John Edwards Stumps for Ned Lamont Today

[benny05]

(sorry the pic is not great of Ned, although he's a great to see)

A mill worker's son and a millionaire's son -- one hoping to become America's next president, the other Connecticut's next U.S. senator -- made two confessions to hundreds of supporters at a campaign rally in New Haven Thursday night. One apologized for voting to authorize the war in Iraq. The other said he should have spoken more about urban poverty in his successful campaign for the Democratic Senate nomination.

The mill worker's son was John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic candidate for vice-president who's busy building a 2008 presidential campaign. The millionaire's son was Ned Lamont, who surprised the nation by defeating incumbent U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman in Connecticut Aug. 8 Democratic primary; Lamont now faces Lieberman again, who's running as an independent third-party candidate, in the general election.

Edwards came to New Haven Thursday to support Lamont as well as Yale-New Haven's blue-collar union organizing drive at a spirited rally before hundreds of people inside a Yale Medical School courtyard. Before the event, Edwards also kibitzed with bloggers as well as with hospital workers.

another snip

I should have been talking more about poverty" in the primary campaign, Lamont told the crowd. "It's a disgrace, and we should do better."

"A single mother has to work 100 hours at minimum wage to afford a in New Haven. That's wrong. Work has got to pay."

He spoke of how as many as a third of the children in Connecticut cities grow up in poverty. "We're not going to allow that to happen in America. That's why we're in this race." He spoke of how the Republican-led federal government spends "$250 million a day in Iraq" instead of "investing in our cities, investing in our kids, investing in our future... That's going to change when Democrats get back" in power. He spoke of the 47 million Americans without health insurance. "That's not going to stand. We're going to fix it. Universal health care is a basic right, and we're going to make it happen."

In his remarks, Edwards called post-Katrina New Orleans "our great moral challenge."

"We're not the only ones who saw those images out of New Orleans. We're not. The whole world" is watching, he said. "They want to see if we're going to turn our backs on 37 million of our own citizens" nationwide who live below the poverty line. He called for a spike in the minimum wage, making it easier for unions to organize, universal health care, and an "Apollo-like project to move the United States away from our dependence on oil. We need to tell people the truth. We need to tell people to be patriotic about something other than the war" and to stop "driving around in vehicles that get 10 miles per gallon.."

He also called for distributing $1 million of new housing vouchers for poor people to move into better neighborhoods. He said that he believes all people have equal intrinsic worth. "If we believe that, when are we going to start living together?... Rich people should not be the only ones in American" who have a choice where to live.

Just think, Ned in the Senate, Edwards....well, anyway, I love the tag teaming of two like-minded individuals.

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2006/08/a_heavyweight_s.php

[citizen snips]

1. Go Lamont

I hope Edwards gives Lamont a huge bump in the polls.

[ihelpu2see]

53. Just gave Lamont more $$ today so he would not despair over the

slanted poll #s....

[ultraist]

57. K&R

:kick:

[pooja]

2. I totally agree... your income shouldn't limit where you can live in

America.. but it does. And it always has.

[fuzzyball]

43. Even in communist Russia the rich don't live with the poor

Same situation exists in every country in the world, I am afraid.

[MontanaMaven]

58. Doesn't have to though.

Affordable housing for low and middle income should be part of every community's plans. This isn't about a classless society. The U.S. will never be that or wants to be, but we should have affordable places to live for everyone that works. Ghettoizing our poor didn't work. People need to be able to live near work and have affordable transportation. This makes sense for our energy independence as well. Lamont and Edwards are big picture thinkers. Let's go for it.

[benny05]

87. Welcome to the DU, Montana Maven

:hi:

[Bretttido]

85. I love where I live in downtown Chicago.

20% of my high rise building is subsidized housing; so our building is a true mix of economic backgrounds. I think integrating low / med / high income housing is absolutely essential to pulling down the invisible walls of perception that different income people can have about each other.

[nan]

3. Spot on!

Go Ned and John! We need you!

