Edwards to End Term With Farewell Tour

[Florida_Geek]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Edwards.html?oref=login

November 29, 2004
Edwards to End Term With Farewell Tour
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 9:17 a.m. ET

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Democrat John Edwards is pondering his future as his tenure as a North Carolina senator winds down, but says even his campaign for vice president fit his view of public service.

Edwards has planned a three-day farewell tour around North Carolina this week to thank those who sent him to Washington.

``I want to make sure North Carolinians know how much I appreciate and am honored to have represented them,'' Edwards said last week.

``I saw my job as helping make sure ... that the voices of regular North Carolinians were heard and someone was fighting for them and trying to help them.''

..more at AP....

[spotbird]

1. That's sort of sad.

I wonder how he will stay on the national platform now?

We'll miss him.

[Rose Siding]

2. Oy

snip>
He said the party needs to be sure that voters understand Democrats have the same values as the people Edwards grew up with in South and North Carolina, where Republicans have dominated national elections.

"I wish we'd had better chances, better opportunities (in the 2004 campaign) for me to talk about what my personal values are," Edwards said.

"How important my relationship with God is, how important my faith is in our day-to-day lives, the struggles my family's had in the past, plus what Elizabeth is facing now."

Democrats also need to reach out to those who voted for Bush, he said.

"In order for us to unite the country ... those voters have to believe that our values — my values and the values of other Democratic leaders — are the same values they believe in. That means we have to be touching them, reaching out to them."
.............

MORE opportunities to talk about a personal relationship with God? This is an appeasement strategy. It appears conciliatory and healing on the face, but it buys into media lies and the delusional claims of the more radical cleric extremists among us.

[Bono71]

3. Oh, come on...not all southerners are

"radical cleric extremists." No national party is going to win elections (in the current state of the political world) without winning in the south (at least winning a few states).

Clinton won there and so did Carter. Gore should have won there, but his campaign was probably one of the dumbest in recent memory (how's that for analysis). Plus, Gore probably did win Florida.

Edwards is smart.

[Rose Siding]

6. Who said "all"?

The word "cleric" means pastor or official. The radical among them are the ones to whom I refered. Only one poll indicated that the misnamed "values voters" had the impact on this election that they assert. But a number of powerful religious orgs have claimed victory and now warn that "if their agenda is not implemented quickly — if their concerns are not addressed in a timely fashion — God will be angry"

How do we finesse the power out of their hands by agreeing with them?

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=280881&page=1
from two of the flock:

"I believe Our Lord elected our president and I believe he put him in office and it is my prayer that he will sustain him in office," said one woman at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Fla

Another was asked if she believed that God intervened in the election. "Absolutely," she said.

from one of the clerics:

"Do you want to take your children to a National League baseball game for instance and have homosexuals showing affection to one another? I don't want my kids to see that," he said.

Outlawing public affection is radical. Will the men on the field no longer be slapping each other on the ass? How about summer sweaty man bodies that accidentally touch reaching for the beer passed down the row? (wait til folks find out this guy would favor banning the sale of alcohol, but I'm just guessing about that)

Another of the extreme clerics shares his concept of democracy:
Asked about the millions of Americans who are not Christian, or have a different interpretation of Christianity, Kennedy said with another laugh: "I couldn't care less. It's true."

Until themes like that are dispelled, dems will only be playing catch-up.

[Bono71]

9. Ahh..misread...however, I think southern states could be won in

Florida, Tennessee, and Texas (!) by someone willing to take on the Repubs on the issues and who will also not alienate christian voters. To me, the story is not about the radical christians who voted for bush (we will never get their votes because of abortion), but more about the moderate southern christians who voted for bush. Those are the people dems need to target. They voted for Carter and Clinton. They could be won over again.

[420inTN]

10. TN would be tough

It didn't go for Gore in 2000, despite Gore being from TN. While the state government is controlled by Democrats, for some reason TN keeps sending Republicans to Washington.

[Bono71]

11. Gore lost TN because (in my opinion) he failed to capitalize on

the outstanding job the Clinton administration did while in power. Gore ran away from Clinton because of the Lewinsky fiasco (thanks, Bill).

I think Tennessee is a place a democrat could win. Granted, a Massachusetts senator is going to have a tough time there...but a govenor from the south or midwest is a whole different story.

[420inTN]

15. No, Gore lost TN because...

... Tennesseeans didn't like Gore. So, it was more of a vote against Gore, than it was a vote for Bush. Even Edwards (a southern Senator) didn't help Gore in TN.

