Republicans fear Edwards' message (Taylor Marsh at HuffPo)

[draft_mario_cuomo]

Edwards: It's Not the Haircut

==It's the message Republicans are scared of, so the $400 haircut was a way in to scuttle the man. It also provided the opportunity to burnish the image before the man could reveal the steel of his character. But Edwards handed it to his adversaries so he's going to have to get himself out of this. It's the gift that may yet sink his candidacy, especially since the American voter is akin to a pre-pubescent teen more interested in dirt than policy plans for the people. We are a scandal nation, so we get the president we deserve, though the 2006 election offered a glimmer of hope. It's that tiny thread Edwards must now grab.

Annie Lebowitz captured the man, his family and his life for Men's Vogue. The story reveals John Edwards's passion and mission to the people. That combination is why Republicans are intent to take him down. That and the fact that Edwards is the very embodiment of what Republicans purport to support. The thing is, Republicans only talk about the American dream for the middle class and the poor, of pulling yourself up and making good. Because if you actually do it you're a target, especially if you're a Democrat. If Edwards was a Republican he'd be their nominee. Because he's not he's a threat.==

==But Romney beats the drums of war and is not a modern man, something Republicans understand and to which they can relate. Religious, cunning, "conservative" when it's convenient, rich.

John Edwards is different. He talks of poverty, peace and something beyond perpetual war, which completely flummoxes Republicans. The truth is that the reason Republicans want Edwards gone is that they can't attack his message, because they don't understand it, are even scared of it, dread facing it. The haircut is easier to ridicule, as they hope to capitalize on the juvenile mind set of the average American voter who is too busy working two jobs and is willing to hate anyone so rich, good looking and who has succeeded where they have failed. Edwards is a wealthy man who came from nothing who is now making his life's work the poor; people to whom Republicans can't relate, but to whom they continually sell their policy propaganda to, but which will never set them free. Nothing is scarier than the thought of the poor rising up and realizing that the talk of the American dream through Republican policies (and the cheerleading of talk radio) will never reach that far down to them. If the truth be told to the masses, Republicans would never win another election and wingnut radio hypocrisy would be finished forever. That's why Edwards must not only be defeated, but destroyed; like Kerry the veteran turned against war had to not only be stopped, but the symbol he represented obliterated and neutralized. Antithetical notions to Republican thinking are not allowed to thrive in the American dialogue, and the messenger will not survive to sell his story.

Republicans know how to fight on war turf. However, they haven't a clue how to battle someone who's talking about the poor and that terrorism isn't some talking point "bumper sticker," but something we can tackle through our own actions and policies. Looking inwards isn't a GOP strong suit. They point outward and blame others. Edwards doesn't blame anyone, but instead searches for solutions, even if it means picking up a hammer and fixing the problem himself.==

Read the rest at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/taylor-marsh/edwards-its-not-the-hai_b_57078.html

[Nutmegger]

1. 4th Rec

:thumbsup::kick:

[JDPriestly]

2. Excellent. America is moving toward poverty.

Since the Reagan era, more and more Americans have moved from middle class to poor. If you have no money in the bank, are renting and rely entirely on your monthly salary or paycheck and your credit cards, you are poor. You have no assets.

Some years ago while writing a paper on ERISA law, I read the actual amount of money that most Americans possess upon retirement. It was a matter of a few thousand dollars at that time. I imagine it is more now. But, upon reading the number, I was totally shocked.

It is unthinkable that Americans, after a lifetime of working and struggling to raise their families have so little left for their final years. Many Americans are in denial about their actual economic situation. The plight that awaits them when they can no longer work is frightening.

Many Americans think of themselves as middle class -- until their oldest child wants to go to college. When they suddenly are confronted with the reality that they have too much income to qualify for subsidized student loans and too much to pay for their children's education, they feel confused and discouraged. But they remain silent because they think that they are alone. They are not. They live the good life, but they are poor. As most Americans would agree, you are poor if you cannot afford to give your children a decent education and have some assets left for retirement.

Poverty is ubiquitous in the U.S. And, yes, even people who drive expensive cars may be much poorer than they realize. The amount of poverty in our country is a dishonor to a nation with such a wealth of resources and such wonderful, hardworking, talented people.

[draft_mario_cuomo]

9. Good post nt

[saltpoint]

3. Agree. Edwards is a threat to the Republicans because he ain't speakin'

their language at all.

