In this scrambled letter you touched on some good points Jet. The point that Edwards is the number three man in the socialist parade pretty much says it all though.
On Jan. 12, I attended the John Edwards rally in Aiken. I expected a lot of rhetorical hogwash, and was not disappointed.
I went to ask Mr. Edwards a couple of questions, but after his 30-minute rant on how great things would be if he were elected president, he didn't allow any questions from even his avid supporters.
He, like many other candidates in the race, can`t wait to help the "middle class." The No. 1 question I had for Mr. Edwards I did`t get the chance to ask: Do you know that this country is financially broke? Fact is, every person in this country needs to come up with. $150,000 to get us out debt. It is estimated that the average American family has less than $1,500 in savings.
And what does he consider a middle-class income? The government has recently stated that the poverty level is $69,000 for a family of four. This group pays very little taxes. So guess what Mr. Edwards will not say: how much money a middle-class family makes, and how much taxes they should pay. No left-winger will answer that question.
Why will the people of this country attend event such as the Edwards rally and listen to his mostly socialist ideas, and believe that he will provide every need that can be imagined, but not raise taxes on the group that pays most of the taxes -- the middle class.
However, the increase in taxes will be a minor issue compared to the loss of freedom we will incur. When did people of this country become so dependent and needful on the government that they are willing and ready to give up our hard-earned freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and given by God, to partake of a little bit of security?
There will be no security when freedom is gone.
Jet Beckum, Aiken, S.C.
Comments
In this scrambled letter you touched on some good points Jet. The point that Edwards is the number three man in the socialist parade pretty much says it all though.
I watched the debate last night between the 3 Democratic candidates and was surprised to learn that Latinos won't vote for a black man. Hillary stated that it is a historical fact. Now it makes more sense that she is supporting the illegal immigration (i.e. "no woman is illegal"). Also I learned that there are more Latino voters than African-American voters. The talk about race by the Clintons during the last 4-5 days indicate that they are willing to let Obama have the black vote while Hillary takes the Latino vote. (BY Frank)
Actually the current poverty threshold for a family of four is $20.650. This arbitrary figure of $69000 is a standard war cry for the right wingers to drum up righteous indignation from the working class conservatives of this country. According to an exerpt from whitehouse.gov concerning the SCHIP " The Democrats' new legislation continues to cover children in families earning more than $62,000 per year (300 percent of the Federal poverty level). In addition, the legislation would not completely close the income disregard loophole, under which States could enroll children in families with income higher than $62,000 a year (for a family of four) by ignoring part of the family's income or expenses. The legislation fails to close the loophole for States expanding through Medicaid. "
So many Conservatives believe that the health program is just another payout to the greedy poor of this country, it is really designed to help the people that fall through the cracks. Please research these figures before you post nonsense and use imaginary figures to support your claims.
Republicant...The Democrats were giving billions away last night during the debate. The list is endless. I don't think the poverty level will affect it at all. They are simply buying votes and making the voters beholden to them. One day the people will break loose and free themselves from these self-promoting politicans. There is not enough gold in the world to pay for what these folks claim they will give away.
Its all standard politicking. The Repubs do the same thing, only to the corporate lobbyists. Point is, if someone is going to make points based on "quantifiable" evidence, make sure that evidence is legitimate. But that has never been a strong point for the Republicans. Why should I expect that to change?
Question for conservatives though. Why do the right wing pundits like Hannity, hate Huckabee so much?
Republicant..I don't know. I often listen to Hannity but I missed that. I know he likes Rudy. I'll ask Dani (I'm Frank)
John Edwards claims to know what the problems are for the middle class, which I doubt, since I read where his personal net worth is reported to be $47,000,000.00 (forty seven million).
getalife But, get, he made it defending poor little children. The smug ... ....( Frank)
The debate should not be at what figure is one poor, but what makes income the government's business. The role of government should be to help provide a low safety net system to those in need through market forces and non-profits, not to dole out food, rent and health care based on paychecks!
Again, someone ranting about, and criticizing a Democratic candidate who doesn't give the answer they like as to how they will fix the financial mess created by the failed republicans over the past 8 years. It's like my children making a mess in their room, and then criticizing me for not putting their things back in the right place. This is how spoiled and how little insight the conservatives and right-wingers have become. If they could just listen to themselves!
My rant was not about the answers Edwards gave, it is a personal matter. I just don't like him.
I watched the Dem debate last night and was surprised by the attention to policy and the lack of mudslinging.Hillary seemed to have an in-depth knowledge and familiarity with policy on numerous fronts and came off as a strong leader. Her health care plan, to open the Federal Government Health Plan to everyone, included a statement that people would pay into it.She made it clear that she has no illusions that Al Quaeda is anything but a treacherous enemy that needs to be dealt with ruthlessly and effectively.Obama addressed the delicate
issue of black fathers stepping up to the parenting plate. Edwards, unfortunately, spoke in platitudes.
Read the Constitution, folks, and you will realize just how far we have strayed from the principles that made this the greatest country on earth. The government is not responsible for your health or wealth - you are.
Yes standtall, all of that corporate welfare is disturbing.
BIG gal..How differently people can see things. I thought she was her usual shifty self. Promising everything and saying anything for power. >Making it known that Obama couldn't get the Latino vote. Saying she wouldn't be surprised if an attack on the US after the elections, yet continously accusing the Republicans of fear-mongering for saying the same thing.The woman is amazingly adept at playing the innocent and making everybody but herself look bad.We both watched the debate last night and somehow saw two entirely different debates.
