My father WORKED for a Living!

[bvar22]

He did NOT have a College Education.
He held a Union Job.
My mother taught grade school.
We lived in neighborhoods with thousands just like us.

My parents were able to safely and comfortably raise 3 children in the 1950s.

They always bought new Buicks, and drove them for 4 years before buying the next one.

They were able to save enough money for a down payment on a home in the suburbs, and paid off the house over 20 years.

We always had HealthCare.

They sent their 3 children to college ("In State" tuition/partial scholarships) without taking out a loan.

We graduated from college in the late 1960s/ early 70s free and clear.

My parents voted "Democrat" religiously, and told us to always vote "Democrat".


The above is NO LONGER POSSIBLE in America today.

We did NOT fail the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party FAILED to protect our way of life by selling out to the BIG MONEY "Special Interests" in the 1980s (DLC).


I support John Edwards because, like my father, I am an American who Works for a Living!!!

NO MORE CorpoDems!


The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

[fooj]

1. My father, too.

I'm right there with you!!!

[aquart]

2. Pity they didn't tell you to vote "Democratic."

But thank you for your concern.

[FlyingSquirrel]

6. Ah, for the good old days...

When the political atmosphere had not been poisoned to the point where peoples' ears had become sensitized to minor inflections/tone/wording to such a degree.

And yes, I am not immune.

[Arugula Latte]

11. What the heck? ... The poster has been here since 2001...

What's with the "concern" crap, aquart?

[sniffa]

13. do you expect any less?

[closeupready]

55. lol. Frankly, no.

n/t

[tammywammy]

86. LOL

Hi! :hi:

I like the new avatar and sig line.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

17. And I've met him personally, since he's a former Minnesotan

:hi:

[mac56]

38. Unnecessarily snarky, Aquart.

Don't ya think?

[bvar22]

39. You might notice that the term "Democrat" is in quotes.

The reason it is in quotes is because that is what my father said, "Vote DEMOCRAT".
However, he always refered to the Party as "The Democratic Party".

I am not ashamed of my Working Class father.
I'm proud of him.
"He did good."


Americans in his position can no longer achieve "The Dream" simply by working hard.
Americans can no longer promise their children that they can "get ahead" by simply "working hard".

I am NOT intrested in preserving the Status Quo.
I do NOT support "reaching across the aisle" or "inviting the Corporate lobbyists to the Table".
Only AFTER the Democratic Party has repaired the damage done to the Working Class since the Carter administration will I be willing to discuss "bipartisanship. Until then, it is WAR, and I want a FIGHTER.

I love Kooch, but have made a strategic decision to support Edwards.


"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[dflprincess]

43. Great post bvar!

How ya doing? :hi:

[bvar22]

87. Hi, Princess.

Doing fine, though I do miss you guys!

May I suggest a location for the next Minnesota DU meetup......my place!
Everyone is welcome.

Say HI to everybody for me.

Bob

[dmallind]

47. Little bit hypersensitive and even questionably accurate

I understand the resistance to the "Democrat Party" smear but in my mind at least we actually vote for Democrats. It's the person's name front and center on the ballot and even if we vote for the Democratic party every time, regardless of who the candidate is, we are still registering votes for the person, who is a Democrat. I'm not ashamed of that label applied to people, and I don't think we should be.

[sniffa]

3. My father's still working.

59 y.o. union laborer.

[Demeter]

4. Off to Live on the Greatest Page With You!

May our children or at least our grandchildren have those protections again.

[redqueen]

5. Thanks for sharing your story.

I'm from a working-class family too.

:hi:

[Warpy]

7. My dad was a professor's son with an engineering degree

My mother came from old money and had an engineering degree she wasn't allowed to use after WWII, so she taught school.

They were not only able to buy most of the houses we lived in and eventually pay one off--after my dad took early retirement--they were able to invest enough that I don't have to work for a living now, not that I'm physically capable of doing so.

I'm not one of the "have mores" that Stupid considers his real base. I'm one of those "have a littles" who realize that continuing to have big money interests run politics and put GOPs or Wall Street Democrats into office is soon going to rob me of everything.

Vote Democratic and vote as far left as you can. Liberals are the only people who know how to run a country so that we all get a fair shake.

[RedEarth]

8. Hey neighbor.........

I heard Edwards might be in Oklahoma City Thursday...might want to check this site if you have the time.....

"Democratic Presidential John Edwards will be in OKC Thursday evening for a FREE Rally that night. Stay tuned for details exclusively here"

http://www.demookie.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36157

[bvar22]

15. Thanks for the Heads Up.

I'll PM you if we can make it!

[asdjrocky]

9. I'm with you friend. n/t

[stravu9]

10. I'm a "Lifer" too.

And I see EVERYDAY how down and out this Nation is.
I see the factory workers whose jobs have been moved to foreign shores who can't find work because there ARE NO JOBS!
I see people who have worked all their lives in construction or in Nursing Homes who are now 50 something, physically unable to continue to use their bodies this way, have bad backs and arthritis and can't support themselves and have no medical coverage.
I see people on fixed income DIVORCE because they will get more benefits from the Government that way.
I see Single Mother's trying to go from Welfare to Work who have trouble finding Daycare Providers and who lose their job if a child becomes ill and they must stay home from work to care for him.

John Edwards is and has been the only one talking the talk!