[bigwillq]

4. Hi!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[nan]

8. Thanks!

I'm a bit of a newbie but am here and trying. Thanks for the welcome!!

[ncrainbowgrrl]

34. Well-here's another welcome!! Glad you're here.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask a moderator- we're the folks with the little gray icon right after our user names!

:hi:

[nan]

61. Thanks! n/t

[bobbolink]

76. Hi Nan!

Welcome to DU!

:toast:

[Impashund Ubique]

5. Great

Edwards is the first national democrat to campaign with Lamont. This better be the start of a whole line-up of heavyweights making it to CT ;)

[benny05]

6. It's More Like Progressives are wanting to change

In a good way...I thought it was so nice of Lamont to say he didn't pay quite enough to attention to some domestic issues, and Edwards, as a Senator, regretted his vote.

Go Ned Go!

[FrenchieCat]

7. Actually, Fiengold endorsed Ned Lamont BEFORE the primaries.....

and so, regardless of anything, it makes him first of the national Democrats who did something "gutsy" and against the grain.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200608120001

But it is mighty good that Edwards was able to be there as soon as he possibly could!

Nice Photo Op, as well! :headbang:

[nan]

9. Edwards

is in the trenches with and for whom it counts. He isn't making any money for himself, he's "raising the states".

[Sparkly]

11. "raising the states"

especially Iowa.

(Sorry, couldn't help myself... :spank:)

[FrenchieCat]

12. Aren't there a lot of poor people in Iowa?

Because that would account for the 10 visits thus far.

[Sparkly]

14. I'm sure that's it. nt

[ultraist]

31. There are a lot of Democrats running in the midterms in Iowa

John Edwards has raised nearly 7 million dollars for Democratic candidates and has traveled to Iowa to campaign for several Dems, just as he did for Lamont today.

So, while fighting poverty is a big focus of his work, it's not the only thing he has been doing. ;)

I'm sure you'd agree, that we need our heavy hitting Dems, like JRE, to support our Dems on local levels.

[fuzzyball]

44. When I was in U of Iowa, all the farmer's kids were NOT poor!

In fact I can't recall meeting any poor people at the University.
But then these were the people who could afford to go to college
and were smart enough to survive the curriculum.

[1932]

46. There are lots of poor people in rural America. Read Saunders & Jarding's

book, Foxes in the Henhouse. You might like it -- they wanted Clark to be VP in 04. Or maybe you won't -- Saunders is now working for Edwards.

[Sparkly]

81. Just for the record....

See page 13:

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/acs_cpspovcompreport.pdf

[1932]

86. Did you read the methodology, by the way?

It says that it's based, not on income, but on response to questions about family and about feeling economically secure. I'm not saying that an evaluation of the numbers would be much different, but it's interesting that it's not based on actual dollars and cost of living, etc.

[MontanaMaven]

59. You gotta get elected

Nothing hypocritical about John Edwards and Iowa. You have to be able to do two things as a great leader; have a vision and be able to get to the White House to lead the nation there. And there are a lot of poor people in Iowa and everywhere in the Rural States. Montana has 8 out of the 10 poorest counties in the U.S., not the Deep South anymore. I've been to Iowa and with the closings of its Maytag plants and other places, there is a lot of desperation as there is here in Montana which is still 50th in wages. The rural poor are more hidden.

[Catchawave]

74. How lucky for the people in Iowa !

He's a rock star there :hi:

[GreenArrow]

37. "Edwards is in the trenches with and for whom it counts"

namely, himself.

[venable]

45. why assume this?

why not look a little deeper?

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

13. Feingold Endorsed Lamont Openly Prior To Primary? nt

[FrenchieCat]

17. Well, it may not have been Official....but it sure was public!

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679520/posts?page=8
Wisconsin's Russ Feingold was the first member of the Senate Democratic Caucus to refuse to back U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., in the primary fight that has become a struggle over the direction - and perhaps even the soul - of the Democratic Party.

