John Edwards is My New Hero

[Nefarious]

Oh say can you see...your freedom returned.

http://johnedwards.com/news/press-releases/20071013-government-reform/

Today In New Hampshire Edwards Outlines Agenda To Return The Power In Washington To Regular People
Oct 13, 2007 11:28 AM

Will Strengthen the Voice of Ordinary Citizens, Reform Campaign Finance, and Curb the Influence of Federal Lobbyists

Manchester, NH – Today, at a town hall in Keene, Senator John Edwards delivered a major policy address unveiling his proposal for Returning Washington to Regular People. Edwards' three-pronged approach calls for strengthening the voice of ordinary citizens through election reform, reforming campaign finance to strengthen small donors, and ending the unique power of lobbyists.

"The American people are sick and tired of business as usual," said Edwards. "Lobbyists and the special interests they represent are pouring millions of dollars into the system, corrupting our democracy and stopping the change we need dead in its tracks. With all the money flooding into politics, you'd think that instead of holding elections we were auctioning our leaders off to the highest bidders. Our founding fathers intended our government to do the will of the people, but regular people can't afford a voice in today's pay-to-play Washington.

"It's time to put an end to the special deals enjoyed by lobbyists and insiders at the expense of regular Americans. We must strengthen voting and campaign finance laws and curb the influence of campaign contributions from special interests, so that everyone has a voice in the political process and the people decide who leads this nation."

Edwards' proposal to end the money game in Washington and return the power to the American people is focused on three main principles:

Reforming Campaign Finance to Strengthen Small Donors: John Edwards believes elections should be about ideas rather than money. Few Americans can afford to make $4,600 contributions to gain access to presidential candidates, and the integrity of our campaign financing system depends upon smaller donors continuing to play an important role in the political process. Edwards' campaign is built upon the support of small donors � in fact, 93 percent of the campaign's donations come from donors contributing less than $100. As president, Edwards will create a new Grassroots Presidential Financing System to match small donations under $100 by eight to one, making two $100 donations as valuable to a campaign as a single $1,000 donation. He will also reduce the maximum contribution from $2,300 to $1,000 per person, to better reflect the incomes of most Americans. Edwards will create a system of full public financing for Congressional candidates and require corporations to disclose their political activity and spending.

Ending the Unique Power of Lobbyists: Edwards will prohibit all candidates and federal office holders from accepting contributions from lobbyists and will prohibit federal lobbyists from acting as fundraisers or bundlers for federal candidates. He will limit the ability of lobbyists to secure lucrative earmarks by enacting a Constitutional version of the line-item veto, where the president can require an up or down vote on special-interest spending. Edwards will close the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street by reinstating the five-year ban on lobbying by former top government officials and by banning former lobbyists from taking executive branch positions related to their former clients. Finally, he will curb lobbyists' influence by increasing disclosure requirements for lobbyist activity and by prohibiting government executives from accepting gifts and travel from lobbyists and their employers.

Strengthening the Voice of Ordinary Citizens: To ensure everyone's vote is counted, Edwards will require that all voting machines, including electronic ones, use paper ballots that can be verified by voters. He will also give D.C. residents voting representation in Congress, allow Election Day Registration in federal elections, fight voter suppression and intimidation and end the disenfranchisement of former prisoners who have served their time. In order to increase citizen engagement, Edwards will ask one million citizens to participate in biennial Citizen Congresses � national town hall meetings where regular Americans tackle national issues together, without the filters of interest groups and the media. Similar projects have given citizens a voice in community solutions across the country, including in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

[Guest]

John Edwards? Regular People? Ordinary Citizens? Those are oxymorons.

Numbskull, you are proof positive that there's a sucker born every minute.

[Nefarious]

Yeah, yeah - I've read all the personal smears against Edwards - blah, blah, trial lawyer, blah blah $400 haircuts.

But then I have read the personal smears against pretty much all of the politicians running, on both sides.

But let's for one minute, put aside the man and the petty attacks of politics, and consider the policy that he is proposing in and of itself. What do you think of it?

I think this needs to happen. In other words, aiyyyeeee dat's good pie, to quote That_Guest

[Nefarious]

I just heard that Edwards voted to support China trade. While I don't have anything against China (apart from the 100 and 1 things they produce that we really don't need to buy), I am surprised that Edwards supports this when his platform is about taking care of the people in America. How can encouraging reliance on another country be taking care of local industry?

America needs to strengthen itself within America, as all countries should be aiming to do. Is this Edwards fella for real, or is he just spouting BS to try and get elected?

[Guest]

i want to urinate on John Edwards first thing in the morning when it's deep yellow and stinks to high heaven.

[Guest]

I'd vote for the psychic John Edward, but not this one.

[Cambridge]

[honest orator]

[Cambridge]

[rena]

john edwards hates puerto ricans

[Cambridge]

[Guest]

I took a brilliant dump this morning.

[Cambridge]

A little too much information, Z.

[myron myron]

Get a new life, you stalking, obsessed psycho.

[Cambridge]

I'm not the one stalking around as "guest". Incidentally, you knew just where to come and post, so that kinda proves you are "guest". I was already here on this thread. You came after me, murray. You don't even understand the meaning of the term "stalker." More evidence that you are an insurance adjuster, not a lawyer.