Letters to the Editor
doloresflower
Published Letters: 1200 Editor's Choice: 10
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great--so now we're taking policy lessons from
[Read the article: The politics of not nice]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]George W. Bush? Anyone who thinks his prescription for success (only in reverse--for democratic ideals) is fooling themselves. I don't think any Democrats--none of the frontrunners-- have the heartlessness required to lock out any voice of the dissent. In fact, I hope they don't. What Bush created for himself was a policy vaccum and we need to find a far better paradigm for leadership to pull the country in the healthy democratic direction we all need it to go in. It isn't just about ignoring your enemy and being just like a liberal version of Bush. Bush hasn't been a leader! He's been a phony decider. I think we want a person who's going to motivate the grassroots. The independents. The populist base that once made the Democratic party strong. We're supposed to be a democracy, not an oligarchy.
Paul Krugman claims that latent racism has held the Democrats back since the civil rights era. Maybe it's time to call the Republican's bluff. Bring out their ghouls and hold up a mirror. Take photos. Put them on you-tube.
Strong, honest leadership is what this election boils down to for a lot of us. Maybe the kind of combative politics Edwards claims he can do, would be better accomplished in the Senate chambers. The president can't do much without a supporting Congress, as Bill Clinton learned.
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Who's not mad, NoraBurnadette?
[Read the article: The politics of not nice]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I need to stop my addiction to these threads....but speaking of angry candidates, do you for a moment think Hillary is not angry about injustices in America? Do you think that Obama isn't angry that his girls are growing up in racist America? Do you think Edwards is the only angry person fighting for the white house? I think Huckleberry may be the only really sanguine camper. But if Democrats only recognize and approve of anger from a white male (because Clinton will be labeled a B--- if she's angry--she can be angry but she needs to keep a lid on it. And if anyone ever caught a photo of Obama on t.v. looking angry, it would be his Howard Dean scream moment: he would become the political equivalent of "Scary Spice"--b.t.w. I always thought it was sad that she had to be 'scary' just because she was black when victoria beckham looked like the really scary one to me) then they will never ever elect anyone but a white male to political office.
It's just sad that we can't think through the sexist and racist prisms that frame our society and choose the best human being to lead based on their ability to lead. Alos, since people are calling Clinton and Obama on their experience, if Edwards is such a good fighter, where is his record to show what he has accomplished so far in the senate? As I understand it, some of his positions are relatively new and his ability to lead and to fight is as relatively untested as Obama's.
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How he's doing it
[Read the article: The politics of not nice]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Has anyone been following the you-tube following of Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4GQ5rGsk1A&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvcIWoemWY4&feature=user
These are just a small sample. Not to mention the Obama girl videos. I can't find anything similar for the other candidates. It seems like people also like Obama's politics of nice...maybe he and edwards will make the perfect team.
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do you want to quote your sources?
[Read the article: The politics of not nice]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]This is all I could find about land deals in Chicago, and there's no evidence of wrong doing.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0611010273nov01,1,2852476.story?page=1&cset=true&ctrack=1&coll=chi-newslocalchicago-hed
have you got more?
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Questions for Salon Supporters of the self-titled People's Candidate, Edwards
[Read the article: The politics of not nice]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Okay there are probably better things I could be doing with my day. But I just went on line and read from this website:
http://votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=21107
And those of you who keep arguing about Edwards' populism, are you basing this entirely on what he says and not on what he has done?
Because I'm wondering why this friend to labor voted against raising the minimum wage twice?
Why did he support No child left behind?
Why did he vote against a woman's health and cancer rights amendment?
Some of these positions are a few years behind him...he voted against a patient's bill of rights a couple of times before he voted in favor of it. But where is the meat of his anti-corporate legislation? What has he done already in his senate career to demonstrate his plan for America? Edwards must have known that he was going to run for the presidency again at least since 2004, the last time he ran. So I just wonder why he hasn't already tried to do more to introduce the kind of anti-corporate reforms he's now fired up about. As evidence that he to voters that he means what he says.
Maybe he has some proof, but I haven't really been able to find it in his voting record. I just hope that Edwards supporters will consider that Obama may be more of a populist candidate than Edwards. I can't find one perfect candidate on this campaign trail, but if you're going to ask Obama to put up or shut up, then we should ask Edwards too. Where's the evidence of what you can do legislatively for the nation?