Feingold and Lieberman are about as far apart on the issues as two members of the same party can get, but it still came as something of a surprise when Feingold told NBC's Tim Russert in a June "Meet the Press" interview that he would not be supporting his colleague from Connecticut in that state's Democratic primary.

AS WELL IN REFERENCE TO ALL OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATS......The excerpt below located on a Lamont Blog site!

The 2008ers
Hillary, Bayh, Feingold, Warner, and Edwards have all already come out strongly in support for Ned Lamont (D-CT) and the Democratic Party.

But Wes Clark and Bill Richardson have gone the extra mile by pointedly and publicly calling on Joe Lieberman (Lieberman-CT) to end his harmful do-over run. Hopefully others will soon follow, especially in the wake of Lieberman's Rove-coordinated takedown of Democrats on national security this week.
-----
Russ Feingold gave Lamont the best unofficial endorsement that he could give when he was on MTP in June. When asked by Russert about the CT primary, he replied that "Ned Lamont's position on issues is closer to his than Lieberman's are." Feingold refused to campaign in the primary because he would respect the wishes of CT voters, but I hear that now that the primary is over, he is itching to come to CT and stump for Lamont.

http://lamontblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/2008ers.html

[Impashund Ubique]

20. Edwards refused to support Lieberman too...

Edwards was asked in Iowa if he supports Lieberman in the primaries and he said he doesn't.

What Fiengold said is similar... he did not actually endorse Lamont. But Fiengold did lend some support to Lamont's case by agreeing with his position... that is always appreciated.

And Edwards has said the following about Lieberman's run:

Edwards added his voice to those calling on Lieberman to drop out, despite the poll results suggesting the incumbent could run a strong race as an independent.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the polls," Edwards said. "This is about democracy. He's a Democrat, he ran in the Democratic primary, and he didn't win. Democrats chose Ned Lamont as their candidate - he should be the candidate."

[FrenchieCat]

21. You are quoting Edwards AFTER Lieberman lost ........

I am quoting Feingold BEFORE the Primary vote, and that was pretty "spunky" on the part of Feingold!.

Of course, after the election.....It would have been obvious to any most besides the most Knucklehead of all Dems to support Lamont. No leadership breakthrough there...just plain common sense of doing what needed to be done.

Plus if you are gonna give quotes or make a statement as to what someone did...please give a link, so one can look up the dates, the context, etc....

It's the least that you can do! :shrug:

So do you have a quote and link of Edwards stating support FOR Ned Lamont BEFORE the Primaries?

[Impashund Ubique]

28. Read my post again.

First of all, the quote I posted is where Edwards is asking Lieberman to get out, so of course, it is from after the primaries. However, while many dems are supporting Lamont, they are not necesserily asking Lieberman to get out... and Edwards is, that is why I pointed that out.

Link: http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/state/hc-17193344.apds.m0167.bc-ct--connaug17,0,1997071.story?page=1&coll=hc-headlines-local-wire

As for supporting Lamont before the primaries, my point was precisely that NO ONE supported Lamont in the primaries. Feingold's statement is not an endorsement of Lamont. The best he did was not support Lieberman over any primary challenge; Edwards did the same in Iowa.

Here's what I was talking about in Iowa:

Former Sen. John Edwards, in Iowa Friday, railed against moderate Democrats and declined to endorse his former colleague Joseph Lieberman, the Senate's leading Democratic proponent of the Iraq war... Sen. Lieberman, who also voted for the use of force, faces a strong primary campaign challenge to his re-election, based largely on the moderate Lieberman's consistent support for the war.

Edwards on Friday would only say he will support the Democratic nominee in the Connecticut race.

http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060708/NEWS09/607080342/1056

My point? Edwards, Fiengold, Kerry and a handful of others were the ones who at least refrained from endorsing Lieberman in the primaries like Hillary, Dodd, Bill Clinton, etc.

I'm sorry if my post wasn't clear.