He whipped some very powerful corporations on behalf of the voiceless underclass and the Give-Us-More-Tax-Breaks Republicans likely aren't encouraged by the possibility of an Edwards presidency.

I am, though.

Go, Johnny, Go.

[MethuenProgressive]

4. I found the comments more interesting than the bogger's puff piece

:puffpiece:

[iamjoy]

5. I Don't Totally Agree

And I am an Edwards supporter. It is not the Republicans smearing Edwards, it is the main stream media (Ok, funded by Republicans, but still). I am not convinced they are trying to smear him because they think he is a threat.

Instead, I think it is that Edwards's message makes people uncomfortable. How many of us pass a homeless person on the street and look down or look away? Heartless jerks (usually Republican) may blame that person as weak, or stupid or having made bad choices. Compassionate people look away for a variety of reasons - shame, fear (could that be us?), helplessness. To be fair, some of the people "blaming" the homeless could be denying their own fear. You know, if they convince themselves its the homeless person's fault, they don't have to acknowledge it could one day be them.

So, Edwards makes us uncomfortable by making us see what we'd rather ignore. The Right Wing Noise machine isn't really scared (not just yet) that he'll actually be successful at ending poverty, they think they can sink any program just like they did Clinton's bold health care plan in 1994. Instead, they dislike him simply for making us see what we would rather ignore. It is easier to attack the messenger rather than facing reality - just as it is easier for many people to blame the victim rather than acknowledge they themselves could one day be in that person's shoes. Unfortunately, Edwards has given his opponents ample fodder for attacks. But, that doesn't make them accurate.

To me, these smears are no different (in theory) than the attacks on Al Gore. It is easier to point out "how little" he actually did as Vice President and what his carbon footprint is than to acknowledge the real issue of global climate change.

In the case of Edwards, what is most upsetting to me is not the attacks by the Right Wing Noise Machine (I expect that), but the fact that many good progressives are falling for this divide and conquer tactic. Many people are actually buying into this crap and jumping on the bandwagon to smear Edwards.

[1932]

8. I think that you see some democrats jumping on the bandwagon revelas a couple things

- the power of the right wing and the MSM to manipulate people's perceptions of reality runs deeper than people realize; and
- that a few people who claim to be democrats aren't really -- and I mean that on two levels. I mean that to cover people like Dick Morris who is a democrat who has a vested interest in getting Republicans elected, and I mean that to cover people who think they're Democrats because of one or two litmus test issues like, say, gender issues, but when it comes down to it, they're not really concerned with what is, to me, the central difference between Repubiicans and Democrats (ideally), which is the polarization of policital and economic power in the U.S. and the world.

[maximusveritas]

12. I think you're right

I don't see any evidence of the Republicans fearing Edwards or going after him more than the other candidates.
The media, on the other hand, has clearly gone after Edwards harder than the others, specifically concentrating on the angle of him not doing enough in his personal life to fight poverty. The haircut/mansion/hedge fund stories all fit into that angle and all of them help the press get over their own guilt about not doing much about poverty either. I think this may also be why some Democrats like those stories as well.

[pstans]

6. It's the message that won Dems Senate seats in Montana, Virginia, Minn, and Missouri

[Faygo Kid]

7. They fear him as they did FDR and Bobby

A traitor to his class; personal wealth speaking truth to power about poverty and its consequences for our nation. No measure stirs greater fear in the privileged and power-hungry than when this happens.

I hope Edwards watches his back.

[saracat]

10. Some of the comments are unreal.It is almost as though a candidate

has to be poor and an ugly troll to get respect from some Democrats! Since when has been being rich and handsome a liability?

[goodgd_yall]

11. I like the first paragraph

I do fear those stupid "pre-pubescent" obsessions like haircuts have the effect of being the only thing some voters will associate with Edwards.

Robert F. Kennedy came from money, and it wasn't earned money like Edwards', yet he is revered as man who sincerely cared about eliminating poverty. Because of RFK, I will never judge a politician's sincerity about social issues solely on their own class and income.

Edwards earned his money in one of the best ways possible, IMO---by winning lawsuits against corporations.

[jsamuel]

13. rec'd

[Kurovski]

14. Kick. I'm sorry it's too late to "R".

:kick: