Memo to George Stephanopoulos: Smoking Oregano Isn't a Substitute

George Stephanopoulos said in the ABC's This Week that, and let's make certain I have the quote correct:

I've talked to a lot of former Edwards staffers about this. Up until December of 2007, most on Edwards' staff didn't believe rumors about the affair.

But by late December, early January of last year, several people in his inner circle began to think the rumors were true. Several of them had gotten together and devised a "doomsday" strategy of sorts.

Basically, if it looked like Edwards was going to win the Democratic Party nomination, they were going to sabotage his campaign, several former Edwards' staffers have told me.

They said they were Democrats first, and if it looked like Edwards was going to become the nominee, they were going to bring down the campaign.

Yo, check it out dawg (borrowing from Randy Jackson of American Idol)...

Joe Trippi has already denied the allegation, via Chris Cillizza of WaPO:

"The storyline that a sleeper cell existed within the Edwards campaign that knew the truth [about the candidate's marital indiscretions] and was prepared to wait out the campaign and destroy it if it looked like John Edwards was taking off is exactly what I called it -- fantasyland," Trippi emailed the Fix. "It's a great way in hindsight to sound heroic -- but it isn't true."

In the past three days, I have talked to two former JRE campaign staffers who concurred with Trippi. Today one of them said, "it is total BS."

So George S, unless you can produce the trolls, the joint you're smoking isn't even a real one. Quit smearing former campaign staffers, dude. Many of them have gotten jobs other places, and they are trustworthy. You aren't and you proved it a long time ago when you quit working for the Clintons and penned a kiss and tell. But I guess you are "all too human."

Thoughts about the Progressive Blogosphere Post JRE 2008

I have been watching the political blogsophere with keen interest for the past 4 years. I was completely new to blogging during the 2004 presidential campaign. One night while visiting California, I watched a debate between 9 Democratic contenders in Iowa a few days before the nation’s first caucus. I was torn between Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean as I thought both were for the working man and women. Dean’s anti-war message and better access to health care appealed to me, but I also had a soft spot for Gephardt, the union man’s champion. However, there was this one candidate, John Edwards, who was polished on the stump, and wasn’t afraid of taking on one of the great debaters, John Kerry. I thought Kerry was OK, but I was not happy that he and Lieberman had both ducked the final vote on the Medicare D bill, and I remember Edwards had stayed to vote no “on a bad bill.”

I wish I could remember what exactly Edwards said that night that captured my attention, but sadly I can’t. But it was his articulate delivery of his message, and Mr. Benny (who many know by now is a Republican) was struck by the same thing, and said, “Edwards is the most articulate out there, isn’t he?”

That was it. JRE was my candidate.

In the 4 years, I have been consumed by the passion of JRE’s message and his agenda for our country. Why in the hades anyone wanted the job of the presidency, was another story, but I figured if anyone could fix the problems, especially after all of the personal crises he and Elizabeth had been through, and helped so many others, he was the man to do it.

On a cold January 30th morning, 4 years later, the most progressive candidate suddenly suspended his candidacy. I was in shock, considering I had been on a conference call with Joe Trippi and Jonathan Prince two days before that, and they laid out their plans going into Super Tuesday. No, they didn’t expect JRE could win first place in the primaries, but he could garner enough delegates by taking 2nd place in states like Oklahoma and possibly Massachusetts. But I think JRE knew it was going to be next to impossible, with the media marginalizing his message. Despite winning most of the debates in the viewers’ and bloggers’ eyes, he didn’t have enough resources to win and he had already opted for public financing, which also dealt him some other unanticipated blows: Act Blue donations were not eligible for matching federal funds.

JRE got cornered. And if there’s anything that JRE knew about, it was when to walk away from a fight. Takes guts considered how many of us were working our hearts out for him and he didn’t want to let us down. But the truth of the matter was that issues didn’t matter: was the idea of forwarding a bi-racial or woman candidate by the Democratic Party. After all, we had fought for civil rights too long, and the wallets were open for them, but not for Edwards this time.

Read More!

Blogging and Blogs for JRE’s Message

I was in close contact with the Online Communications team as I was one of 5 stealth troll patrollers for the JEFP blog (actually OAC blog, then it morphed into the JEFP site). Admittedly, I didn’t spend as much time as I would have liked as I was busy blogging or chasing diaries other places, mainly the Democratic Underground, the Daily Kos and MyDD, in which the two latter sites are part of the Hotline’s Blogometer of regular places they check and thus the national press did too. But I did clip my share of trolls and spam, especially around Xmas time when it was getting close to the Iowa Caucus.

During the first few days of February, I asked if there was a way to keep up the JEFP site, at least in a static sense, or donate it to Ibiblio.org. The team checked on the legal status, and the answer was no. During that time when the last post by Tracy Russo went up, tons of trolls came by. The troll patrol along with Joe Clarke, were clipping nasty messages right and left. Most of them were diaries or comments that said that JRE and EE were losers, and now it was time for us to join Clinton or Obama. I don’t have the blog to prove it, but my recollection is that it was mainly Obama supporters.