[benny05]

51. Welcome to the DU

:hi:

[benny05]

48. FC

Let me quote Elizabeth Edwards on July 27th, concerning Lieberman's possible defection as an independent:

"Let me be clear: we cannot have this".

That's before others, I believe.

[ultraist]

22. Edwards calls for Lieberman to drop out

Beautiful. As it should be:

"He's a Democrat, he ran in the Democratic primary, and he didn't win. Democrats chose Ned Lamont as their candidate - he should be the candidate."

:applause:

:patriot:

[edwardsfeingold08]

23. Edwards wasn't just wrong with his war vote

He's wrong when he said "He's a Democrat.' when he was talking about Lieberman. Lieberman WAS a democrat. Now, Lieberman's as much of a Democrat as Dick Cheney.

Anyway, great to see Ewards next to Lamont. I hope other high profile Dems follow suit.

[Sparkly]

24. Not to mention the Patriot Act.

But who's counting?

[Impashund Ubique]

30. Edwards was the primary advocate of the sunset clause in Patriot Act

Edwards was the one who strongly spoke for the need of a sunset clause in the Patriot Act.

Edwards' position on the Patriot Act is nuanced, just like the Act itself.

Edwards has often said that there are many measures of the Patriot Act that need to be taken but the ones that infringe upon our civil liberties must be stopped.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

36. Welcome to DU,edwardsfeingold08!!

:hi:

[midnight]

52. That Mr. Feingold is gutsy for standing up for right is right.

And I agree with you that Mr. Edwards speaking with Mr. Lamont is great. Every little bit helps.

[MontanaMaven]

60. Feingold, Edwards, Clark, Lamont, Tester

All good Dems. Let's go after the DLCers and Lieberman fake Dems,not the real ones.

[bigwillq]

10. Edwards and Lamont!

What a team!

GO NED GO! :bounce:

[benny05]

15. Edwards Believes We Should Get Behind Lamont

"Former Sen. John Edwards, the 2004 candidate for vice president, campaigned Thursday with Lamont in New Haven and held a fundraiser for his campaign.

Edwards added his voice to those calling on Lieberman to drop out, despite the poll results suggesting the incumbent could run a strong race as an independent.

"I don't think it has anything to do with the polls," Edwards said. "This is about democracy. He's a Democrat, he ran in the Democratic primary, and he didn't win. Democrats chose Ned Lamont as their candidate - he should be the candidate."


http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/state/hc-17193344.apds.m0167.bc-ct--connaug17,0,1997071.story?coll=hc-headlines-local-wire

[sparkleon]

25. John Edwards Is The Man

that walks the walk, talks the talk, and tells it like it is. 
He is right to say Lieberman was wrong to run as an
Independent and split the vote in the election.  What good
Democrat would do that to their party? Hmmm...Lieberman's
hidden agenda could be/might be/supporting Republicans? 

Keep on fighting for the Democrats John Edwards and keep doing
what you do so well!  :)

[benny05]

35. Welcome to the DU, Sparkleon

:hi:

I agree.. thanks for your post.

[bigwillq]

41. Hi!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[nan]

64. Edwards is spot on!

The voters spoke. End of story.

[Catchawave]

16. Lou Dobbs showed some of JRE's speech "live"

on his show tonight. That was a nice surprise :D

[citizen snips]

18. damn it I forgot to watch his show tonight.

[benny05]

19. Where can I find that, Catchawave?

I'm also wishin' for a few more comments, some to say Ned and JRE are cool as well.

[chimpymustgo]

26. John taking it to the streets for Ned! Great stuff.

Gotta catch the re-run of Lou Dobbs.

[Catchawave]

54. It was such a quick snip of JRE "live"

The surprise being, I've never seen a news show throw it "live" just for a few sentences during a speech. You could tell Dobbs likes Edwards :D

[nan]

63. I love Lou Dobbs :) n/t

[Catchawave]

70. Keep an eye on Chris Matthews .....

He's a JRE fan too. :hi: Welcome to DU :toast:

[LibraLiz1973]

79. Wait. Wait..... what?

Cracked out Chris Matthews is a John Edwards fan?????????????????????

