John Edwards's Blog

Learning the Lesson of Iraq: A New Strategy for Iran

John Edwards — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:24:59 EST

The following is a speech delivered today in Iowa City.

Five years ago, the Bush Administration went to war with Iraq, a war we all know now we did not need to fight. Today, we see the results of that fateful decision -- a civil war with no end in sight... a black hole in our budget... and nearly 4,000 brave men and women in our military who have paid the ultimate price.

A famous philosopher once observed that those who don't remember history are condemned to repeat it. Unfortunately, the war in Iraq isn't even history yet, but the Bush Administration is repeating the march to war with Iran -- and they're getting help from people who should know a lot better.

George Bush, Dick Cheney, and the neocon warmongers used 9/11 to start a war with Iraq and now they're trying to use Iraq to start a war with Iran. And we have to stop them. We owe our American heroes -- the men and women in our armed services who are fighting so bravely in Iraq and Afghanistan today -- no less. Many of our soldiers are the same age as some of you here today -- or even younger. We owe them and their families this solemn oath: we will make every national security decision as carefully and responsibly as is humanly possible.

This is a critical moment. As a nation, we stand today at a fork in the road with Iran. We have a real choice about the direction we'll take. One path will replay the last seven years. It leads toward a dark future of belligerence, aggression, and war.

We need a new direction -- one that will defuse the Iran threat, rather than aggravate it, one that will make America safer, not make the world more dangerous.

Emergency ad to end the war

John Edwards — Wed, 02 May 2007 22:27:10 EDT

This is the moment of truth on Iraq. The veto we knew would come has arrived. Congress must now make a decision: cave in to Bush and extend the war, or send back a binding plan to end it.

I asked my staff to create an emergency television ad that would bring the people's voice directly to Congress, calling on them to make the right choice. They worked late into the night and we now have a powerful message ready to go on the air in D.C. as soon as tomorrow morning.

But I need your help: We need to raise $100,000 in 24 hours to air this ad. If you want to make sure every member of Congress, their staff, and the national press corps see this message at this critical time, I need you to chip in whatever you can afford right now, at:

www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople

Is it normal for a presidential campaign to drop everything and focus on pushing Congress to end a war? Maybe not.

Is it normal for you to contribute money online towards running emergency ads in Washington, D.C.? Maybe not.

But we don't have time for normal. We've got a few days maybe less to do absolutely everything we can to ensure this Congress responds to Bush's veto by sending another binding plan to end the war.

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. I need you to pitch in $5, $50, $500 or whatever you can manage to rush this ad on the D.C. airwaves in the next 24 hours. You can see the ad and make your contribution here:

www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople

And there's another twist. I wanted this ad to be about the voice of the people. And that means I don't just need your help putting it on the air, I need your voice.

We've designed the ad so you can actually add yourself in online. We hope that dozens, hundreds or even thousands of people will send in video clips of themselves echoing the message of the ad "We the people" are asking Congress to stand up to Bush.

If you have a video camera, or you can borrow one, please take a minute to send a clip of yourself saying "We the People" that we can put into the online version of the ad and get your friends to do the same.

You can see the ad, make your contribution, and send in your video clips online at:

www.johnedwards.com/wethepeople

Seizing this moment and ending this war is going to take every single one of us chipping in and adding our voice. But I believe we're up to the challenge. And with your help, I believe we'll succeed.

Thank you,

--John Edwards
Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Moment of Truth on Iraq

John Edwards — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:21:31 EDT

Are you ready to end this war? Then it's time to act.

In the last 48 hours both houses of Congress passed a bill to end the war by funding the troops with a clear timeline to bring them home. Bush's inevitable veto will probably happen in less than 4 days.

Everything depends on what Congress does next. Many in Washington think it's time to give in. We made our point, they argue, and now we should just give Bush another blank check to extend his war.

No. This Congress was not elected to make points "it was elected to end the war. When Bush vetoes, Congress must pass another spending bill just like this one, that funds the troops and brings them home. And they should do it again. And again. Until we end this war.

We've got about 96 hours to flood Washington with the names and comments of constituents calling on Congress to stand firm. We're aiming to deliver 100,000 names and comments from all over the country before Congress decides its next move.

We are not spectators in all of this. Our voice has real power. Please use yours today:

www.johnedwards.com/action/sign-petitions/standfirm

What are we up against here? You've seen it already.

How many times have you already heard things like "Democrats are the party of surrender" or "Democrats want to wave the white flag" from right-wing talking heads?

This is the classic Rove/Bush strategy: Pump the airwaves so full of frightening spin that the Democrats second guess themselves into paralysis and give up.

Not this time.

