Unadulturated Cynicism
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Democrats | Featured Stories — Comments (20) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
The key constituency that John Edwards has allied himself with is the poor. His "Two Americas" speech is designed to highlight the differences between the rich and the poor and he has portrayed himself as a champion of the dispossessed, going so far as to create a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting poverty once he left elected office.
In this article, however, we see what the real purpose of Edwards's "Center for Promise and Opportunity" was:
Mr. Edwards, who reported this year that he had assets of nearly $30 million, came up with a novel solution, creating a nonprofit organization with the stated mission of fighting poverty. The organization, the Center for Promise and Opportunity, raised $1.3 million in 2005, and -- unlike a sister charity he created to raise scholarship money for poor students -- the main beneficiary of the center's fund-raising was Mr. Edwards himself, tax filings show.
A spokesman for Mr. Edwards defended the center yesterday as a legitimate tool against poverty.
The organization became a big part of a shadow political apparatus for Mr. Edwards after his defeat as the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2004 and before the start of his presidential bid this time around. Its officers were members of his political staff, and it helped pay for his nearly constant travel, including to early primary states.
While Mr. Edwards said the organization's purpose was "making the eradication of poverty the cause of this generation," its federal filings say it financed "retreats and seminars" with foreign policy experts on Iraq and national security issues. Unlike the scholarship charity, donations to it were not tax deductible, and, significantly, it did not have to disclose its donors -- as political action committees and other political fund-raising vehicles do -- and there were no limits on the size of individual donations.
Read on . . .
...Mr. Edwards mixed policy and politics in a way that allowed his supporters to donate to the causes he believed in -- and to the organizations he had set up. He also set up two political action committees, something commonly done by politicians thinking of running for president.
But it was his use of a tax-exempt organization to finance his travel and employ people connected to his past and current campaigns that went beyond what most other prospective candidates have done before pursuing national office. And according to experts on nonprofit foundations, Mr. Edwards pushed at the boundaries of how far such organizations can venture into the political realm. Such entities, which are regulated under Section 501C-4 of the tax code, can engage in advocacy but cannot make partisan political activities their primary purpose without risking loss of their tax-exempt status.
Because the organization is not required to disclose its donors -- and the campaign declined to do so -- it is not clear whether those who gave money to it did so understanding that they were supporting Mr. Edwards's political viability as much or more than they were giving money to combat poverty.
So essentially, Edwards set up what amounted to a political slush fund, called it an anti-poverty organization and used it to ensure that he remained in the political spotlight in preparation for running for President in 2008. He kept his donors secret--violating the spirit of McCain-Feingold--and misled donors who might have given money in the belief that they were combating poverty, but actually gave it to fund Edwards's political campaign.
You know, I have seen a lot as a political junkie. But this just leaves me speechless. It's not all that often that you see a so-called champion of the poor use the poor so cynically to further naked ambition.
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Unadulturated Cynicism 20 Comments (0 topical, 20 editorial, 0 hidden) Post a comment »
First of all, the vast majority of those of us who oppose MF, support full, immediate, public disclosure of contributors and contributions. It's the limit on our free speech to which we object, both in our ability to contribute and in our ability to advertise just prior to an election.
Edwards political savvy??? Based on the latest polling, FWTW, his savvy on the D side has him in roughly the same range as Ron Paul on the R side. Maybe a tad better, but he's got more money to work with.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
but to give credit for political savvy is quite a stretch.
He is rather a combo of PT Barnum (or somebody) and HL Mencken.
"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition." -- Rudyard Kipling
HL was a smart guy. JE is only "smart" in his application of sleaze (see channeling dead children for juries).
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
the Mencken aphorism
"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition." -- Rudyard Kipling
him compared in ANY way to JE.
Heck, I'm about at the point where I wouldn't want to see Lucifer compared to JE.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
so his heart must be in the right place - and if he's elected President, prosperity surely will trickle down to the poor - especially after he seizes the wealth of those rich whose hearts, unlike his, are not in the right place.
John's recent antics are making it really extremely difficult to decide whether his or Hillary's picture should decorate my next roll of toilet paper.
a href="http://andrightlyso.com/index.php">And Rightly So!
