He was never very close to having my vote, but I appreciated having John Edwards and his populist message in the mix. He was one of the candidates the media marginalized because they won’t spend the money to cover everyone in a thoughtful way, so they called him “angry” and pushed him over into the Paul/Kucinich corner. I think the real question should have been, “Why aren’t we all as angry as Edwards?”
Lord knows I’m not anti-business, but is there any question as to who really sets domestic policy in this country? The drug and insurance lobbyists write our health care legislation and give us the most expensive health care in the world, with results comparable to Poland’s. Our Vice President gathers together leaders of the major oil and energy companies to craft energy policy, then refuses to make public who attended. That’s worked out well if you enjoy paying $3.50 for a gallon of gas.
The media companies pushed through legislation to allow a small number of them to concentrate control of a much larger number of TV stations and newspapers. Wall Street rapes and pillages without restraint while throwing fabulous fund-raising events for our leaders. (Thank you for those innovative sub-prime mortgages, by the way.)
CEO’s loses billions and walk away with tens of millions in bonuses based on profits that were never real in the first place, and who does anything about it? At least Edwards was raising a stink. But now he’s gone and his issues along with him.
Hankster shared the following from The Nation, speculating that Ralph Nader may jump into the battle again in order to give voice to these anti-corporate arguments, which I welcome. Money has captured the political process and real change is not going to happen until someone changes that.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
Great Post D! I too will miss John Edwards. I know some people in Robins, NC where he grew up and they know him and like him which is as good a tribute as can be found.
I couldn't agree more about big business be permitted to run domestic policy in this country for at least the past seven years. They don't consider themselves responsible citizens of or and in any way part of the American society or culture. They simply look upon us, not as partners, but as customers from whom the last measure of profit should be squeezed.
That said, Ralph Nader's entry simply ensures 4 to 8 more years of the same. His campaign in 2000 gave us George Bush and his entry this time will no doubt hurt any democrat nominated. Nader should find a different outlet for his message.
I understand how you feel about Ralph, but the main candidates won't take on this issue, but maybe if Ralph inflicts enough pain on them they will step up to the plate one of these days.
So many ways to look at this juncture. Nader's vote sapping in the last presidential election has been shown to not have been the spoiler we all assumed it to have been.
Representation is what democracy is all about. Corporations need to have their interests covered just as the meekest among us. Money is "the mother's milk of politics," making representation unequal. What formula would satisfy everybody?
Although he appears to have been weaned on one of Don Herman's G'ville pickles, Ralph is dead on in his critique of our system. Have we stacked the deck in process to the point where our system is too uneven to work? Why is GWB in his 7th out of 8 years in office and OBL still in business, our economy in the toilet and the rest of the world unwilling to touch us without wearing a clothespin on their noses?
John Edwards is not angry. He is the consummate actor, skills honed thru many years as a plaintiff lawyer. That was one of the reasons he was so successful, he was able to project a sincere concern for his clients, the community, etc. It was perfect training for politics. Edwards owes a great deal to big business, without their money he would not be living in his 25 million dollar estate near Raleigh. Fortunately, the voters and analysts were able to see the real John Edwards. Voters from NC, once taken with Edwards, will not shed any tears now that he is out of the picture. Ralph Nader, is perhaps , the complete opposite of Edwards. He is very sincere, lives his life according to his ideals, avoids personal excess, and is unelectable. He would be able to make the difficult decisions but would be raked over the coals by all the special interest groups.
These are all great comments. I wish we'd talked about him sooner.
Post a Comment