We will not be intimidated because we see what's behind every empty, chest-thumping right-wing talking point. We see another soldier who will never again leave his wheelchair. We see another American family stricken with grief. And we see hundreds of thousands of our men and women in uniform waking up every morning wondering if their family will be the next to lose someone they love.

That's why we have no choice: we've got to be louder than Rove, louder than Bush, and louder than any fear that might throw Congress off course. That might sound impossible. But if that's what it takes, then we've got to do the impossible "and together I firmly believe that we can.

Please add your name and comments today, and we'll make sure you are heard in Washington at this critical time.

www.johnedwards.com/action/sign-petitions/standfirm

Thank you for taking action when your country needs you most.

Sincerely,

--John Edwards
Friday, April 27, 2007

Fire Karl Rove

John Edwards — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 16:17:08 EDT

Dear Friend,

There is a trail of rot making its way through our government"and it leads straight to Karl Rove.

New evidence shows that Rove has been methodically working to twist even the most impartial branches of the federal government "including the Justice Department" to serve the Republican Party at the expense of the American people.

Enough is enough. Impartial justice must be protected. Integrity in government must be defended. Karl Rove must be fired.

Tomorrow, John Edwards is going on national television to take part in the first presidential debate. And that night, he's going to call on George Bush to fire Karl Rove.

Will Bush listen? Not to John alone. Not to you or me alone. But if thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of us speak out together to demand accountability for Karl Rove and end their era of cynical, destructive, partisan government"we cannot be ignored.

Please add your name, so when John speaks out at tomorrow's debate it's clear that he's speaking for thousands. We'll keep a signature counter online to show how many have joined the call.

www.johnedwards.com/fire-rove

Karl Rove's assault on our democracy is not new. We all know how Rove's strategy of relentless deception has poisoned our political debate and led to disaster after disaster for our country"starting with the war in Iraq.

But these latest revelations show that no branch of our government is safe as long as Karl Rove is in it.

It is now clear that Rove was at the center of the outrageous, politically-motivated firing of eight U.S. Attorneys. When this scandal broke, John Edwards was the first candidate to call for the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales for politicizing justice and betraying the public trust.

Some of these officials were fired because they refused to buckle under to demands that they manipulate the timing of voter fraud investigations, or because they were investigating well connected Republican defense contractors.

And now it seems clear that the White House had its fingers all over this purge. Whose fingers? Karl Rove's, of course.

And Rove's motivations may have been even more insidious than rewarding party loyalists. There are indications that this was all part of his plan to install partisan U.S. Attorneys that would help Republican candidates in 2008 by interfering with minority voter registration drives.

And now, evidence has emerged that that shows Rove has been pressuring impartial federal agencies and employees to use government contracts and other favors to help Republican candidates.

At some point, the very fabric of impartial justice and a government that works for the people "not political parties" is so threatened that we simply cannot sit back and wait for the next election to clean house. That point is now.

In 24 hours John will speak out to the national media gathered to cover the presidential debate and call on President Bush to fire Karl Rove and Alberto Gonzales. That means we have 24 hours to gather enough support to ensure that when John steps forward, he's not stepping forward alone.

www.johnedwards.com/fire-rove

Thank you,

--David Bonior
Campaign Manager
John Edwards for President

Elizabeth

John Edwards — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:08:10 EDT

Elizabeth and I are so grateful for your prayers and wishes. Your support means a great deal to us during this difficult time.

As you may have heard, yesterday we found out that Elizabeth's breast cancer is back, but confined mainly to her bones. Although this isn't the news we wanted to hear, we are very optimistic. Having been through many struggles together in the past, we know that the key is to keep your head up, keep moving and be strong. And that's exactly what we intend to do.

Elizabeth and I have been married for nearly 30 years and we will be in this every step of the way together. We will keep a positive attitude and always look for the silver lining -- that's what we do.

Although the cancer is no longer curable, it is treatable, and many patients in similar circumstances have lived full, energetic lives. We expect nothing less for Elizabeth. She expects to do all the things next week that she did last week.

Our campaign goes on and it goes on strongly. We are so proud of the campaign we are running -- a campaign based on ideas and reaching out to people. This campaign is not about me or Elizabeth -- it's about all the people we have met these past few years and people like them all across America and the world -- people worried about feeding and clothing their kids; people without health care; people facing hardships overseas.

Both of us are committed to this campaign. We're committed to this cause and we're committed to changing this country we love so much.

Thank you again for your support and for standing with us.

John Edwards

P.S.-- Many of you have asked how to contact our family and the campaign. You can click here to send us a note. Quite a few supporters and friends have already e-mailed and blogged such kind messages. Thank you so much.