Politicians from every side are cynical manipulators, you don't become a politician if you haven't at least learned the skill. Now one can admire the maneuvering without endorsing his positions, personally I think his ideas are simply rehashed economic protectionism.
My country; and my country is the great American Republic. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.
I can argue about the merits of philosophy, but I can't remember to use that damned button.
My country; and my country is the great American Republic. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.
I'm surprised people are surprised about this. Am I the only one who saw Edwards' post-2004 actions cynically?
I hate the fact that Edwards pretends to be the new RFK. He's nothing like him. RFK, agree with him or not, really cared about poverty. Edwards uses it as a tool to manipulate the masses.
"I'm fighting for yooooooooou!"
Donate to Fred Thompson's Campaign right here...you know you want to!
JFK has style, he at least could mess around with Marylin Monroe. Clinton...
My country; and my country is the great American Republic. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.
Admiring Mr. Edward’s actions is akin to admiring the ‘really good’ cheater in school. While the cheating may indeed show a degree of craftiness, I wouldn’t want my surgeon to be the best cheater in Med. School.
One standard disclaimer issued by the Clinton Camp whenever the former President got caught with his hand in the ‘cookie jar’, was that ‘all politicians do it’. As Ann Coulter predicted, the real result of allowing Bill to escape impeachment was an irreversible lowering of standards, as evidenced here.
No, it isn’t acceptable or admirable that Mr. Edwards did/ is doing this! We can still expect our elected officials to be honorable, honest and of good character.
Mr. Edwards seems to be carrying on the tradition of Edwards Democrats. The last famous/infamous Edwards is the former Governor of Louisiana, Edwin Edwards D-LA (Fast Eddie) who is now serving time in Federal prison.
I remain a Democrat in local issue elections, but I will no longer contribute to nor aid in any way the National Democratic Party. There are many, many folks like me.
The National Democratic Party has become merely a catalog for grassroots wholesale outsourcings: SEIU; Marxist Think Tanks; Progressive Coalitions & etc. They could care less about people or their opinions. They buy in mass; yet, they scream about Wal-Mart. They are bent on eliminating the middle class.
These 'redistribution of wealth' strategists have strangled the nature of the Democratic Party and screwed the pooch generally. Kerry allowed himself to swim in their waters - rather he Sail-Boarded: what a dope! - at the DNC! The Pink-'I had an Abortion' T-Shirt mavens who believe that the horrific practice is merely cosmetic surgury; P-Diddy's 'Vote or Die!' Thugs; the SEIU and AFSCME highjacking of the name of Organized Labor - that really put the tin-foil hat on it for me - now these mopes have Blow-Dry John - The Hipster Doofus Screwy Long - Edwards to play with until they screw Obama out of the race and then crawl under Hilary's skirt.
I have committed to John McCain. BTW - sent a Howard Dean a reply to his latest Take America Back palm-up to me:
'You clowns have lost me!' For Keeps. You guys play nicer.
Pat Hickey
Why? The local Democrats are what the National Party leaders count on to carry out their programs. Supporting their local leaders simply encourage the national drift to the left.
NOW I understand why you like McCain so much.
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CongressCritter™: Never have so few felt like they were owed so much by so many for so little.
Pat's from Chicago, which is still a one party town. He evidently figures his best shot of changing anything is by burrowing from within. That's doesn't discredit his conservative bona fides.
manipulator. The man made his money shutting down baby doctors. He channeled the spirits of dead children in his closing arguments. He is the champion of the poor while building a 28,000 sq foot house and complaining his neighbors are trash.
So now he defrauds people stupid enough to give him money ? Color me surprised.
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"Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it."
-Thomas Paine: The American Crisis, No. 4, 1777
I thought McCain-Feingold was the bane of conservatives?
One can't help but admire at the neatness of John Edwards maneuvering post 2004 electoral defeat, he has positioned himself as the savior of the starving masses, and shattered unions.
He's recanted on his Iraq vote with the passion of a born again Christian. I believe the last poll put him ahead in Iowa, I think I might need to stop underestimating the silky pony.
Class warfare is a powerful rhetorical tool to use, and with Hillary and Obama almost certain to acquire the majority of the minority vote, he needs to win the unions.
Condemn the man if you want, but have the intelligence to admire his political savvy.
My country; and my country is the great American Republic. My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right.