John Edwards and Snake Oil

With the Kerry machine rolling in high gear, it's not likely that John Edwards will be the top man on the Democrat party presidential ticket this year, but it is very likely he could wind up as the number two man. For team Kerry to pick Edwards seems a natural; the soft spoken fellow with the boyish good looks would seem the perfect choice to offset the brash liberal yankee image one associates with Kerry. Especially in the South and Midwest areas where a candidate like Kerry will be a very difficult sell to folks who don't cotton to folks whose past associations include Hanoi Jane Fonda.

But what of John Edwards? Is he really the charming Southern gentleman the press would have you believe? Edwards makes much of his humble beginnings in order to demonstrate he is one of "the working people". Well, as a very successful trial lawyer, according to the Center for Public Integrity, Edwards was able to win more than $152 million based on his involvement in 63 lawsuits alone. According to an anonymous source from a recent CNSNews.com story, "Edwards always helped the little guy as long as he got a million dollars out of it." Edward's skill as a trial lawyer is beyond question, an ability that is helpful with an electorate more easily stirred by emotion than fact.

Edwards ran as a moderate in North Carolina in 1998 when he was elected to the US Senate. He certainly talked like a moderate when he was on the campaign trail, spending much time "aw-shucksing" with the voters during his stump speeches. So what sort of voting record does Senator Edwards have? According to the American Conservative Union, Edwards has a lowly 12% lifetime rating, certainly not a record that is reflective of the citizens of North Carolina, a traditionally conservative bloc who voted 56% for George Bush in 2000. I wonder how many of his constituents are aware that their senator voted against the Bush tax cut which passed by a vote of 62-38, with support coming from several Democrats, (even liberal Dianne Feinstein voted yes). He voted "no" to the ban on partial birth abortions (passed 63-34). He has also voted against eliminating the marriage tax penalty, no to repealing the estate tax, and no to making the "death tax" repeal permanent. The question is, has Edwards ever met a tax he didn't like?

Then there is the matter of "special interests". Edwards has spoken much of how he would "clean up Washington"…(we've never heard that one before, have we?) Even while Edwards is decrying the special interests in our nation's capitol, he is also alone among the serious candidates for president, declining to provide a list of his major campaign financiers, according to a recent Washington Post article (January 23, 2004). Of course, considering that it is well known that a very large portion of his contributions have been from fellow trial lawyers, I can certainly understand his reluctance at letting the American people know about where his financial support is coming from. I can also understand his reticence at talking about his voting record, as doing so would reveal him to be not a nice, Southern moderate, but instead, one whose voting record would be the envy of Teddy Kennedy. But that's been the strategy all along…talk like a moderate, but do all the things a political opportunist does to further their national ambitions. John Edwards…look for him and his campaign carnival wagon, barking the benefits of snake oil in your town soon.

=====================================================