So, some of the regulars at JEFP scattered and formed their own groups after the Daily Kos became the Daily Obamakos, and MyDD became a Clinton site. The DU is probably more Obama also, but the criticisms lobbed at the Edwardses about not endorsing have been especially disturbing. They continue today, in which there is hardly a day I don’t see “Edwards needs to endorse or he won’t matter” or they criticize anything that is critical of Obama, especially in the health care agenda. Thus, these are the main community blogs I have seen that carry the progressive torch that John and Elizabeth handed off to us. I have them in my blogroll here at Benny’s World.

JREG

Since this is being cross-posted at JREG, I wanted to mention this one first. JREG is the Blogmother that picked up the ball and gave us a place for JRE supporters to go make their voices heard in 2004. Of all of the blogs, it is the most established and well organized. The administrative group is small, but nimble, and they fix problems very quickly. Xpanshun has made numerous improvements over time, switching software, and allowing videos and pictures to be posted. One uses code buttons to install links and emoticons, which saves a bit of typing. There is an opportunity to edit, which is great. The software is still more bulletin board style, and takes some getting used to, but I find it easy to navigate. I also liked it that they established rules of respect early on.

I like the private mail function too, something that not many blogs offer, except the DU, and at that, I think one has to be a donor to have that perk. I don’t offer it at my blog and another blog I am affiliated with doesn’t have that function either. A lot of it is because I don’t wish my e-mail addy to be broadcasted due to troll mails. I’ve known other bloggers who publish their e-mail addies, and I hear horror stories about the hate mail.

JREG focuses on issues, but they welcome any news about Democratic candidates, and as long as it is done respectfully, criticism of any politician is permitted. Membership is easy to obtain, and it’s nice that they have status, such as “senior member” and the number of posts, plus an anniversary date. JREG is commercial free and does not solicit donations.


John Edwards Movement Continues

JEMC’s blog is to JREG’s BB style format. Like most blogs, one can read the posts without being a member, but one has to sign up for membership in order to make a comment. I am not aware of their waiting period to make comments, but I did notice one can sign up as a guest and be online with them for a finite period of time, something I’ve not seen on other blogs.

The topics are very broad at JEMC and somewhat disorganized, but from observation, it seems to work for their community. But what is different compared to JREG and EENR (which I will get to in a moment) is they have no compunction to be critical of the other Democratic candidates’ and their supporters. I wonder how they keep the trolls out, but they must manage it somehow.

They would like to be the next semi-"One Corps" type community, whereby they think of action items they would like to pursue. Of all of the blog communities, this one is the most active as there are posts every day. This group is the newer generation of JRE supporters who were regulars on the JFEP blog and populated it with many diaries every day, even if the diaries weren’t much of substance (my only little criticism, and small one at that), but they cared about the people who blogged there and developed friendships, just as the JRE2004 and OAC’ers bloggers did. I commend them for working on action items directly and they are seeking to get an audience of some sort in Denver to talk about media and election reforms. This group has a good chance to survive, just as JREG has.

JEMC is commercial free, but it openly solicits donations via Pay Pal.

Edwardians Meeting Place

This group grew out of the DU (and to a certain extent, the Daily Kos) and formed shortly after JRE suspended his campaign. The DU is no longer very hospitable to JRE supporters, not even in the JRE forum as recently a thread was locked because of the bickering that went on about John Kerry and the Kerry Crats, who have no other place to hang out, carry weight at the DU. Like the Daily Kos, the DU got Obama fever, with Clinton supporters getting in a comment now and then. Two America’s got PB software that was identical to the first JREG 1.0 and set it up. There were some administrators and they were trying to organize it. However, within a few weeks, the admins group sort of imploded, and now it is just out there for the next couple of months. The blog is likely not to continue in the future, but I give them credit for trying. My observation is that most of them want to be back at the DU and will continue at the DU once a nominee is determined.

EENR Blog

The EENR brand was born in a year ago on the Daily Kos. It was a way to get the news out about the Edwardses since the media was already marginalizing the campaign. It had a strong following as many appreciated the positive message it sent about Edwards. Other groups soon followed suit.

When JRE suspended the campaign, the group temporarily disbanded as practically, Edwards was no longer going to be in the news everyday. The group re-emerged as the Edwards Evolution Next Revolution) and it posted on Sunday nights. However, too many Obama supporters trashed the diaries and after a certain point, it could not make it very easily on the recommended list. The group decided that it wanted to continue focusing on the issues.

The EENR group (Edwards Evolution Next Revolution) in late February launched a blog using Soapblox, the same software that many state blogs and Open Left use. Its functionality is not quite as powerful as JREG’s whereby you have to know most of the code, except Bold, Italic, Quote, Preview, and Save. There’s also capability to delete the diary without time limits. Front page diaries are changed during the day about every 2-3 hours, and at night, there is a late night open thread. The Front Page diaries are written by editors, but many of them are readers’ diaries that are promoted, similar to what they do at Open Left and MyDD.

