October 24, 2005
Wrap-Up of John Edwards Speech
By Phillip Martin
I just got back from the Opportunity Rocks event in the Texas Union Ballroom, where Senator John Edwards talked about the way students can take charge of the grassroots movement to fight poverty. After the speech, I got a chance -- along with fellow bloggers Pinkdome and In the Pink Texas -- to meet John Edwards and ask him some questions.
Details of the speech and the questions we asked him can be found by clicking on the jump below, but here is one question I was able to ask:
PM: You mentioned the need for leadership that will stand up for the core beliefs of the Democratic party, that we need to lead, and not follow, if we want to show the country where we want to take America. As you know, there are opposite spectrums of the Democratic Party, and the moral priorities of the people they represent are extremely different. How do we persuade people that don't agree with our politics to work on issues like poverty?
Edwards: Whether you're on the far right or the far left, there is no question that the issue needs to be discussed. People will have different ideas about what we need to fix it, and that's fine, but first we need to recognize the problem...There's no ideological basis for fighting poverty -- we just need to help these people. They don't want a Democrat or a Republican. They want a champion. They want to feed their kids, and I think any person of either ideology can understand that and should work to help.
More questions, and details of his speech, after the jump.
Here are the four main proposals he discussed about how best to fight poverty:
1) Pass real labor law reforms, and increase the minimum wage.
2) Create housing vouchers for poor families across the country, so we no longer separate the rich and the poor in our communities.
3) Finance work bonds that match money that poor families are able to set aside into savings accounts.
4) Support a pilot program he's started called "College for Everyone," where any student that qualifies, isn't in trouble, and does 10 hours of work study their first year will be guaranteed free tuition and books.
Posted by Phillip Martin at October 24, 2005 04:42 PM
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Ask Edwards to comment on whether he sees any comparison or similarities in issues raised in the federal governments response to Katrina and what he described in his campaign as the "two united states" issue. (I.e., those with health insurance x those without; those with jobs x those without; etc.)
Sen. Edwards,
What time should I be back in the office? I have a lot of work to do and the day is almost over. Your opinion is very valuable to me.
Funny, guys. Real funny. This whole "working" thing sure can get to be a hastle! :)
Go 'Stros.
Kind of interesting how Edwards opposes vouchers that would allow students to transfer from one district to another, but how he would support the issuance of vouchers that very likely would do nothing more than expand housing projects.
People in the United States living in what we call poverty would be considered fat, wealthy, and lazy by people living in REAL poverty in China and Brazil.
The fact that this is an important issue to the Democratic party illustrates how out of touch they are with the mainstream, and thus, why they keep losing elections.
Take a trip to Rio de Janeiro sometime and get an appreciation for how good we have it in the US. Better yet, visit North Korea.
Edwards talked about the need for America to lead in the global community, and how we need to work for people everywhere. But not all other places in the world want us there, and we can't lead if we're not leading by example.
To suggest that Democrats are out of touch with the mainstream because we care about people who can't afford health insurance, can't go to college, and can barely put food on their table shows exactly what kind of "mainstream" values you have. None.
North Korea...heh,heh...if any of you libbies run into Michael Moore (no, not physically) any time soon, be sure to ask him about Kim Jong Il's performance in Team America-World Police...LOL