[Catchawave]

80. Oh yeah, he called him The Big Dog

Tweety is smitten :) Or it's a trap? Heh.

[Cha]

27. I can still tell they both are lookin'

good! There's nothing like real Democratic men to give off an aura of charisma and confidence!

[ultraist]

29. Blogger Video up!

Nice citizen journalist reporting with VIDEO (linked below) from Spazeboy:

http://www.spazeboy.net/2006/08/sen-edwards-speaks-to-spazeboy/

I was super excited to meet John Edwards today in New Haven. He’s the first big-name Democrat to come to Connecticut in support of Ned Lamont. I’ll have much more on the rally, and much more video as well (keep your eyes open for CTBlogger’s pictures…the few I saw were amazing!). I just wanted to post this clip of John Edwards answering two questions–one from me about poverty, and one from a reporter about his 2008 intentions.

[machka]

33. Thanks for the tip! (n/t)

[ChiciB1]

40. Can't Get Much Better For Me!

If you ever get a chance to see JRE in person, it's worth the trip! I think he's just about as good as it gets on the stump! I'll never forget shaking his hand and the crowd was PUMPED!

I know many don't think he has the experience and that he's just politikkin, but put him up against JFK, RFK... well, it's a GREAT comparison!

I know he wants to be Prez, but if he and Gore could work something out I would LOVE to see GORE/EDWARDS!

I still have bumper stickers from 2000 and I had some from 2004, so I combined 2 of them for my car. Says... GORE/EDWARDS! One on eadh side of my bumper! Covered Lieberman right up!!! A lot of people have commented on it, and I live in Cruella Harris country! She's "my gal" the WITCH!!!

[IndianaGreen]

32. Edwards looks better than ever!

I am glad that Edwards and Kerry have come out strongly in support of Lamont.

[benny05]

38. Me too n/t

[ChiciB1]

39. This Is Going To Be Really Short!!

Go, Johnny, Go! And KNOCK 'Em DEAD NED!!

Democrats DO have some good MATERIAL to work with! I'm really one of JRE's biggest supporters! I WISH... Gore/Edwards!

[machka]

42. Benny

thanks for the great report - love that pic, too.

Glad to see the message is getting out re: "poverty is a moral issue" - that's the one we need to be preaching high and low.

[sandnsea]

47. Good news!

I never thought Lamont could knock Lieberman out of it and it will still be a tough win, but he's what we need and he ran a good clean campaign to boot. Good to see Edwards out there with him and making sure poverty at least stays on the stove, if not always on the front burner. Thanks Benny!

[benny05]

68. Thanks for your post and support of Ned

And for JRE's stance on poverty. :kick:

[benny05]

49. No more Rubber Stamp Congress

Cool Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU6fRP80VTc&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Enedlamont%2Ecom%2Fblog

[benny05]

50. self-deleted

repeat of another post

[Catchawave]

55. NYT article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/18/nyregion/18conn.html

Edwards, at Lamont Rally, Says Democrats Must Beat G.O.P. ‘Fearmongering’


By JENNIFER MEDINA
Published: August 18, 2006
NEW HAVEN, Aug. 17 — John Edwards, the 2004 Democratic vice-presidential candidate, rallied supporters of Ned Lamont, the party’s Senate nominee from Connecticut, on Thursday, saying Democrats needed to fight Republican “fearmongering” to regain control in Washington.

more.....

[ultraist]

56. Amazing citizen journalist reports on this Edwards/Lamont event!

Check.it.out!

Vlogger report: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/8/18/91417/5941

News roundup of event reports (both M$M and blogger write ups): http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/8/18/14458/3309

[nan]

62. Thanks ultraist!

Hope everyone reads that report, it's excellent!

[benny05]

66. Hi Nan

Welcome to the DU, and I agree those reports are excellent.

