Edwards' target No. 1: Hillary
Posted: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 5:31 PM by Domenico Montanaro
Filed Under:
2008, Edwards
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro
An Edwards campaign memo from Campaign Manager David Bonior makes clear who the primary target is: Hillary Clinton. And the primary issue: lobbying.
"Unfortunately, the Clinton campaign has made it clear -- through its choices, its words and its silence -- that it intends to defend the broken system in Washington," Bonior writes, "where the interests of the American people are bought and sold every day by an army of lobbyists...."
More: "The real question as we enter tonight’s presidential debate on MSNBC is why, in the face of the great challenges we face as a nation, Senator Clinton chooses to so passionately defend this broken system and the damage that Washington lobbyists are doing to our nation every single day."
The memo also rolls off nine issues, the campaign says it has led on.
Here's the full memo:
EDWARDS CAMPAIGN MEMO
TO: INTERESTED PARTIES
FROM: CONGRESSMAN BONIOR, CAMPAIGN MANAGER
SUBJECT: REAL CHANGE OR MORE OF THE SAME
DATE: 10/30/2007
In this critical election, our nation faces a crossroads. There are two paths ahead, but only one will lead us to the America we believe in and the government we deserve. As John Edwards said yesterday in New Hampshire, the road we choose will determine what kind of country we leave to our children, and whether we restore the promise of this great nation:
“Down one path, we trade corporate Democrats for corporate Republicans; our cronies for their cronies; one political dynasty for another dynasty; and all we are left with is a Democratic version of the Republican corruption machine.
“It is the easier path. It is the path of the status quo. But, it is a path that perpetuates a corrupt system that has not only failed to deliver the change the American people demand, but has divided America into two – one America for the very greedy, and one America for everybody else….Or we can choose a different path. The path that generations of Americans command us to take. We can get up and take our country back. And be the guardians that kept the faith.”
Unfortunately, the Clinton campaign has made it clear -- through its choices, its words and its silence -- that it intends to defend the broken system in Washington, where the interests of the American people are bought and sold every day by an army of lobbyists, instead of taking the path that the American people want – a path that leads to ending the corruption in Washington and bringing the big, bold change we need to America.
The real question as we enter tonight’s presidential debate on MSNBC is why, in the face of the great challenges we face as a nation, Senator Clinton chooses to so passionately defend this broken system and the damage that Washington lobbyists are doing to our nation every single day. It is these lobbyists, the corporate interests they serve, and the policies that they pervert, that are destroying the promise of America. Let us be clear - no candidate for president should be standing with lobbyists, instead of standing with the American people, and believe they are “ready to lead.”
If the American people want to take their country back, they need a leader with the strength to reject the corrupt system, say “no” to Washington lobbyists and finally make our government work for the American people once again. This election is about our hope for a better future for our children -- but we will never build that future until we elect a leader who will end the broken system in Washington.
At the end of the day, the Clinton campaign may attack, but it is only Senator Edwards who has the real strength and right experience to lead this nation, while others seem determined to continue to play the Washington game.
It is this passionate belief that we must lead this nation to greater heights that explains why Senator Edwards has led on issue after issue, and was the first candidate in this race:
1. To refuse to take a dime from Washington lobbyists or PACs;
2. To call on the Democratic Party and all Democratic presidential candidates to say no to lobbyist money;
3. To introduce truly universal health care and be honest about the sacrifice we must make to achieve it;
4. To introduce a bold plan to deal with global warming;
5. To propose policies to end poverty and restore the hope of the American dream for millions of American families;
6. To propose middle class tax relief, and a plan to make sure the wealthiest pay their fair share in taxes;
7. To propose a bold plan for a new global alliance to deal with terrorism;
8. To lead the fight to end the war in Iraq and oppose further funding requests by the Bush Administration that do not have a strict timeline for withdrawal;
9. And to learn the terrible lessons of NAFTA that cost countless of American jobs, and oppose the South Korean and Peru trade deal.
It is this leadership that makes Senator Edwards, the strongest candidate for president, and the only one who is ready to lead the fight for the change America needs.