In terms of content, the site is organized in 12 categories: health, international issues, national securities, candidates & causes, JRE news, progressive news, poverty, education, and the environment. Rants & Raves are for fun items, such as travel, humor, and sometimes a rant. The strength of the site is the draw of Congressional candidates who would like to be endorsed and links to their donation pages. EENR has done two live blogs so far with Charlie Brown of CA and Jerry Northington of DEL. However, the guidelines are clear that bloggers are discouraged in penning diaries that attack the two remaining candidates unless they are framed in criticizing their issues and not their supporters. EENR has to had ban a few folks because of repeated sexist and racist comments about the candidates or ones that invite pie fights.

EENR blog is commercial free and doesn’t solicit donations at this time.

Edwards Google Group (not on my blogroll)

NcDem Amy and Nannyboz set up the Edwards Google Group, a listserv. Although it is not a blog, it is a way to get news about Edwards. However, it also sends alerts to request swarming of diaries at the Daily Kos to try to get diaries on the recommend list. And if one wishes to vent about the two remaining candidates and their supporters the listserv is also an avenue. But it is not a substitute for a blog.


Blog Traffic is Low on JRE Sites? Why?

JRote posed a very interesting question yesterday at JREG entitled, “Where O Where” and had this for her opening paragraph:

have all the bloggers gone? We used to have so many conversations here and I want it back. I know there are lots of blogs out there, but JREG is tried and true and one of the best.

My observations are for Jackie’s and anyone else’s benefit in particular as I read her note intently. If I read her post correctly, she wondered out loud why more people weren’t back at JREG as it happened before in 2004. She is aware that EE is considering creating her own blog or having one that reunites One Corps. But most of all, she misses the community and the spirit of JEFP blog and is not comfortable with going to other places. She was also slightly off about EENR and how often the editors post or promote a community reader’s diary, but when she was one of EENR’s beta testers, there were front page topics very often, and it was only during the beta test period.

During the month of March, lot of people signed up at EENR, very parallel to JREG back in 2004. But EENR newbies were mainly refugees from the Daily Kos who were fatigued with the lack of issues and were tired of the worship sermons of Obama’s candidacy. But if you look at the amount of posts, there aren’t that many each day. The site is getting plenty of eyeballs, but personally, I think most bloggers are kind of tired of the primary season. They read, but the topics may not be of interest to them, or if they are like me, sometimes I’m not an expert on a topic, so I don’t comment. I also think they miss the adrenalin rush of the Daily Kos, whereby you would get a diary up and there was something thrilling about getting a diary on the rec’d list because Kos has over 150,000 readers.

But I would suggest to Jackie and others, it is tribal as to why the JRE traffic sites are low. I’ve described the groups and their migration patterns. Until a couple of weeks ago, the news about JRE was quiet and thus, a JEFP couldn't continue.

I suspect things will calm down at the Kos, the DU, and MyDD, whereby their long time community refugees will return and there may be some interested in downticket races. For Jackie, as she is not clearly interested in downticket races this year, my guess JREG is probably her best bet, with JEMC a close second.

Time will tell with Elizabeth and what she does about blogging. She would have to have a staff person to design the site and keep the trolls out, not to mention the legal implications, which again, why JFEP was not feasible in the long term. Going to the Center for American Progress is an excellent venue for her.

JREG, JEMC, and EENR will have some core supporters. But I don’t expect big amounts of bloggers at any of them unless there is a party rift. Then who knows.

Benny

John Edwards Blog to go Dark Tomorrow

From the site:

Elizabeth has called blogs "the new town squares" and bloggers the "modern day pamphleteers." With that thought in mind, we hope that you will continue to blog, chat, debate and discuss the issues that are important to you, and to our country, even if it is in a different square.

To read a reaction to this from a strong supporter, Karita:

Thank you for this community.

Karita Hummer in Diaries
2/11/2008 at 7:19 PM CDT

The campaign for economic justice goes on!

I want to thank all of you have made this such a welcome and supportive place. I am so sad that our blog here is ending, but I know that we will keep the inspiration with us for a long time, and will put the mission and vision of John Edwards as standards for all politicians in the future and for our own action agendas.

I, myself, will work myself toward the ends of economic justice, campaign finance reform, media reform, election reform, Democratic Party Reform, and citizen education. I will work to make sure that John Edwards' message and messages like his will be heard in this land.

I will be happy to join Edwards oriented blogs, and I have already. But, I will sorely miss this one, my direct link to the JRE campaign and John Edwards, himself.

Karita Hummer
Edwards Democrat
Co-Captain
SCV4Edwards One Corps Chapter

My comment on the announcement on the Blog Home Page is just below:

Like losing a home! (none / 0)

I am so saddened to lose this home. It was the direct link to the Campaign and most importantly to John Edwards.