:kick:

[bluedog]

65. Lamont voters should have the "purple" fingers

to show they support a legally elected candidate............

after all Lieberman says the Iraq people spoke.........with their purple fingers............show Lieberman that the Conn voting block is speaking with theirs........

[benny05]

67. Interesting Idea

Remember members of both houses had purple forefingers too the same night Joe got the "I know it was you, Fredo" hug/kiss from *

[invictus]

69. I am glad to see it

Once again Edwards has proven himself to be a true Democrat unlike that rat Lie-berman.

[benny05]

71. Welcome to the DU

I know you have a few posts, but I also like to encourage new DU'ers to keep posting. :hi:

[invictus]

72. Thanks :) n/t

[benny05]

73. I Like Your Avatar

Conyers is a great Congressman who cares deeply about us.

:patriot:

[bobbolink]

75. Lamont apologizes for not including poverty as priority! Hurrah!

Thank you so much, John Edwards, for getting Dems to understand that poverty MUST be included in campaigns!

:thumbspup: :bounce: :thumbsup:

And thank you, benny05, for posting this! You don't know how much you have lifted my spirits! :hi:

Now I'm definitely in Edwards camp!

[benny05]

77. Thanks Bobbolink

I am always lifted by JRE's comments, and now, Ned's. :kick: :dem:

[bobbolink]

78. As a poor person myself, and struggling with just not making it...

I have been very hurt by the Dems attitude towards those of us in poverty. I could give you a litany of the discounts I've received from Dems, and some of the slams and slurs at DU have hurt very much.

I've been disappointed by Edwards ONLY talking about "the working poor". I want to say to him, "What am I, chopped liver? Do I not deserve to live, or should I just save the party and throw myself off a cliff?" It really does hurt a lot to be left out and ignored.

But, if he's going to start prodding Dems to speak up for poverty, then I will be on his team, and he will gather many poor people back into the Party. Many gave up because they were told they weren't needed or wanted, as I was.

Yes, there *is* bigotry in the Dem party, Virginia.

:cry:

You go, John and Elizabeth! Speak out loud and clear for those of us who aren't heard! :bounce:

[benny05]

82. Hi there

I can only speak from what I have observed about John Edwards over time.

A1) He cares most about the poor, but what he is hearing most is about the working poor, not folks who are disabled or whatever your case may be; you didn't say; he's looking to raise the min wage up for those who work at min wage rates and wants companies to do right by less skilled workers who can contribute much to our service economy.

A2)My mother is on medicare and gets checks for my dad's SS, albeit he almost left her nothing when he died 15 yrs ago; without gov't and some help from her kids, she would be worse off. I am feuding with her on my collecting my own assets for me and my spouse, or else, I will have less to live on with 10X inflation when I am 67.5 years old. She expects me to give the most when I have wealthy siblings who are Rethugs and claim their kids take up their income. Baloney--I have a brother who took his kids to France for 2 weeks this year. And with no kids of my own, I have no other assistance, and don't expect much, as SS will go away eventually. I'm hoping for universal health care though.

A3) What is it about your situation that you can blog here and bring attention to this post that JRE is not addressing. Do you blog and e-mail regularly in a public library? Do does it mean to you that you say "total chopped liver" (TLC), and what would TCL mean? Just MOC here. There is a digital divide still in the US.

To me, it could mean you have no hope, little or no income, and you are below the age of 55, but I may be misperceiving your message. All I know is that I have a friend in her 30's, depends on disability due to certain illinesses, e-mails me from a public library once a week, but finally got some gov't assistance to go back to a trade school. She has hope.

[Blackhatjack]

83. What if Gore?.... What if Edwards??.....

People wonder today how things would have been different if Gore had been recognized as winning the Presidential Race instead of Bush. Well the same argument applies to John Edwards. We will never know the quality of Edwards and what he could accomplish if he never takes the office.

I believe we would be somewhere entirely different as a nation if one or both won.

[benny05]

84. Agree

But voters are hungry for a change. Let's get Ned in and see what the next 2 years bring.