John Edwards - We Need it in the Worst Kinda Way

Universal Health Care....

From last night's AFL-CIO Democratic Debate.



Crooks & Liars:

If this man’s genuine passion and anguish doesn’t move you, you’re not human. Steve Skvara, a disabled, retired steel worker from Indiana tells the story of how he lost his family’s health insurance after the company he worked for, for 34 years closed two years after they forced him to retire. Skvara received a standing ovation, and rightfully so. He represents millions of hard working Americans who have lost their jobs and benefits and face the humiliation of not being able to provide for themselves or their families. Can you imagine a Republican fielding a question like this?

Senator Edwards won over more than a few people with that passionate response. No doubt.

I voted for John four years ago. Unfortunately, more Democrats picked the other John.

Maybe 2nd time is the charm!

A Hardball Question For John Edwards via YouTube

Last night many of you politico junkies tuned in for the gazillionith Presidential debate in this extraordinarily long primary season. The format was quite novel. Instead of Chris Matthews lobbing softballs, the candidates were faced with real hardballs straight from homemade YouTube videos created by the Average Joe.

Senator Edwards was asked a rather pointed and tricky question worthy of discussion. You can watch below:



The Rev. Reggie Longcrier of Exodus Missionary Outreach Church in Hickory, North Carolina asked:

Senator Edwards said his opposition to gay marriage is influenced by his Southern Baptist background. Most Americans agree it was wrong and unconstitutional to use religion to justify slavery, segregation, and denying women the right to vote. So why is it still acceptable to use religion to deny gay American their full and equal rights?

Edward's answer was disappointing to say the least. In fact, his answer was a nonanswer. Instead of offering a thoughtful answer, Edwards began to ramble about his personal journey, bla bla bla and finally concluded by pointing out that his own wife supports marriage equality. Big whoop John. Don't throw the blame on your Southern Baptist background. That's a cop-out and an insult to all politically Progressive former-Southern Baptists. If Edwards opposition to marriage equality is based on something other than the "ick factor" then please articulate that reason...

Obama was equally evasive. When asked the difference between a ban on interracial marriage and a ban on gay marriage, Obama ducked and dodged.

Presidential candidates shouldn't get a pass on the tough questions. I don't want a nominee who espouses views determined by a focus group or overpaid consultant. A candid candidate with a penchant for truth and honesty is desired....

Elizabeth Edwards Confronts Ann Coulter

It happened on Chris Matthew's Hardball earlier this evening.

Just three months - before a mostly Christian audience - Ann Coulter called John Edwards a "faggot." Her invective (which I wrote about here) was following by much enthusiastic applause.
But that wasn't Coulter's first attack on Edwards. Back in 2003, she wrote a column claiming that Edwards drove around with a bumper sticker saying "Ask me about my son's death in a horrific car accident."

And just yesterday on ABC's Good Morning America, Coulter said, "{I}f I'm going to say anything about John Edwards in the future, I'll just wish he had been killed in a terrorist assassination plot" (video)

So, Elizabeth Edwards phoned in and confronted Ann Coulter during a live interview on Hardball.

Here is a snippet from Think Progress...

During an hour-long interview with Coulter today on MSNBC, host Chris Matthews announced that Elizabeth Edwards was on the line. Edwards referenced the attacks above, saying, “I’m the mother of that boy who died. These young people behind you…you’re asking them to participate in a dialogue that is based on hatefulness and ugliness instead of on the issues, and I don’t think that’s serving them or this country very well.” The live audience cheered.

Watch the video below or read the transcript.



Ann Coulter is a disgrace - plain and simple. But when will shows like MSNBC's Hardball and ABC's Good Morning America STOP giving Coulter an outlet to air her HATE?

Why must the Mainstream Media work so hard to mainstream Ann Coulter?

Geez how many more Time covers is this hatemonger gonna get?

Unfortunately, Coulter is popular in conservative Christian circles especially among those who embrace the agenda of the Christian Right.

It's time (way past time..) for Christians of all stripes to denounce Coulter and the message of hate that she spreads...

People Of Faith For Barack

Barack Obama's campaign has launched a new website for its religious supporters. The Obama campaign created the page in response to the large numbers of "people of faith" who had been visiting his MySpace page. Obama's new website includes a blog and testimonials from religious folks who support him. A few testimonials below:

Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor and Senior Pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, IL writes...

I’m concerned with healthcare; the war in Iraq; the high rates of recidivism in our criminal justice system; the poor condition of the Illinois public school system. Many of the resources that go to support programs such as for those living with HIV/AIDS are now being spent to fund the war. We have to communicate…I support Barack because of his incarnated faith – his faith made alive in the flesh. He reaches across all faith communities and even to those who have no faith at all. He is building a community where everyone has worth. That kind of faith is not easy to find in 2007 and a man like Barack is a rarity.

Rev. Dr. T. Dewitt Smith, Jr. - President, Progressive National Baptist Covention writes...

Important issues to me include the rebuilding of New Orleans; the prison-industrial complex; preserving the middle class; universal health care. As people of faith, we must follow the prophet Micah’s directive to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God. I support Barack because he has an inter-generational appeal and I trust he will be true to his word. He is quite open about his strong ethics and values and the moral relationships we have with each other. He’s a man I can support.

The Rev. Chuck Currie, a popular blogger, recently declared his support for Obama. He writes..

Christians, Jews, Muslims – all people of faith in America – share in a deep and abiding love for this nation. But many of us, as William Sloane Coffin would have said, have a “lover’s quarrel” with America. We know things can be better. We know all Americans need health care. We know that no one should be homeless in the world’s richest nation. We know that global warming threatens God’s own earth and that as the stewards of creation we are called forth to protect this planet. We are also called to be peacemakers in times of conflict.

Barack Obama shares these values and when elected president will embody them as he makes decisions in the Oval Office. When that day comes we will be a better nation.

Unlike Chuck, I'm not ready to jump on the Obama bandwagon just yet. It's too early. However, I am indeed impressed by the junior Senator from Illinois. He's real and genuine. But so is John Edwards - who had my vote in '04. No rush to decide but either way, my car will eventually be sporting either an Obama or Edwards bumper sticker...

The Faith of John Edwards

Last week, Sen. John Edwards was slurred by the bad-mannered vixen, Ann Coulter.

This week Sen. Edwards sat down for an interview with Faith-Based whistle-blower, David Kuo.

The topic of discussion? The Religious Faith of John Edwards.

A few of the Senator's responses below...

What parts of American life do you think would most outrage Jesus?

Our selfishness. Our resort to war when it's not necessary. I think that Jesus would be disappointed in our ignoring the plight of those around us who are suffering and our focus on our own selfish short-term needs. I think he would be appalled, actually.

You've had a lot of experience with suffering. Part of your career has been representing people who we see as suffering. You've also had what you called "world stopping pain" and suffering in your own life. What has that suffering taught you?

It's been part of my own personal faith journey. Because I've done what I think a lot of Americans have done, which [is]: I was raised in a very Christian home and a Southern Baptist church, and baptized in the Southern Baptist church. My dad has been a deacon in the Southern Baptist church for many years. In fact, we went back to my church a few weeks ago and he was getting the Lay Person of the Year Award, which we were all very proud of him for.

But when I went away to college, I drifted away from my faith. Even after Elizabeth and I got married, I had drifted away. It isn't that we didn't exercise faith. We would go to church, but it was not the sort of dominant day-to-day living faith that it is for me today. And in 1996, on a day I'll never forget, my 16 year old son died. And the days after that, when I was trying to survive and Elizabeth's trying to survive, my faith came roaring back and has stayed with me since that time, and helped me deal with the personal challenges we've had. Not only the death of my son, but some of the politics and the difficulty of that on our family. Elizabeth's breast cancer. All the things that we've seen, which is not that unusual for families.

In 2004, John Kerry said that he wouldn't let his faith affect his decision making. Does it affect yours?

Yes, it does. I do believe in the separation of church and state. But I don't think separation of church and state means you have to be free from your faith. My faith informs everything I think and do. It's part of my value system. And to suggest that I can somehow separate and divorce that from the rest of me is not possible. I would not, under any circumstances, try to impose my personal faith and belief on the rest of the country. I don't think that's right. I don't think that's appropriate. But freedom of religion doesn't mean freedom from religion. And I think that anything we can do to promote the idea that people should express their faith is a good thing.

What are the biggest moral issues facing America today?

There are several. One is here within our own borders. The fact that we have 37 million people who live every day worrying about taking care of themselves and their family, living in poverty, I think is a huge moral issue.