I visited it so many times a day, just to check in, to share, to support, to sing John Edwards praises and to become informed of all he stood for.

I will miss this home terribly.

God bless you, John and Elizabeth. We love you and will always be inspired by your mission and vision.

Karita and Paul Hummer
San Jose, CA

And to add a song from the UU songbook that was played at my wedding 7 years ago: For the Earth, Forever Turning.

John Edwards Staff Tribute

I recognize a few faces, especially Sam, John Davis, George Stern, and Tracy Russo and Aaron Myers, the blog gurus at the NC HQ.

Enjoy...and don't stop believin'

Thank you staff! You rock!

John Edwards Supporters Bullied in Nevada

Dear BW Readers,

As you have seen in the news, JRE suffered the worst defeat yesterday ever in any campaign. As many of us watched the returns, it was incredulous. We didn't understand. This state should have been his win (in addition to Iowa), but instead it became a circus and a nightmare. We heard reports that those showing up to caucus for JRE were told to go home and that he was not a viable candidate. Taylor Marsh reported Edwards wasn't viable either. Why was this the case, the champion for the working people?

Below is a diary entry from JRE's blog is one caucus goer's experience. I only wish C-SPAN would have shown this. It proves that the other two campaigns have gotten even dirtier and many of their supporters make me more determined not to support their candidacies ever.

The night before the Nevada caucus, the Clinton Precinct Captain stopped by my home. She said she knew I was leaning towards John Edwards.

She went on to say that the Edwards people were already pulling out and asked that I join Hillary because, like Richardson, Edwards would not be a viable candidate. (Imagine - she actually compared John to Richardson) The Hillary supporter also said that she didn't think our precinct had a captain for Edwards.

Yet, I knew John would not be giving up. The Hillary people have a lot of nerve pretending that John is not even in the race. He easily won the debate. Nevada should have showed him more support. Instead, I wonder how many people decided to support Hillary or Barack only because they were told that John didn't have a chance. I know this was happening because my own mother fell into this category. She ended up supporting Edwards only because I called and told her she shouldn't support one of the other candidates merely because she didn't think John would win. The caucus system would take care of that. Others may not have given him a chance, due only to people spreading lies.

When me and my husband arrived at the caucus sight, we were surprised that there was no section set up for uncommitted voters. I wanted to talk to the uncommitted people and tell them how we need John to represent us, the American people. Instead, I had to put up with Hillary and Barack supporters booing and yelling and making ugly comments as I attempted to find out if there were any undecideds among them. I did indeed find some, but it was very difficult to sway anyone, or even attempt to sway anyone, surrounded by these other candidates' supporters. By the way, our precinct only needed 8 people for John to be a viable candidate. I strongly believe that we would have had a chance to get those 8 if there had been an uncommitted section.

The worst part of the caucus was having to leave the John Edwards section and move over to the Obama section. I truly believe John is the right man for the job, but Obama was the best second choice. Still, it was hard to give up. For some, it was even more difficult. Me and my husband had already decided our second choice, while others had not. For those among the Edwards supporters who had not made up their minds for a second candidate, the Clinton and Obama supporters made their decision extremely difficult. One lady was completely surrounded by members of both groups and successfully driven to tears. She ended up leaving without turning in her preference slip.

Lastly, after moving, I stood next to an Obama supporter who was practically laughing at the aforementioned Edwards supporter, for being overcome by emotion. It made me nauseous. But, she said something that made me chuckle. She said that she, the Edwards supporter, should have known this was coming and made up her mind. She said she should have known from watching tv! I told her that some people don't believe everything the tv tells them. Her response - "How did you find out about the caucus then?"

In the end, I thought the caucus was an ugly experience and I wish John well in other states. Nevada is definitely driven by the media. It sounds like tv ads may have been the way to go, in Nevada.

Krystal Hernandez
Las Vegas, Nevada

Sickening and disheartening.

John Edwards: Iowa Final Countdown to Caucuses

Amazing energy, passion, strength, and will by JRE in gathering supporters together to get them riled up for tomorrow.

After all Tomorrow Starts Today!

John Edwards in 5 Iowa Town Halls Talking About Our Veterans

John Edwards talks about supporting our troops and veterans, especially as they come back from Iraq in town halls in Iowa this weekend. "We have a sacred contract with the men and women who put on a uniform." Also mentioned that our country has responsibility towards taking care of their families, by implementing better pay, health care, or even student loan suspensions to those students who are serving directly in combat or getting combat training, better body armor, etc (the latter added by this blogger, but he probably thought it). Edwards says one in three coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are suffering from serious stress disorders and head injuries.

I got my t-shirt today that reads, Support the Troops (on the front), End the War (on the back).

Update: Edwards campaign staff pack several care packages to send to the troops. Here's the clip.



I like the way it ends. Support the troops, honor the fallen.

Photo of John Edwards at JJ Dinner in Georgia

Taken by Rachel F of the campaign.