However, you do have a point about southern governors. TN did go for Carter in '76 (but went for Reagan in '80), and Clinton in '92 and '96. So, while it is not impossible, it is improbable. The candidate would have to have a really strong message that resonates within TN.

deit: grammar

[AP]

17. Why didn't Gore set up HQ in TN from the beginning?

Was it not possible to be VP and run a campaign from TN?

[420inTN]

20. Yeah, it is possible.

I can't speak for Gore, but I think that he just took TN for granted. I think that he just assumed that TN would go his way. That's the only rationale that I can consider.

deit: Gore did have a headquarters in TN, but I'm not sure if it was THE headquarters.

[PurityOfEssence]

5. Like it or not, elections will be all about religion from now on

I hope the left can mobilize its Christians, because the believers have a chokehold on this country. There's much in Christianity that can be used to nullify the haters and greedheads who are in league with the "moral" voters, but it's fairly obvious that each side is going to have to outgod the other to win.

It's nauseating and it's terrifying, but superstition has won.

Mercifully, there are guys like this who walk the walk, and he can hold his own in so many ways against the hypocrites of the religious right.

I've been an Edwards partisan since '01, and I think he's got the true stuff of greatness; whether he'll ever get a shot at the presidency is another question, but that's not the only damned job in this country that has any impact, lest we forget. It would be a shame for the party to waste him, but these are trying times, and we're due for some serious calamity in the near future: economic downturn (that's the polite term), foreign disasters, domestic totalitarianism, theocratic idiocy, environmental degradation and a host of variants all stand in line to cause us pain.

He's a truly honorable guy, and he's got the knack.

Nobody's going to win much of anything without playing the god card on a regular basis; he's got an edge by being squeaky clean: no skeletons, long-time faithful marriage and a real gift for diplomacy.

We shall see.

[robbedvoter]

18. What elections?

[dmkinsey]

7. We can't win elections if

we lose the "church people". They voted 2-1 for *
The real point here is that WE ARE the values party.We don't have to change our POSITION we have to work harder to get across to the churchy folk show the repubs for the hypocrites they are

[AP]

13. So true. The problem isn't that we have to change what we believe in.

It's that we have to show them that what we believe in is compatible with good christian values, and that what Bush is doing to America is incompatible with the good christian values.

[JI7]

12. well, unless we convince non church goers to vote in higher numbers

we do need to reach out to religious church going types since they vote. this is especially true in southern states which is hurting us when it comes to the Senate and other congressional seats.

[robbedvoter]

19. Reach out and touch a bigot today - wearing a bullet proof west i

is advised.

[SoCalDem]

4. I'm sorry, but he just needs to go home and help Elizabeth

He needs to be there supporting her and taking care of the little kids.. I doubt that we will need to take up a collection for them to buy groceries.. He just needs to take some time, decompress, and maybe later...like next year..start some charitable work.. maybe with Carter.. He can gain public awareness easily..

Actually He and Carter should spend evry waking hour getting the message out about fair elections and easy-access to registration..

Maybe he should run for Sec of State of NC.. We could use him there :)

[AP]

14. I think if you hear what Elizabeth Edwards says and thinks about politics

you'd conclude that keeping up the fight is helping her.

[Vox_Reason]

8. I'm proud of John Edwards

His conduct in the primaries and on the trail has been really admirable. So much of what John Edwards is all about speaks volumes about Democratic "values". Whatever he decides to do in the future, he'll have my support.

I'm also really proud of Grier Martin, newly elected to NC House from a very repug district!

http://www.griermartin.com

Keep an eye on Grier--he could really be a star.

[Judi Lynn]

16. Afternoon A.P. story on John Edwards: Edwards hints at future in farewell

Posted on Mon, Nov. 29, 2004





Edwards hints at future in farewell speech

By PAUL NOWELL

Associated Press


ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Greeted by an enthusiastic crowd, John Edwards kicked off a farewell tour as U.S. senator Monday but left little doubt he wasn't saying goodbye to politics.

"One thing you can count on is that this fight is not over," the former vice presidential candidate told supporters. The visit to western North Carolina's largest city was the first of six stops Edwards plans across the state over three days.

(snip)

Edwards said his upbringing in tiny Robbins prepared him for a role on the national political stage. But for now, he said, his top priority is the health of his wife, Elizabeth, who is being treated for breast cancer.
(snip)

In an interview before the farewell tour began, Edwards said Democrats need to be sure that voters understand their party shares the same values as the people Edwards grew up with in the Carolinas.
(snip)

Edwards said he will continue to give speeches around the country and may publish another book. He also plans to build a new home near Chapel Hill. And even without a forum in the Senate, he plans to keep a high profile.

"I have to sort my way through all of that stuff and figure out what makes the most sense and what's the best way to fight for these things I care about," he said.
(snip/)

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