I would say the same thing about the 47 million people who don't have health care coverage. I think those are the big moral issues here within our borders.

But I think there are big moral issues in other parts of the world, too. Global poverty, half the planet living on $2 or less a day. Three billion people.

I think this genocide that's going on in Western Sudan, Darfur, is a huge moral issue. Us continuing to allow kids to be born in Africa with AIDS because their mothers can't afford $4 medicine is a big moral issue.

While the media has been obsessing over Hillary and Obama, John Edwards has been lost in the shuffle. No doubt, Edwards comes across as a sincere and compassionate Christian who is genuinely concerned about the little guy.

Unlike Hillary, John Edwards doesn't seem to need two dozen advisors and pollsters to micromanage every word he utters. He's comfortable in his own skin and apparently quite capable of articulating his own personal statement of faith.

I hope mainstream news outlets will begin to take seriously Edwards candidacy.

Ann Coulter Calls John Edwards a 'Faggot'

Yep.

At the biggest conservative event of the year, Coulter had this to say about the former Senator from North Carolina...

I would comment on John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the word 'faggot.' (Video)

Cute.

To no surprise, Coulter's invective was followed by an enthusiastic round of applause from the upstanding attendees, Christians included.

In response to Coulter latest antic, Glenn Greenwald of Salon wrote...

But the single most prestigious political event for conservatives of the year is a place where conservatives go to hear Democrats called faggots, Arabs called ragheads, and Supreme Court justices labeled as deserving of murder -- not by anonymous, unidentifiable blog commenters, but by one of their most popular featured speakers.

And after she does that, she is cheered wildly by an adoring conservative movement that has made her bigoted and hate-mongering screeds best-sellers...

Andrew Sullivan, a conservative blogger for The Atlantic, had this to say about Coulter's speech:

When you see her in such a context, you realize that she truly represents the heart and soul of contemporary conservative activism, especially among the young. The standing ovation for Romney was nothing like the eruption of enthusiasm that greeted her. . . .

Her endorsement of Romney today - "probably the best candidate" - is a big deal, it seems to me. McCain is a non-starter. He is as loathed as Clinton in these parts. Giuliani is, in her words, "very, very liberal." One of his sins? He opposed the impeachment of Bill Clinton. That's the new standard. She is the new Republicanism. The sooner people recognize this, the better.

Is Ann Coulter the new Republicanism? Greenwald concurs...

She is the face of what the hard-core Republican Party has become, particularly during the Bush presidency. That is why she holds the position she holds in that movement. That's why Mitt Romney was giddy with glee when her name passed his lips. He knows that her endorsement is valuable precisely because she holds great sway within the party, and she holds great sway because the hard-core party faithful consider her a hero for expressing the thoughts which they themselves believe but which other, less courageous Republican figures are afraid to express.

This is not about a single comment or isolated remark. The more Ann Coulter says these things, the more popular she becomes in this movement. What this is about is that she reflects exactly what sort of political movement this is. She reflects its true impulses and core beliefs. If that were not the case, why would she continue to receive top billing at their most prestigious events, and why would she continue to be lavished with rock star-adoration by the party faithful?

The words that flow from Coulter's starved lips are reprehensible and patently offensive.

But what's worse is that Coulter is venerated by thousands and thousands of young Republican activists many of whom claim to follow Jesus.

John Edwards Remembers Dr. King

Yesterday, Senator John Edwards gave the Martin Luther King Jr. Day sermon at the historic Riverside Church in New York City.

You can listen to Edward's sermon here.

Here is a snippet from the AP article.

The former North Carolina senator and 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee touched on poverty issues in his speech, as well as AIDS in Africa, energy independence and a proposed boost in the minimum wage.

But he saved his strongest words for the troop increase in Iraq, invoking King's condemnation of the Vietnam War as a betrayal of American values.

"Silence is betrayal, and I believe it is a betrayal not to speak out against the escalation of the war in Iraq," Edwards said to a sustained standing ovation.

40 Years ago, Dr. King stood behind the same exact pulpit at Riverside Church and called for an end to the Vietnam War.

On this holiday, I ask you to remember the words of Dr. King.

Take a moment of your time and read or listen to Beyond Vietnam.

Or read one of his other landmark speeches here.