Edwards Announces Hawkeye State Staffers

Iowa Team Features Experienced Caucus and Campaign Staff

Des Moines, Iowa – Building on the momentum from Senator John Edwards' series of community meetings on health care with Iowa caucus goers last week, the campaign announced today the addition of key staff members in Iowa. The staff includes veterans of numerous campaigns, who have years of experience working in the caucuses.

“I am proud to have such a strong staff in Iowa to share my vision for America with caucus goers,” said Edwards. “I plan to campaign hard in Iowa and look forward to talking with Iowans about the big challenges facing our nation and how we can meet them together.”

The Iowa staff is led by State Director Jennifer O’Malley, who was Edwards’ Iowa Field Director during the 2004 caucuses. She most recently worked as campaign manager for Congressman Jim Davis' gubernatorial campaign in Florida. She has worked on numerous campaigns, including as Deputy Campaign Manager for Senator Tom Daschle's re-election campaign and Field Director for South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson's winning re-election campaign.


The Iowa staff includes:

Jackie Lee — Iowa Field DirectorLee returns to Iowa for her second caucuses having served as the North Central Iowa Regional Field Director for the Edwards for President Campaign in the 2003-04 cycle, and then as Field Director in Virginia and Florida. Most recently Lee served as Field Director for the Florida Democratic Party. Previously, she was Delaware State Director for the Emergency Campaign for America’s Priorities and for Americans United to Protect Social Security and served as the Field Director for the Oklahoma Democratic Coordinated Campaign.

Pat Maloney — Iowa Political Director
Maloney joins the campaign from 21st Century Democrats where he was National Field Director during 2006. Maloney, a native of Cushing, Oklahoma, worked as Political Director for the 2004 Oklahoma Democratic Coordinated Campaign. Maloney is returning to Iowa for his second time having previously organized southwestern Iowa for Edwards in the 2003-04 caucuses before working as Deputy Field Director in Oklahoma and Texas.

Matt McGrath — Iowa Trip Director
McGrath is a veteran of the Iowa caucuses, having organized parts of Southeastern Iowa for Edwards in 2003-04, and then continuing with the campaign in Tennessee and Ohio. He was South Carolina’s Coordinated Campaign Director in 2006. Prior to that, McGrath worked with New Hampshire Rep. Paul Hodes, helping to set up his successful campaign for Congress. In 2005, McGrath served as the Kentucky State Director for Americans United to Protect Social Security. McGrath served as a Regional Field Director for Anchorage for Tony Knowles’ U.S. Senate race in 2004.

Mark McCullough – Iowa Deputy Press Secretary
McCullough worked at the American Association for Justice as the Southern Regional Press Secretary. Prior to that, he handled media for the non-profit Washington Regional Transplant Consortium, a Donate Life organization. In the last caucuses, McCullough organized Iowa City and eastern Iowa for Edwards and later worked in Virginia and Florida. The Florida native has also worked on U.S. Senate campaigns in South Dakota and Oklahoma.

Zach Wineburg – Iowa Deputy Field Director
Wineburg, a North Carolina native, returns to Iowa after organizing northeastern Iowa for Edwards in the 2003-04 cycle before continuing with the campaign in Virginia and Georgia. Recently, Wineburg was the Kansas City Regional Field Director for the successful McCaskill for U.S. Senate campaign in Missouri. He previously worked at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

Chris Fields — Surrogate Trip Director for Iowa
Fields previously worked as a Field Organizer in Davenport for Edwards’ campaign during the 2003-04 caucuses. She most recently managed the successful re-election campaign of State Senator Beall. Fields, a seasoned Hispanic organizer, was the director of all Hispanic and bilingual educational efforts at D.C. ParentSmart, a Washington, D.C. based educational non-profit and as a Field Organizer for the South Carolina Democratic Party to elect Inez Tenenbaum to the U.S. Senate.

Melanie Muenzer — Iowa Operations Director
Muenzer is back in Iowa after having worked in 2006 for Congressman Leonard Boswell’s re-election campaign, a position sponsored through Senator Evan Bayh’s All-America PAC. In Chicago, she handled operations for a real estate title company. Prior to that, the native of Indiana worked extensively in 2004 on Governor Joe Kernan’s race.

Andy Zabel — Iowa Regional Field Director
Andy Zabel, a native of Humboldt, Iowa, graduated from the University of Iowa. Zabel’s campaign experience includes organizing for the Edwards for President Campaign in Iowa City and former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle’s 2004 re-election campaign in Rapid City, South Dakota. Most recently, Zabel was the Democratic Farmer Labor Party’s Coordinated Campaign Regional Field Director for the 8th Congressional District in Minnesota during the 2006 elections.

Chad Horrell — Iowa Regional Field Director
Horrell comes to the John Edwards for President Campaign with Midwestern experience having served as the Field Director for Brad Ellsworth’s successful campaign for the House of Representatives in 2006 in his home state of Indiana. Horrell also worked on Governor Tim Kaine’s campaign in Virginia in 2005. Other campaign experience includes various local and congressional races in Indiana, including time spent working for Senator Evan Bayh and the Indiana General Assembly.