Great again Dani, now you criticize Hillary for not making herself look bad! Those poor honest and nice republicans being smeared by the Dems. If they are that defenseless, they certainly should not be in charge of the country. Also, I keep hearing about Hillary getting criticized because of her organiztion and the Clinton Machine. I would think having great organization and the ability to mobilize is a great asset for a president. Right-wing whining is certainly the best.
Yea, D1 that Edwards is a really nice guy! Putting himself out like that. A real Mother Teresa.
shiva..I am so sorry. I didn't intend to offend anyone. Poor me. Now you have hurt my feelings. I might cry. No..I won't cry> I am a tough broad. What I said is the truth. She did say that history has shown that Latinos will not vote for a black person, (Sorry! she did not say they wouldn't vote for her opposition). She also said that there would likely be an attack on the US immediately after the election. Russert asked her if that wasn't hypocritical seeing that she has accused the Republicans of fear-mongering when they said the same thing. TRUTH>>Watch for a re-run. It might be shown on-line at C-span.org.
I think some might be missisng the point that "d1" so clearly made. Of course Edwards earned his fortune as a trial lawyer. He chose cases in which he defended disenfranchised clients against battalions of CORPORATION lawyers, and he WON! Hillary and ol' Blue Lips are okay, but for a president we need someone the corporations might respect, even fear. What we don't nee is another novelty act. Just consider what one bozo in flight suits and cowboy boots has done to this country and US.
shivas, while I comment regularly on the Clinton political machine, I never criticize Hillary for using it. I'm not crazy about their tactics, but one can hardly say they're not effective in the long run.
Getalife...Edwards is worth more like $29.5 million, but does that matter? All of our politicians are wealthy, none more so than the ones at the helm as we speak! All of them are multi-millionaires. Was Edwards money from an inheritance? No. Was it given to him? No, he went to school, studied and worked hard and earned that money...you could too. He grew up poor, his parents were poor, he was the first in his family to go to college, he wasn't fed from a silver spoon like Bush was. What has Bush earned on his own? Nothing! His daddy's friends put him in the oil business, which failed. They "gave" him an interest in the Texas Rangers which he used to steal Texas tax payers money. Bush has NEVER had a lucrative business and has never earned a thing. And who are the clients Edwards has won money for? Greedy suckers like the little girl who was disemboweled by a faulty pool drain. She had it coming, huh?
Standtall..I did what you said, I read the Constitution. The preamble says, "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." I looked up "Welfare" as used in the Constitution and it says, "1. health, happiness, or prosperity; well-being." So perhaps it isn't "responsible" for those things, but it guarantees the promotion of those things. In reading the Constitution again I got a whole different perspective. "We the people" sounds like we're all in this together. I think our founding fathers would roll over in their graves if they saw how we have botched the whole "domestic tranquility" they spoke of. I don't think they intended for us to have a "I'm looking out for number one" philosophy. It sounds like they wanted us to work together for the betterment of all of us. In that, we are failing miserably.
shivas, your lack of ANY measurable criticism for your own party is GLARING. I have noted the EXCESSIVE spending of the Bush admin. & I have admonished Rumsfeld MANY times for arrogantly injecting his EGO at the cost of getting the job done in a more timely manner.., yet I have NEVER heard WORD ONE from you on the shortcomings on your side of the aisle. Now, I'm not going to fool myself into thinking you'll EVER see things from a different perspective, but SURELY you can give me a little faith in humanity with more evenly distributed critical analysis.
I wonder why the evans chronicle didn't cover this story. And post this young man mughsot on the news and internet.
A 16-year-old Evans teen is accused of raping his 54 year-old great-aunt.
Investigators say she's mentally disabled and can't speak. Officers say he came to the woman's home while she was alone Monday evening and assaulted her.
As far as the Democrats go, I would not vote for Obama or Clinton and would only vote for Edwards if Rudy gets the Republican nomination. Obama or Clinton have really not stated what all they would change. I am afraid of Obama's lack of foreign affairs experience and afraid of Clinton's socialized medicine, education, savings plan and of her husband!!
Does anybody know how we can get the public to realize that Bush, Cheny,Rumsfeld is not running for president. The current slate of candidates running on the Republican ticket are not clones pf George Bush. Please, if you want to compare, let's not keep going back to bashing Bush-BillCliton..Let's go with what we have to cope with in the future. we can't change what HAS happened, only what COULD in the future happen.
dani, I can't argue with that. I can only say that if Hillary is elected, we go back in time 16 years. Some say that is GOOD. I disagree. Folks, WE THE PEOPLE need to be in control of our own lives, and that INCLUDES owning up to our OWN. That means it's up to US to create wealth, but it's ALSO up to us to tell the GOVT to GET OUT OF THE WAY. It costs 500 BILLION (that's with a "B") just to be COMPLIANT with the current tax code. That's HALF A TRILLION DOLLARS that never makes it ANYWHERE but to pay for our tax returns to be correct. It costs 10,000 dollars to create a new job in this country.., you know how many jobs would be created from half a TRILLION? DON'T LET THEM TAX ANY OF US ANYMORE. Rich, Poor, In between.., let's take our money BACK. And when that happens, all those manufacturing jobs will come back & all the off-shore accounts will come back.., and all that money will be invested & spent in teh good 'ol USA. Anyone WITH me?
ga girl look up the meaning of liberty.......... who is failing whom? the people that work 60 hours a week and have over half their fruit stolen or those that perpetuate the welfare state? which one is greedy?
shep..I agree. I don't know how you get people to get out from under...They are taking the easy way out.
Gagirl, using the Robin Hood method of insuring domestic tranquility and providing for the general welfare means most of the people get robbed to give to the rest. Not much chance of domestic tranquility with that method. The way to provide health, wealth and happiness is to provide an opportunity for those that wish to pursue it. The key word being pursue, not sit and wait with out stretched hand.
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