I am an Edwards Democrat - Democratic Underground

jackson_dem

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Mon Feb-11-08 10:45 PM
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I am an Edwards Democrat

An Edwards supporter sent this to me.

A vote for Edwards on 2/12 is not wasted

It's been a long week for Edwards supporters, and many of you may have already moved on to a new candidate. I want to offer my own perspective and some thoughts on our upcoming Virginia Presidential Primary on Tuesday, Feb. 12th.

John Edwards ran an honest and issue driven campaign.

From his announcement in the Lower 9th of New Orleans, he made sure that this campaign would be about more than winning a race -- it was and is about raising the level of discourse in our Party.

After six years in Washington and the 2004 campaign, John Edwards spent time reflecting on what was wrong and what was right -- on his part in it all, and what to do next. When he reemerged from that period of self-reflection, he did so with a stronger sense of self and a greater determination to stay true to his own core beliefs and those he saw as central to the principles of the Democratic Party.

John Edwards made the campaign for our Party's Presidential nomination one of bold Democratic ideas.

Universal health care, a climate change strategy actively supported by Friends of the Earth, a strong and substantive economic stimulus package reflecting both economic justice and a long-term strategy, a program for a green economy that builds bridges between two diverse groups in the party--labor and environmentalists, a rural recovery plan recognizing that most of this country doesn't live in urban areas. The other candidates wisely followed his lead.

In this campaign, John Edwards also spoke for the voiceless.

The people like James Lowe who lived speechless for 50 years because of lack of money and adequate health care. The people in a small South Carolina town that doesn't have running water or regular electricity. The people in a Cleveland suburb devastated by foreclosures. The family of a beautiful teenage girl who died while the insurance company argued over whether or not to cover a life-giving transplant.

John Edwards spoke for the 200,000 veterans of our armed services who are homeless, for the thousands of people in New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast still without homes to return to, for you and me and everyone in America who wants to leave a better world for the generations to come.

I am an Edwards Democrat.

When I first became interested in John Edwards' candidacy in 2006, I learned he was focusing on issues around poverty and stengthening the middle class, about making college affordable and ensuring that the labor movement is strong. What I didn't realize is that, in the John Edwards campaign, I would find that marriage of politics and issues and values that resonates so deeply in my own life.

With the suspension of his campaign this week, Edwards returned to where he started -- the Lower 9th of New Orleans. Standing in the midst of a slowly-rebuilding Musicians' Village and just before he and his whole family would participate in a Habitat for Humanity project there, Edwards once again reminded us that

"...we, as citizens and as a government, have a moral responsibility to each other, and what we do together matters. We must do better, if we want to live up to the great promise of this country that we all love so much."

I am an Edwards Democrat.

We began this campaign together looking to what we can do today to make a better tomorrow.

On February 12th, I will cast my vote in the Virginia Presidential Primary for John Edwards because I believe that his campaign, our campaign, has stood for what is good and right about the Democratic Party and the American people.

In the general election, you vote for the one you want to win; in the primary, you have the opportunity to vote based on who you believe represents the best of our Party. Your vote in the primary can send a message to Party leaders and the other candidates.

By voting for Edwards on February 12th, I am saying that the issues and values Edwards brought to this campaign are ones I want my Party to stand for and to honor. By voting for Edwards, I am sending the message that these issues and the policy proposals he advocated must be part of our Party's future.

I hope you will consider the message your vote will send. I believe that casting your vote for John Edwards can send a powerful message.

Join me in standing up as an Edwards Democrat.

Other One Corps chapters around the country are continuing to meet and operate, to volunteer and come together to participate in campaigns for progressive candidates standing up for the same issues and answers as John Edwards. They are also continuing the unique blend of politics and social action that John Edwards represents so well.