Jonathan+Edwards

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Democrat John Edwards


__===Stand Up, Choose Progress===__

John Edwards was born on June 10th, 1953 in Senceca, South Carolina. He is a Methodist and is married to Elizabeth Edwards. Edwards has had four children, though his oldest passed away in a tragic car accident. In memory of him, John and his wife created the Wade Edwards Foundation to encourage and promote young adults in the search of excellence. Edwards has a history of graduating with honors, and has acquired a very successful lawyer reputation. He has won many difficult cases that were in the interest of the common family. He stresses the importance of the people and wishes to bring the government back to the people. He's been involved with many pro community organizations and events. In 1999 he ran for the Senate and served a successful term of five years. He served as a member on both the Select Committee of Intelligence and the Committee of Judiciary. In 2004, he became the running mate to John Kerry in the presidential election. Kerry and Edwards lost by 3% of the popular vote. Edwards unofficially started his presidential campaign in 2000 by creating opportunities to be heard in Iowa. Edwards has been called a populist by the press, though whatever he may be titled, helping the average family is his chief goal.


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 * Iraq War**:


 * John Edwards has a firm stance against Iraq.
 * He wants to bring 40-50 thousand of our troops back immediately.
 * He wants to have trained experienced troops, not fresh recruits.
 * He opposed the surge of troops into Iraq.
 * He claims the Iraq War was illegal and not supported by Congress.
 * He wants us to withdraw completely from Iraq in at most a year.
 * National Security**:


 * He wants to protect 1st responders, tighten border security, protect terrorist targets, improve readiness levels, and keep America safe and free.
 * He wants to increase staffing, help and protect frontline officers, use the National Guard more effectively, and implement more antiterrorist programs.
 * He wants to guard our sea, land, and air borders by screening cargo and hiring more officers. He wants to guard chemical and nuclear plants, skyscrapers, and arenas, and improve cyber security.
 * He wants Americans to raise readiness levels, improve emergency warnings, and establish standards for professional behavior.
 * Food Safety**:


 * Edwards made a plan to make food safer by taking on the big food companies and food importers on behalf of American consumers and producers.
 * He will label the country of origin, so families can learn where the food is from, and have the choice between domestically-raised and grown food.
 * He would also strengthen the Food and Drug Administration's oversight over the safety of American and imported food.


 * Genocide**:


 * In Africa and Sudan, critical humanitarian cries are occurring.
 * Edwards has helped to outline steps the US can take with NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) allies.
 * This will help to end genocide in Darfur (in country Sudan).
 * It will also support the peace progress in Uganda.
 * Edwards would like to restore America's moral leadership in the world.


 * Global Warming**:


 * Edwards is deeply disturbed by the threat of global warming.
 * He is very active in the fight against global warming
 * He believes that it is not a matter of which can be ignored
 * He encourages every individual can take responsibility is some way, and can help the “fight”.
 * He sees global warming as not just an environmental issue, but an issue of national security
 * Edward's “Carbon Neutral” plan includes gaining energy independence, developing new energy methods, capping carbon emissions, creating a new energy economy and 1 million jobs, and meet the demand for more electricity through efficiency.
 * He promotes the idea of involving other countries and nations to combine resources and technology to add to the effort.
 * Nuclear Weapons**:


 * He believes nuclear programs should not be decimated, but used to promote peaceful nuclear programs
 * He says the current laws ruling nuclear weapons and research are in dire need of updating
 * He says we should work towards a nuclear weapon free world and strengthen efforts to control the spread of nuclear weapons
 * He feels that by restricting trade and interaction with high – risk countries that promote dangerous nuclear technology the advances will halt and be discontinued
 * Edwards believes that the “stick” approach will be the most effective regarding Iran
 * He proposes regional fuel ban used for peaceful purposes
 * He sees North Korea's cooperation as a sign of successfulness of "stick" approach
 * Education:**


 * He thinks education is the key behind every great nation.
 * Quality preschool education will become as common as quality kindergarten.
 * John will provide states with resources to help them create high quality programs for 4 year olds.
 * Teachers are also a very important part of education.
 * That is why John will raise teachers in successful high poverty schools as well as teachers with national certification of excellence and veteran teachers who serve as mentors.
 * The last thing will be to have quality schools for all children to go to.
 * He plans to make better tests to test students progress and identify under-performing schools so they can take action to improve that facility.
 * Economy and Taxes**:


 * John Edwards' goals for office are an answer to both issues.
 * He feels that we need a stronger middle class to sustain, create, and protect jobs in America. Edwards also wants to change the tax system so that we give tax breaks for work, not wealth.
 * He has discussed systems for taxing that were implemented and removed by President Bush, that he feels need to be changed.
 * John believes that the middle class needs to become the center of the economy and that service jobs have to become what manufacturing jobs were to the economy previously.
 * Health Care:**


 * Health care should be cheaper, more accessible, and cover more.
 * Businesses will be required to either cover their employees or help pay for their employees health insurance.
 * John plans to reform old insurance laws and create new tax credits.
 * Poverty**:


 * His goal is for the US to end poverty by 2036 and to reduce it by 1/3 in a decade
 * He plans to make a Working Society where people who are able to work do, and are rewarded for it
 * He wants to create short-term jobs to help people who have skill to work but cannot find a job
 * He plans to revitalize devastated neighborhoods and help people stay away from borrowing money in the wrong way
 * He wants to help the schooling systems to keep kids educated so they can get good jobs
 * He wants to help families be responsible in what they do with their money
 * Abortion**:


 * Women have the right to choose based on their own personal values and religion
 * He will work to support a women's right to choose and reverse the effects of Bush's anti-choice campaign because he does not agree with it;
 * Supreme Court Appointments**:


 * He believes that by putting right-wing people in the Supreme Court the decisions being made are violating women's rights and favoring big businesses over civil rights
 * It is important to this candidate that the next president be democratic so that when it comes time to chose the next justice someone who is right-wing will not be chosen
 * Edwards worries over the school system and how it seems like the people who might not live in the nicer neighborhoods are not getting as good of an education and how the supreme court has already made decisions to hurt this situatio

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Edwards Blog 08
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