JRE Buzz (13)

There's definitely some buzz to report on for this weekend edition.

Earlier this week, JRE and Jack Kemp posted an op-ed, We Need to Be Tough with Russia, in International Herald Tribune. It's similar to the piece in the NYT back in December when they just about done with their TF report for the Council on Foreign Affairs.

JRE was in Atlanta on Wednesday to co-podcast with President Jimmy Carter about Carter's book, Our Endangered Values. That was the OAC book club choice this spring, and thus, we should see the bookcast sometime next week. I love this picture...two of my favorite leaders. I voted for Carter in 1980; wasn't quite old enough to have voted for him in 1976, but I would have. Lucky TO got to meet him. Very cool. (photo credit: TO of OAC)

Philgoblue blogs about JRE and Acorn at the Daily Kos. It's a great piece.

JRE is interviewed by Facing South about poverty, and has been picked up by several blogs.

Here's a snip:

We recently asked Senator Edwards via e-mail about poverty in the South, some of the causes and effects, and what we can do about it. He was kind enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions, and here is what he had to say.

R. Neal, for Facing South: A recent "Kids Count" study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation found that several Southern states fare poorly in a number of categories such as infant mortality, children's wellbeing, high-school dropout rates, and others. One common theme expressed by state officials and activists was poverty. What are some of the consequences of poverty for families and society in general that maybe aren't so obvious and that people should be more aware of?

Sen. John Edwards: We often hear skeptics talk about how costly it would be to make the investments necessary to end poverty. What you don’t hear as much about is how expensive it is for America to have so many citizens mired in poverty. We all pay a price when young people who could someday find the cure for AIDS or make a fuel cell work are unemployed or stuck in low-wage jobs because they didn’t get the education they need.

We all pay a price when our people turn to crime because they have no other hope. A Harvard professor estimates that growing incarceration costs and unemployment of ex-offenders costs 4 percent of our economy, each and every year. And we all pay a steep price when the American dream no longer seems attainable to every citizen.

Read the rest by clicking the Facing South link above.

Meanbone II posted a really nice diary at Daily Kos about how "GOP is Afraid of John Edwards" at the Daily Kos. Meanbone found that Instalawyer.com was the hat-tip about the Instapundit link to the Forward South piece, and was to inspired to write the DK diary. Woot!

What else...

Chris Pirillo, the co-organizer of Gnomedex, posted the mp3 of JRE's engagement at the conference. I call it engagement as a double entondre: engagement is a consulting or lawyer's term for project, case, etc., and he did engage the bloggers in meaningful dialog.

Resonance Partnership Blog really appreciates John Edwards. He's been mentioned at least 3 times since Gnomedex, I believe. Here's today's snip, albeit it's really more about Ned Lamont. Yep, I posted a comment there.

Pressing the Flesh's Road to Washington Weekly places JRE as number one contender for this week and includes clip of his speech to National Press Club last month.

"John Edwards has shown in the last few weeks the advantage of having run as the Vice Presidential candidate in 2004, and not having a current Senate seat. He enjoys the name and face recognition of a national politician, while not having any of the current responsibilities of a politician in office. As such, Edwards has climbed to the top spot on our ranking this week due to the sheer volume of work he's done as of late. Keep in mind - all of the following activity has taken place since our last ranking."

Jim Pederson, Democratic opponent of Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, just hired JRE's old campaign manager, Sky Gallegos. This is the second candidate I am aware of hired from JRE's old campaign staff, the other managing Chet Culver's campaign for Governor in Iowa. JRE was in Tuscon and Phoenix Monday, so perhaps Pederson got to see JRE while he was there, but I don't have a confirmation on that.

The Nation's blog kindly mentions JRE's rockin' speech at the NPC.

On the national level, John Edwards stands out for making poverty a moral and political issue. He recently delivered an inspiring speech to the National Press Club where he called poverty "the great moral issue of our time" and issued a challenge to cut it by one-third in a decade, and end it within 30 years. Edwards called for raising the minimum wage, overhauling housing policy, strengthening education, cutting taxes for low-income workers and families, and helping Americans save for the future.

BBC News has an piece about Putin and Bush's strained relationship (no longer soul mates), and got a quote by (or from) JRE:

John Edwards - the former Democratic vice-presidential candidate - says the remarks did "great damage" to America and its relationship with Russia because the White House was then too slow to recognise Moscow's move away from democracy.

Mr Edwards has accused Mr Bush of being much too soft on Mr Putin.

This just in...

Joe Turner of The News Tribune in Tacoma reports that JRE is going to make a guest appearance at the Washington Democratic Senate Campaign Committee next week. Looks like it's going to be on Tuesday, July 18th at 6 pm at the Westin Hotel in Seattle. BW readers from Seattle need more info? Call 202-528-4653. Lucky Maria Cantrell. She's gonna need all of the help she can get for her re-election bid.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer mentions that American Trial Lawyers Association is considering changing their name to American Association for Justice--vote is this week. JRE is mentioned in the article about how his 2004 campaign spotlighted his more famous personal injury cases. Ah-hah--that may explain JRE's stump at the Washington DSCC. Wonder what JRE thinks about the name change?


Other than some snarks (such as David Weigel at Reason magazine) I've been debunking...that's it for now.

Oh, BW had a surprise visitor last week to comment. Didn't know it until Thursday morning. What a treat: Elizabeth Edwards.

More buzz l8tr..

