John Edwards kicks off his campaign with a statement that infuriates me
Orelia Tyler wanted a team of volunteers to come to her newly restored New Orleans house and spread a load of soil in her back yard. She got more than she bargained for when presidential candidate John Edwards showed up to do the shoveling. No one bothered to tell Tyler that her house would be the scene of a political photo op, but even worse was what Edwards said when he got there.
"That’s why I’m in New Orleans," he said, "...to show what’s possible when we as Americans, instead of staying home and complaining about somebody else not doing what they’re supposed to, we actually take responsibility and we take action."
Well, thank you, but I happen to believe that whoever is not doing what s/he is supposed to be doing should be complained to, loudly and repeatedly, and should be forced to do it. That would be the federal government, whose inept and criminally negligent Army Corps of Engineers caused New Orleans to flood during Hurricane Katrina, and whose Department of Homeland Security did next to nothing when the flood occurrecd. It's great that volunteers are shoveling dirt, but all of the shoveling and rebuilding should be done by the organization--in this case, the federal government--that caused the disaster to occur. That's taking responsibility.
"That’s why I’m in New Orleans," he said, "...to show what’s possible when we as Americans, instead of staying home and complaining about somebody else not doing what they’re supposed to, we actually take responsibility and we take action."
Well, thank you, but I happen to believe that whoever is not doing what s/he is supposed to be doing should be complained to, loudly and repeatedly, and should be forced to do it. That would be the federal government, whose inept and criminally negligent Army Corps of Engineers caused New Orleans to flood during Hurricane Katrina, and whose Department of Homeland Security did next to nothing when the flood occurrecd. It's great that volunteers are shoveling dirt, but all of the shoveling and rebuilding should be done by the organization--in this case, the federal government--that caused the disaster to occur. That's taking responsibility.
posted by Diane at 6:06 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I have yet to see any appeal in John Edwards. It seems to me a better candidate could be found just about anywhere.
By
kathyF, at
8:37 AM
His "appeal" is that he is Southern, and therefore might not repel red state "moderates."
I don't have any feelings about him one way or the other (though whether I would vote for a white male Democrat hinges on whether he puts another white male on his ticket, in which case, no chance in hell), but this comment really rubbed me the wrong way. The last thing we need is a "liberal" candidate saying we should let the government off the hook for Katrina and its aftermath.
And though this has nothing at all to do with with his candidacy, I was also totally turned off by his wife's recent holier-than-thou comments about John Kerry and Teresa Heinz.
By
Diane, at
9:34 AM
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