. Maybe we should call them bandits instead of rats. What private property? Who has private property anymore? Who should have private property? Only the favored groups need private property: ambulance chasing lawyers, unions, government workers, lefty actors, and rats.
In China, you have to be a party member to obtain a government position. The rats want to institute the same requirements here.
At the point of a gun.
What about my red Corvette?
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