Tags: JRE, John Edwards, Jimmy Carter, podcasts, book casts, Elizabeth Edwards, Thread Opener, Ryan Montoya, Maria Cantrell, Jim Pederson, Philgoblue, Facing South, Jack Kemp, Council on Foreign Affairs, Pressing the Flesh blog, Chris Pirillo Show, Resonance Partnership Blog, The Nation, BBC News, Joe Turner, Meanbone II, News Tribune, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Benny's World

JRE Buzz (12)

Lots of little buzz, but here's one that caught my attention right away:

The Buckeye State Blog notes that John Edwards has endorsed Stephanie Studebaker.

snip

After flying high on the DFA list and the Mark Warner Map changers list, Stephanie Studebaker picked up yet another national endorsement from a big league hitter, John Edwards - one of the few congressional candidates to so far receive his support:

Early today, former Vice Presidential candidate, Senator John Edwards, reaffirmed his interest in Ohio politics by endorsing Stephanie Studebaker for US Congress in the Third District. Dr. Studebaker is a mother, veterinarian and lifelong resident of Ohio.

Still looking for a news source to verify this tidbit.

More buzz l8tr..

Tags: John Edwards, Ohio, Stephanie Studebaker, Benny's World

How To Charm a Freeper

I figure if Ann Coulter can charm freepers, so can a blue moderate. Here's an exchange I posted on OAC about an encounter with two men in Columbus, OH, yesterday. My heart goes to Dem Debbie at OAC and JREG. Setting: over lunch at Nancy's Home Cooking Diner on High Street. Great burgers, cozy booths. Two men engaged us in a conversation, and learned we were from Illinois. We asked for a few pointers on locating a place we wanted to visit while in town.

Here's the conversation after 15 minutes of evolving about Iraq, Iran, NK, and securing our borders after 9/11. I kept my political beliefs to myself until I was asked.

Man, it was an event to behold. I decided to take the JRE approach and listen to what they had to say. Then my DH asked them who they saw for a Republican candidate in 2008.

Answers: "can't spot one" or "maybe Newt, since he's an ideas man. Just so it isn't MCain."

Benny: "I don't like McCain. He has no principles."

Freeper1: "I agree with you. I hope the Dems don't pick Hillary either."

Benny: I don't care for Hillary". She doesn't have principles either."

Freeper 1 reaches over and gives me a slight hug): "Bless you. I think she and McCain can hold hands."

Benny: "I agree."

Freepers: "Well, perhaps you can turn Illinois Red."

DH says: not in her book.

Freepers: "Oh?"

Benny: "Nope, I'm blue moderate"

Freepers: "Well, who do you think will win?"

Benny: I don't know who will win, but I like one candidate.

Freepers: "Who?"

Benny: "John Edwards"

Freeper 1: "Breck Girl"

Freeper 2: "You like a trial lawyer?"

Benny: "Common response about Breck Girl"

Freeper 2: "He lied in those trials"

Benny: "I don't think so. He knows the law, do you?"

Freeper 2: "He couldn't be re-elected in his homestate, and he didn't help Kerry win it either."

Benny: "Au contraire. He chose not to run for re-election as he felt he had a chance to win and put his eggs in one basket. Moreover, unlike some others, he thought it dishonest not to relinquish his chair. About Kerry campaign, Edwards wasn't allow to spend time in the south. And moreover, he's ahead right now above Hillary and others in the Iowa polls."

Freepers: "Iowa polls mean nothing"

Benny: "I think they do, whether one agrees about their being first in all, but they do matter. And, Edwards has crossover appeal with swing voters, according to several polls."

Freepers (no comment to that one).

Freepers: "Well, he's a light weight".

Benny: "He's got more backbone than most. Did you hear he was in Israel meeting with the heavy hitters early in June when the first outbreaks occurred..." and explained Edwards' position on it.

Freeper 1:" Well at least we will know where he stands, which is more than I can say for the rest of them [Dems]".

Benny: "What do you think of Wes Clark"?

Freepers: "Loser"
(that caught me by surprise since Clark is a contributor to Faux News and both of them are Faux News kool-aid drinkers)

Freepers: "We think it will be Gore or Kerry."

Benny: "I don't think so, at least with Kerry. He's a good man, but he had trouble with the Swift Boaters, and they would re-emerge to the surface if he ran again. "

One common ground with Freeper 1 was that I didn't want government in my way at all. (what I didn't say was that I'm willing to invest as necessary), but that included my home. The government has no business interfering with what I do personally unless I commit a crime.

Freeper 1: "Well, the election will come down to Ohio again."

Benny: "Gosh, I hope not. I'm hoping for Nevada this time. " (big grin--alluding to West Wing, but I don't think the Freeper got it).

So, encounter could have been volitile, but I chose not to let it be. The only sting I perceived was how "I needed to be worked on" meaning towards a conservative agenda (and I told them Bush was not a true conservative either the way he spends money--they agreed)...as though I didn't have enough of my own opinion, but admittedly, the freepers were sort of kidding me and my DH on that one.

We left Nancy's at the same time, with DH and I pulling away in our Toyota Prius, and they in a mini-van. We stopped at a bike shop along the way, and they waved to us.

Sweet.

Note: as details from my memory continue to surface, I will be adding them. This post is written in a Faulknerian fashion. :-)

For more debunking, check out Nan's diary "The Debunker" at the OAC Blog.

Tags: John Edwards, freepers, debunking, Benny's World, OAC Blog, Presidential Race 2008