Elizabeth Lucas — Iowa Regional Field Director
A native of Iowa, Lucas graduated from the University of Iowa with a background in sales and marketing. In 2006, Lucas was a field organizer for the Jim Davis for Governor campaign in Florida. In 2004, Lucas was the volunteer coordinator for MoveOn PAC in the Central Florida/Tampa Bay area before becoming the event coordinator for the Kerry/Edwards campaign in Pinellas County, Florida.

Pam Danielson — Iowa Regional Field Director
Danielson served as Deputy Finance Director for the Jim Davis for Governor campaign in Florida after managing the Arkansas campaign for Jay Martin for Lt. Governor. Previously, she spent two years as Regional Field Director and Deputy National Field Director for the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks working with Midwestern states including Iowa, Ohio and Indiana. Danielson was a Regional Field Director for Central Arkansas to elect Mark Pryor to the U.S. Senate before going to Louisiana to help re-elect Senator Mary Landrieu.

Jessica Jones — Iowa Regional Field Director
Jones joins the staff after clerking in the Iowa Senate for Senators Joe Bolkcom and Bill Dotzler. During the last caucuses, Jones worked as a field organizer for the Edwards for President campaign in Cedar Rapids. Jones was a Regional Field Director for Missouri Project Victory, electing Claire McCaskill to the U.S. Senate. Jones worked to elect Tim Kaine as Governor in Virginia in 2005 and as a field organizer for former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle’s 2004 re-election campaign in South Dakota.

I hope I get to meet them! Welcome to them from your neighbor in Illinois.

American Made: Central Illinois Welcomes John Edwards

See that man on the left? That is John Edwards, and he was in Central Illinois this evening. Two old friends threw a reception for him, and what you see is Presidental candidate Edwards, talking to one of the attendees' relatives at the gig.

This was my first look at John Edwards in a more intimate setting: some one's private home. The Edwards I saw tonight was the politican I saw on TV when he voted against that awful Medicare part D bill, but geniune, warm, and if he had any troubles on his mind, he never showed them. Instead, he graciously talked to all in the room, and anyone who wanted to have a photo made, got one.

Yours truly included. At the time the photographer shot the pic, I asked JRE how the roll out of the health care plan went as I didn't see him today went. He said great. Other than saying hello to him, that was conversation in total with him, other than he recognized me from the Iowa gig on Deember 28th. I didn't mind at all.

I learned a couple of things about Edwards that I didn't know tonight. One is that he only rides in American made cars. And tonight, he was driven to the reception in a red Pontiac Grand Am, and not a brand new one either. I thought that was so cool that his principle to stand tall with the unions transcended into the campaign through and through.

The second, which didn't surprise me, but such a nice touch, was that he said hello to all of the catering people and thanked them for their service. Wow. I wonder how many Presidential candidates do that?

My button that NCDem Amy gave me was a conversation getter. I had forgotten that I was wearing a pin no one else had. And they (hosts and some others) wanted one that said, "One America." Something for the campaign to think about.

Related, his hosts were just as warm and caring as Edwards. Dave, as he is known to his friends, showed me a sign that was from the 2004 DNC in Boston. JRE's signature, along with Senator Dick Durbin's, was on it. Dave was proud and humble at the same time when he introduced JRE (after shaking hands with many) as the man who was the same off the camera as he is when the camera lights were on him. I shared with Dave that I had to give Bush only a tiny bit of credit: I never knew how much I loved my country until Bush got us into so many messes and that only JRE was my trusted choice to give us back our country and fix the problems.

Intrigued by my button, another couple was nice to approach me and start a conversation. They were from a longer distance away. They told me how their son, who is now in law school in Ann Arbor, was an undergrad in the northeast when JRE was first running in 2003. He was interested in Edwards as a candidate after he announced on the Daily Show, and was accepted as an intern until March 2nd, 2004 (and yes, we all still remember that don't we, but I'm not even gonna link there). But between the time he became an intern and the end of the internship, there was a tragic accident that happened at the young man's school. Elizabeth personally e-mailed the young man to give him web sites and other suggestions to pass on to grieving parents. I told them that while this was not in Elizabeth's book, I was not surprised to hear it either. It was really nice to hear their personal stories and why they supported Edwards.

I talked with some Dems from my county. They weren't still completely certain if they would support him or our junior senator. But I reminded them that Senator Obama had a cake walk in the last election, and he would be hit hard this time around. JRE had the experience from the last time, and learned from it.

JRE gave a great speech tonight. It's similar to the ones I've heard before, but he spoke very passionately in stopping the escalation in Iraq. His expressions were so authentic, and from the heart, while giving the best reasons why we needed to get out.

