Edwards Raises Race as an Issue, Campaigning in S.C.

[bigtree]

Race Enters Discussion Now That Edwards Is In S.C.

(CBS)
From CBS News' Aaron Lewis:

ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. -- Off the beaten path in this South Carolina community, in a hall where Martin Luther King organized meetings at the height of the civil rights movement, John Edwards told voters that race is still a clear divisive issue in America.

"Race plays an enormous role in the economic conditions of Americans," said Edwards. "We can pretend it's not true but decade after decade of slavery followed by decade after decade of segregation, followed by decade after decade of discrimination has an impact. It has an effect."

As many as 300 voters (about 20 percent of whom were African-American) listened inside the Penn Center - one of the first schools in America for freed black slaves - as Edwards listed off the statistics proving the disadvantages faced by African-Americans in the U.S.

"The average net worth of black families is about $8,000; white families is about $80,000," said Edwards with one of his more sobering statistics. "Let me tell you, we're not moving in the right direction."

Race issues were rare in Edwards's stump speeches in New Hampshire and Iowa. But with such a heavy black population expected to vote in the South Carolina primary this month, it should come as no surprise that Edwards brought up the subject unprompted in tonight's speech and, likely, in many of his speeches to come in the next couple of weeks.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/01/11/politics/fromtheroad/entry3703507.shtml

[tekisui]

1. Edwards keeps getting better.

[Blarch]

2. Why didn't he bring this up in NH ?

Funny as soon as he lands in SC he starts talking about race.

Is that really sincere ?

[bigtree]

3. It's an issue which is of greater concern to his S.C. audience than in N.H.

simple as that. He's raised it before in other forums.


here he is June 21, 2007:

NEW YORK – Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards bemoaned the growing divide between rich and poor Thursday as he returned to the signature theme of “two Americas” from his unsuccessful 2004 White House bid.

“Our tax system has been rewritten by George Bush to favor the wealthy and shift the burden to working families,” Edwards said. “There are still two Americas.”

Edwards told the crowd at the Cooper Union school that people deserve the American dream, the right to succeed on the strength of one's own merits, but that too many Americans don't have the opportunity anymore.

“I do believe it's not enough to just talk about the existence of two Americas,” he said. “You have to talk to about real substantive ideas ... how you can develop one America, where everyone has a chance, a real opportunity to do better.”


Edwards spoke in the same hall where Abraham Lincoln gave his Cooper Union Address of Feb. 27, 1860, and outlined his position on the abolition of slavery. Cooper Union is a Manhattan private college where all students receive full tuition scholarships to study art, architecture or engineering.

Edwards touched on issues of race and discrimination, saying there's a link between poverty and race and that needs to change, voiced his support for affirmative action and said he feels a “personal responsibility” to deal with inequality in America.

“We live in a country where for a very long time we embraced slavery, we went from slavery to segregation, we went from segregation to extraordinary discrimination and even today discrimination is, although sometimes slightly below the surface, still rampant,” he said.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20070621-1924-edwards-twoamericas.html

[AndyA]

4. Given the amount of time the candidates have in each state, they cannot discuss

100% of the issues.

You pick the issues of most interest to the particular state you're in. I've heard Edwards mention this before, so it is not new.

[Yael]

9. He is speaking to the concerns of SC residents

Its called knowing your audience and knowing what they are looking to hear about your potential presidency.

As they go from state to state, the topics and dynamics change and we get to hear ALL of the facets of the candidates.

It is a good thing.

[girl gone mad]

10. Probably for the same reason Clinton and Obama..

didn't start speaking Spanish until they got to Nevada.

[blondeatlast]

5. It needs to be said. Good for him for having the courage. nt

[DemGa]

6. A hard truth, but the truth nonetheless

Edwards gains more respect from me, each time I hear his message.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

7. Wait.... Is This Attempting To Put Forth A Concept That 'Know Your Audience' Is A Bad Thing?

[bigtree]

8. It's a simple as reality lining up with Edwards' platform

the issues and concerns he's raised are becoming more relevant to voters as the campaigns move outside of the NH bubble, and as the realities of the voters' stressed lives (economy, discrimination, disparities in health care, etc.) come into focus.