Maybe they'll make Sen Edwards the next DNC chair.
You know, after he augurs in, and everything.
By Moe Lane Posted in 2008 — Comments (8) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
May failing Democratic candidates decide to emulate Howard Dean's campaign for the next twenty years (Via Glenn):
John Edwards turns on his fellow DemocratsAs he struggles to move up in the polls, Edwards begins taking not-so-subtle digs at his rivals -- Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
Aug. 30, 2007 | WASHINGTON -- Last week in Hanover, N.H., John Edwards shot off a rhetorical signal flare. "I want to go one step further," he said. Something new was coming. This wasn't going to be just another stump speech about the "Two Americas" -- one for the rich and one for everyone else. He was about to attack his own party, the Democratic Party, which he likes to call "the party of the people."
"The choice for our party could not be any clearer," he continued. "We cannot replace a group of corporate Republicans with a group of corporate Democrats, just swapping the Washington insiders of one party for the Washington insiders of the other."
Why this is reheated Deanism after the fold.
The article itself notes that Howard Dean tried something similar - they quoted that "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party" bit that the former governor trotted out - and notes also that Joe Trippi is on-staff for Senator Edwards. This is significant: I don't need to tell anybody here that Trippi was the guy who actually pioneered and worked out the methods by which Dean was able to waste a truly phenomenal amount of Democratic small-donor money in 2004. With any luck, Trippi is on-target to make sure that the Edwards campaign beats Dean's in sheer amounts of potlatch.
But there's more here than just staffing (and Mudcat, Mudcat, surely you could've made your peace with Senator Clinton?): there's also the common message. Every election cycle we get the Fresh Faced Outsider Vs. the Machine story as part of the narrative about at least one of the parties. It's actually not a bad gig for the guy who gets to be the Outsider, even though that person never wins; Dean parlayed his notoriety into a pretty decent job shaping the Democratic Party infrastructure, and may Rahm Emanuel shiv him for it before too much longer. Still, I think it's safe to say that even Salon isn't buying what Edwards is selling, though. From the article:
A couple of weeks later, Edwards sent an open letter to Obama, asking him to join in calling for the Democratic Party to ban all lobbyist contributions to any federal candidate or committee, a clear ploy designed to tarnish Obama's appeal as a reformer. (Edwards' proposal would still allow political donations from corporate executives and trial lawyers, a major source of funds for the Edwards campaign.) Obama, who has already announced that he will not personally accept lobbyist money, declined Edwards' invitation, choosing instead to invite Edwards to endorse his plans for campaign finance reform. Edwards responded on Aug. 20 with a second letter, which clearly grouped Clinton and Obama together as opponents of "bold change." Wrote Edwards, "We need to put an end to the money game altogether."
Translation: Edwards bad, Barack good! Edwards bad, Barack good! OK, that's mean of me. The real translation is that Edwards is trying to eliminate all types of non-personal contributions in politics that he doesn't already have a lock on. Not the greatest sin in the universe, but I'm under no obligation to take his attempt seriously, so I shan't. Apparently, neither is Salon.
The Edwards strategy of using campaign finance issues to draw distinctions with Clinton and Obama has been employed with mixed success in the past. "Ross Perot did it in 1992," says Democracy 21's Fred Wertheimer, Washington's premier lobbyist working to reduce the influence of money in politics. "In 2000, it was kind of the organizing theme of McCain's campaign." This year, with congressional corruption still fresh in the minds of many voters, the stage is set for another money-in-politics-themed campaign. A Gallup poll released Wednesday showed that three in four Americans believe it is unacceptable for "Washington lobbyists" to give money to federal campaigns. (On the other hand, public financing of campaigns, which is supported by Edwards, Obama and Clinton, was unacceptable to nearly three in five.)
Translation: using campaign finance issues to draw distinctions doesn't work.
I'm pretty sure that Salon - or at least the author - is in the bag for Senator Obama, although possibly it's just because he makes a better choice for the Fresh Faced Outsider role. A pity all around: in a three-way grudge match between Clinton, Obama, and Edwards we could have a lot of fun rooting for injuries. For that matter, if Edwards really cared about the progressive movement's quote-unquote "ideals" he'd be throwing his support behind Obama right now in order to try to counter Hillary's momentum. As it stands, he's just going to waste a lot of Other People's Money (and time) failing.
Yes, it is going to be a lovely Labor's Day weekend, isn't it?
Moe
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Maybe they'll make Sen Edwards the next DNC chair. 8 Comments (0 topical, 8 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
of desperation in the morning.
All we need now is Johnny boy going "Eeeaaaaghhhh!"
Cheers,
Scott in Indy
"a man's admiration for absolute government is proportinate to the contempt he feels for those around him". Tocqueville
I'm tending to gravitate more towards one particular signal word in his little screed there... and that word is "corporate". He's not changing his strategy, he's not sounding more like Dean, this is just a repackaging of his tired "eat the rich, but spare me" populist, anti-business, anti-growth rhetoric that wasn't playing well four years ago, and still isn't gaining a lot of traction today.
That aside, I'd love to see the Democrats actually nominate him, or make him the VP candidate again... anybody remember in 2004 when he debated Cheney at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland? Cheney (admittedly a very skilled debater) made Edwards look like the hapless legal parasite that he is, exposing him as an empty suit beyond his couple of catch-phrases that masquerade as campaign strategy.
People talk about "dream" candidates to run against... Edwards is that guy for us.
"I don't understand why the same newspaper commentators who bemoan the terrible education given to poor people are always so eager to have those poor people get out and vote." - P.J. O'Rourke
He was unique. I just picture him up there sacrificing kittens to Ishtar well yelling "We offer this blood sacrifice on behalf of The Democratic Wing of The Democratic Party!" He really looked like Jack Nicholson towards the end of "The Shining" every time he gave his stump speech.
James Hansen - Scott THomas Beauchamp with a PhD.
I would love to see what happens to this country when he pulls out of Iraq and al qaeda attacks us at home again. Imagine him debating with those nukes? "Oh no...too rich...too expensive...must...make...universal healthcare a..." BOOM!
Bluntly put, if John Edwards, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama become president 10,000,000 Americans will be dead by the end of their term. Then, and only then will spineless liberals see that a strong republican president is the ONLY choice for America. Ever.
is something we should all be thinking about. Were Edwards serious about it, I'd mark it in the plus column for him. I'm even willing to give him a small checkmark for just putting it on the table.
It's the major thing I liked in the Ralph Nader campaign, frankly. Lobbying reform of some sort is much needed and much overdue.
--
We would also like to know your advice for somebody like my daughter, who's going to graduate in two years, advice that you would give a young person.
SEC. RUMSFELD: Advice for a young person. Study history.
miss the days of tarring the Republicans as the party of the rich white elites because they now have become that party.