Someone asked him about his interview with Ezra Klein that his father in law, who worked for a prominent MSM, asked him to ask JRE about. JRE replied that he was way ahead of most people in the room, and asked how many people saw that blog (I was one of two who raised my hand). He was quick to say, "this is about Iran", then he said he felt strongly about engagement first and it was "stone stupid" to have a pre-emptive action. He also mentioned that Bush was going to engage everyone else in the Middle East but Syria and Iran, which he believed to be unwise, considering the Sunnis dominate the Muslim world, and the Shias, which are 10% are from Syria and Iran, yet Iraq's government was more Shia. Edwards added that with cooperation with the Europeans, we could offer the Iranians an attractive economic package and work with them on nuclear enrichmnent for civilian purposes.

Some one else asked him about why the folks in the room should support him. More or less, he said that while there were similarities in some political issues, one had to decide if voting for a President included personal character. Do you vote for someone who is strictly careful? For personal or political ambition? Or someone who is working for the country beyond just personal interest?

A short time. He was there only a hour and 15 minutes. But he had to move on.

I want to say something about his advance women tonight. They worked their phones and themselves very hard. I met Nicole, who had worked for JRE before. I met her at the airport and we waited for JRE to greet him. Her phone rang many times. I was amused at keeping a battery charger with her at all times, and her phone was plugged. Nicole ensured that my "Home" books were signed. She was fascinated by my story about chatting with Elizabeth and how she mentioned me at the PDF. I found out that Nicole was originally from Austin, and her mom lived in the town where I used to live: College Station, TX.

Lauren was a kick. She made things happen, including that I got a name tag at the event.

I might add I was the only blogger there. It was so interesting to talk with a crowd in which most still got their news from the TV or newspapers, although some reading a little on the Internet. I was asked what it was like to be a blogger, and it took quick thinking on my part how to answer that since I've been doing this for only 3 years. Scouting and seeing what's being said about the Senator. Reading all kinds of issues, keeping up with the top blogs.

And the only person I sort of knew before the event was JRE. Now I know a few more.

American made, the entire gig. Matches John Edwards, also American made, the guy who remembers where he came from, and very at home with everyone he met.

PS. I'm not certain why my teeth look worse than they are when one clicks on the pic of him and me. I have no cavities, and I brushed well before I saw JRE, other than I had two diet cokes before he got to Central Illinois. One of my teeth looks like if as though I had popcorn put on it, LOL. Oh well. Life in the blogger lane.

Edwards Gets A Hybrid: Promotes Action Day

Finally! JRE got a hybrid. I've been nagging about this (not online, but to friends) that he needed to get one.

How do I know? I got an e-mail from him today.

Dear Benny,

People everywhere are responding to our call to change America.

In the three weeks since we launched our campaign, One Corps has grown to more than 800 chapters in all 50 states. Thousands of Americans are signing up to take action now -- people like you and me who are not willing to wait until the next president is elected to begin changing our country.

One Corps allows people to join with friends and neighbors to take action in our local communities. And next Saturday, January 27, we're all coming together for our first National Day of Action -- working together in our communities to conserve energy and fight global warming:

Click here to join us in your community on the National Day of Energy Action next Saturday

Since announcing my candidacy, I've been speaking of our need to break our country's addiction to oil and create a new energy economy. I've also been speaking about the huge moral issue that global warming presents for America and the entire world.

These are tremendous challenges which won't be solved in a day -- but each of us can take responsibility in small ways that make a big difference.

For example, after years of driving a regular SUV, Elizabeth and I just purchased a hybrid SUV.

I'm not asking each of you to buy a new car, however, or fight this problem on your own. We can all work together in our communities -- educating others and changing the way we use energy in our homes and workplaces -- to bring about the change we need today:

Take the first step by pledging to do what you can to conserve energy in your home and life -- then sign up to take action in your community on January 27th

We all know that government or technological innovation alone will not solve global warming or increase energy efficiency. To solve these problems, we need to ask Americans to be patriotic about something other than war.

Today, I'm asking you to join with thousands of One Corps members across the country and be patriotic -- to make a difference in how you and your community use energy, and to get the word out on January 27th.

Thank you for taking action.


Your friend,
John

So in the spirit of the Action Day, what have I been doing?

My spouse bought compact florescent bulbs last week and installed them in several places in the house and in our front yard lamp. We recycle at least once, but some times twice weekly, in which once is by our waste company's pick-up, the other I take to the town's recycling center. I reuse my grocery bags every week when I go shopping (I get funny looks sometimes because the bags are not necessarily from the same grocer) and I keep one in the Prius that I drive if I need one during the week. I buy gas every 3 weeks. I keep the house at about 64 degrees in the winter and 80 during the summer. Most days when it is sunny, I open the drapes to let the sunlight in. The kitties love sunbathing, and it warms up the room during the day.

I still don't do enough, but it's a good start.

So the real question BW readers: what do you pledge to do to help our environment? Little bit goes a long way and we're all in this together.

Robert Scoble Got Older Today

It's his 42nd birthday.

And still the one of first official 2008 Presidential campaign vloggers (with Chuck Olsen). You did a good job at making people feel at ease, or at least you did with me when I was interviewed in Iowa.

