Why Edwards? Because IMO, he's the real Democrat [View All]

[Armstead]

After considering all of the candidates, I settled on Edwards a while back. And as the race has progressed, I'm more satisfied with that choice.

I will admit that I agree most closely with Kucinich on the issues. But for a combination of reasons,the chances of him winning the nomination are about the same as my odds in a game of One-On-One with Michael Jordan.

Aside from that, however, Edwards is among the remaining candidates to be the closest to my idea of what the Democratic Party should stand for. In a nutshell, that is clear and proud progressive/liberal populism (in the best sense of that word).

Why? It's not rocket science. Edwards believes in the need for a balance in society and in our values. He also recognizes that we have strayed way too far from that balance. He recognizes the dangers of concentrated wealth and power, and the need for a check the excessive power of Big Corporations and Wall St. And he sees -- AND WILL PUBLICLY ACKNOWLEDGE -- the need to fight to swing the pendulum back to the interests of the majority.

Edwards message seems "unusual" today. But that has less to do with Edwards than with the squirrelly times we live in. If this were a saner country, Edwards message and values and goals would be the conventional wisdom of all Democrats. He stands for mainstream values, the idea of an economy based on the middle class -- and the ability for the poor to move into the middle class.


The Repblicans don't need our "friendship" and "bipartisanship." I believe it's important to win over people who are Republicans. But I don't believe we ought to sacrifice our own values and goals to accomplish that. Rather we ought to win them over by being a clear alternative, and prove to those people why it is in their own best interests to support a liberal Democratic agenda.

We also don't need to kiss the butt of Corporate America and Wall St. It's time to assert the notion that they are no better than individual citizens. They have to adhere to basic legal and moral standards, just as individuals have to. We have to stop begging them to be good citizens. We must assert the rights of the majority, and make it clear that they are merely ONE SECTOR and they do not have the right to run the whole show.

I believe enough of the majority of the country believes and agrees with Edwards message and values that he can win. And if he does manage to win the White House for the Democrats, he will usher in a turning point for the better, and restore the principles of the Democratic Party.