Blog Writer, "Mainiac", Analyzes Media Coverage of John Edwards Campaign and Receives Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award

Recipient of Karita Hummer's Silver Pen Award





Cross-posted from John Edwards 08 Blog


http://blog.johnedwards.com/story/2008/1/9/204413/6259#19

"Stopping Edwards"

by Mainiac in Diaries Feed of Mainiac's Diary
1/09/2008 at 8:44 PM EST

in John Edwards Blog/Diaries, at:

http://blog.johnedwards.com/story/2008/1/9/204413/6259#19

With the presidential contest heating up, Iowa and New Hampshire behind us,
JRE has managed to stay in the chase even though the media has ignored his campaign, focusing on a Clinton-Obama matchup.

The reason for ignoring Edwards is that corporate leaders want to insure that the major parties will nominate candidates who can be relied upon to protect and foster their interests. With his challenge to their power, Edwards does not fit their
qualifications.

In the 2004 primary, the corporate-owned media used a lot of ink and airtime to help take down Howard Dean in Iowa and persuade voters that the Democratic candidate who had "electability" was John Kerry.

This year the media wasted no time in getting on the case. Long before a caucus was held or a vote cast, they narrowed the Democratic field to two, offering us the unprecedented choice of a white woman or a black man as the next president.

Even though she has the highest negatives of any Democrat, Hillary Clinton
was an obvious pick because of her name recognition and fundraising ability.
Barack Obama needed more of a media buildup before being showcased in this
matchup. Less than a month ago, Paul Krugman, the New York Times columnist,
wrote, "According to a recent survey by the Project for Excellence in
Journalism, Mr. Obama's coverage has been far more favorable than that of
any other candidate."

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Clinton and Obama far
outstrip their Democratic rivals in contributions received from donors in
such industries as securities and investments, hedge funds, private equity,
commercial banks, pharmaceuticals and health products, education, computers
and the Internet. Hillary leads all of them in contributions from lobbyists.
Edwards, a trial lawyer, joins the two at the top only in the category of
contributions from lawyers and legal firms. Chris Dodd led all Democrats in
contributions from the insurance industry before he and Joseph Biden bowed
out of the race after Iowa.

It's not surprising that media outlets paid little attention to the fact
that in November, while Edwards spoke out against the Peru Free Trade
Agreement -- one of the NAFTA babies that the Bush administration has been
fast tracking -- both Obama and Clinton said they supported it.

This spotlight on Clinton and Obama is essentially a "stop Edwards" move.
Interestingly, a CNN poll revealed last month that Edwards was the only
Democrat who could win against any of the Republicans. What's more, Edwards
managed to finish second in the Iowa caucuses, ahead of Clinton, despite
being dismissed by the media and outspent by his two key opponents. When the campaign headed into New Hampshire, the media treated Edwards' second plan finish as if it never happened.

The Federal Election Commission also seems to be doing its part to stop
Edwards. After he opted for federal matching funds, the FEC voted last month
to not match contributions made to Edwards through Act/Blue, a political
action committee that handles contributions for many Democrats nationwide.

Why has Edwards been targeted in this fashion? For one thing, he offers a health care plan that can morph into single-payer if enough Americans choose the expanded and improved Medicare option. He has shown his commitment to unions by walking picket lines over the last three years and he promises to make union organizing easier. As president, Edwards has said he wants to repeal tax breaks for the wealthy while increasing the minimum wage again. He wants to shift our foreign policy from unilateralism to more cooperation with other nations, with more foreign aid shifted to assist the world's poor. Unlike Obama and Clinton, he does not believe that nuclear power should be part of the mix to decrease dependence on fossil fuels.

More important than any of these is Edwards' call to end the chokehold that giant corporations have on our government. No wonder a senior Republican strategist recently commented on national television, "Edwards is the one that we fear the most."