Happy Birthday, Robert. You geek good.

JRE Buzz (38): Time Magazine: The Anti-Clinton

This story came out in Time yesterday, but I just saw it a few minutes ago. Pretty good article overall.

Interesting quote:

Although in 2004 he spoke eloquently of the "Two Americas"--rich and poor--if you looked at the fine print, Edwards backed ideas that originated in the centrist group that created much of Bill Clinton's agenda, the Democratic Leadership Council. Not this time.

My own thought is that if Congress doesn't fix the AMT problem coming up in 2010 (and it looks like they won't, according to the WSJ), then President Edwards would encourage them to do so. Why do I think that? I listened to the November podcast not too long ago, and this was on the list of "to-do's" for Congress.

The Real First Announcement

Despite what Jeff Pulver says that John Edwards announced his candidacy on YT, I think the real first announcement was through their podcast, which was overshadowed by the blip of the site switch.

Benny and the Geeks

During my winter break last week, I went on a whirlwind trip to Iowa. I was one of 10 bloggers who was invited (or confirmed) to a "Blogger Sit-Down" with Presidential candidate John R. Edwards before the Town Hall meeting in Des Moines.

I had read the night before that Robert Scoble was going to be on the first legs of the announcement tour with Edwards. So, when he and others, such as Matt Gross, the Edwards campaign Online communications director appeared in the room where we were supposed to wait, I was thrilled to meet them. Little did I know a Lockernome, Jake Ludington, would be in attendance.
The 1st pic is of Jake Ludington in the background filming the "sit-down" with JRE, who is answering a question about his chances against a home pol, Gov. Tom Vilsack.


In this 2nd shot, Robert is the "Ken Doll" that Maryamie referred to last week on her myspace blog. I told Robert he was one of my tech heros, mainly because of his book, Naked Conversations, which happens to be in the Business and Economics Library where I work. The book is about business blogs and their importance..if they are set up in the way that customers and potential customers can truly get information from companies about their products and services, with a social angle to them. Why social and not just business speak? Because blogs are linked and are like conversations. I would argue though Scoble's not plastic; definitely down to earth.


Another Geek: John Edwards. Yes, he announced his candidacy on YT. He told a group of bloggers in a conference call before the YT posting what his campaign themes would be before officially announcing the next morning in NOLA. I know: I heard about it myself.


No, Edwards doesn't type his own blogs, but in Scoble's interview posted in the past 24 hours, Edwards says has someone typing his words verbatim when doing a live blog on Kos or JRE08. But look at this pic on the right, as he is answering my question about Russia engaging the Iranians about nuclear weapons: his shoes aren't brand new.



As someone at the JRE08 blog blurted about this pic of JRE:

Notice the soles of his shoes, proof of in touch with reality in my book. This man walks the walk.

A geek, an expert on political communications that I mentioned earlier, was Matt Gross, who was in the press section next to me, and patiently awaiting providing JRE with a question from a blogger who is watching the TH event via a live stream. I snapped a quick one of him. My view: it was not a town hall; it was a event of 1500-2500 political concert goers as the lights were bright, amplified, and great lead-in and denouement music, which included Mellencamp's "Our Country".


Other Geeks: NCDem Amy, who was one of the CJ's traveling with JRE in NOLA and Iowa. She's great. I've been blogging with her for 3 years, and it was our first time to meet. Hope it's not our last.

For a total roundup of the Announcement tour by Philgoblue, go here.






To borrow/substitute words from Sir Elton John and to imagine his music of "Bennie and the Jets", 1973 hit:

"Oh, they're weird and they're wonderful,
Oh, and Benny, she's really keen
On John Reid Edwards, and his walking shoes
You would have not read this in a magazine
Oh-Oh...Benny and the Geeks.

Benny..bennae..and the Geeks... "

Sigh..I'm a geek girl wannabe...but I'm happy to be in the company of the true geeks and bloggers.

Update: The Scobleizer has posted all of his videos on John Edwards08 blog. Here's the one with the Iowa bloggers (and I'm one of the interviewees) from the Scoble Show.

Matt Gross will be profiled into tomorrow's News-Record. Click the link for a peak.


Onward...

Wow, C-SPAN Headlines Edwards

Edwards is the top of the news at C-SPAN. They just talked to Stephanie Grace of the Times-Picyune. Theme is "What makes a good president."

BIG Buzzers!

Stay tuned..

Tomorrow Begins Today

New video of John Edwards down in NOLA this afternoon. Check it out at http://johnedwards.com.

Hmm, the website banner looks a little different too.



Rumor has it he will announce around 6:30 CT. I'm looking for it on C-SPAN myself. I read that the announcement is also from Ms. Tyler's yard as well.

How exciting! To glean from the website..."take action; take responsibility"

Remember how I mentioned the other day about the song "Snow" and refrain, "And I Dream.." resonates with me?

Here's why.

"And I Dream"..."Tomorrow begins Today".



Stay tuned...