He is not owned.
That is why the corporate Media are scared to death of him.

Run, John, Run!


"People should not be afraid of their Governments.Governments should be afraid of their People."

[cali]

12. My father was the son of an artist

and started his own business manufacturing computer peripherals. He built up a company from nothing, was always environmentally aware, well before it was fashionable and treated his employees in a way so respectful that few people ever left his company. He was also an anthropologist and expert in Sumer and the Enlightenment, and spoke 3 languages fluently.

[onehandle]

14. kick! nt

[Tennessee Gal]

16. Amen!

I support John Edwards because, like my father, I am an American who Works for a Living!!!

NO MORE CorpoDems!

[dpbrown]

18. You got it, bvar22!!!

The "American Way of Life" is doomed if we keep giving up our power to corporations.

[Wednesdays]

19. It's stunning now that I think about it

Of my two sets of grandparents--

On one side, grandmother was a stay-at-home mom and grandfather worked for Ford. He was just a high school drop out from Oklahoma, had just $40 in his pocket when he ended up in Detroit. But after working the line for 32 years (in 1967), he was worth 1/4 million dollars and had a full pension. During his retirement, every 6 months or so he would buy a brand-new Lincoln Town Car. We have old movies of grandpa and grandma on their annual vacations to Hawaii, Mexico City, etc.

On the other side, grandmother worked part-time as a dentist's assistant. Grandfather was a musician and dabbled in several different jobs before ending up working the line for Chrysler. When they retired in the late 1960's, they owned two houses, one of which was a cottage on a lake. When they tired of that, they bought a farm...and when grandma's arthritis got too much, they sold that farm and bought a very nice house in a retirement community in Sun City, Arizona.

Of my four grandparents, not one took so much as a single college course. Where indeed, would they be today? Certainly not with anything with nearly the benefits they enjoyed back in those days.

[question everything]

25. Thus, at least two corporations; Ford and Chrysler

were very good for your family, not the devil that Edwards and others are trying to depict.

[Luminous Animal]

37. Credit that to unions

not the corporations.

[GrantDem]

64. Amen...

One thing that corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their hearts."

~ Molly Ivins

[Lugnut]

20. K&R

My father was a life-long UMWA member.

[jasmine621]

21. My father worked for a living too. And it was for one of those big corporations

we always love to hate. Corporations don't hurt workers or out source American jobs. THE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW RUNNING the corporations do. Whille we are about "changing government" we need to start a movement to change corporations and their apathetic stock-holders' out look. Why do these people get a pass by hiding behind the boogie-man "corporation?" People need to learn a little about how and who runs corporations. We need to change the outlook of stockholders to hold their CEOs to some level of ethicical and patriotic behavior. We need to hold the people who author bills and vote on regulations and laws that enable corporate power brokers to abuse American taxpayers in so many ways. It took a union movement to change the way manufacturers and others operated during the early 1900's. It's going to take another kind of movement...maybe a taxpayer or consumer revolt to make another change. But it is also going to take super majorities in Congress and strong, tough, President to help it work FOR the people. I'll take my chances with anyone of the top three Dems in office.

[bvar22]

42. Two of the "Top Three"

support deregulation and "Free Trade".
"Free Trade" is just another euphemism for "Deregulation".

Every single Restraint on Trade was put in place to protect something valuable.
Blanket removal of ALL regulation is NEVER a good idea.
Regular review of oversight and regulation IS a good idea.

Neither Hillary or Obama will bring about the necessary changes.
THEY are being financed by the small minority who benefit from the current conditions.


"There are forces within the Democratic Party who want us to sound like kinder, gentler Republicans. I want us to compete for that great mass of voters that want a party that will stand up for working Americans, family farmers, and people who haven't felt the benefits of the economic upturn."---Paul Wellstone

[question everything]

22. So did mine, and my father in law, however they both worked for

corporations that provided decent paychecks and pensions.

Earlier today there were reports about the economy in Michigan and one comment was that middle class really started in the auto industry. This is the last bastion of the old time unions: factory workers, not service ones as we have seen in Nevada.

Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and others that came and went were corporations that provided decent living, health care and pensions. Many retirees of these corporation still enjoy generous pensions and health insurance.

Many people still work for corporations and make a decent living. We would not be able to donate to DU and to other causes, would not be able to save for our retirements, had we not worked for corporations most of our working years.

And I will take working for a nameless corporation where my bosses would have to follow the guidelines of HR, instead of a family owned small business where all my efforts to save the company are being attributed to... Jesus. Where the owner still has a big W on his car, where - so I've heard - he shed tears of joy when Bush entered the White House in 2000, that "finally there is someone like him in the White House."

And, no, I don't have a choice of switching employers and I do not have what it takes to be self employed. Tried it a couple of times.

[Nutmegger]

23. Thank you. R&K [n\t]

[Blue_In_AK]

24. Right on, Bvar,

That's the way I remember it, too.

[Triana]

26. Pretty similar here...and Mom at 80 is worried because...

..we don't have the same opportunities now (and her grandkids won't either).

Corprat 'Murika has stolen the future from the middle class.


ROBBER BARONS!

[eridani]

27. Those are all good reasons for supporting Kucinich as well n/t

[bvar22]

44. I love and support Kooch!

I was proud to stand for Kooch in the Democratic Caucus in 2004.
I still prefer Kucinich, and am completely aligned with him on the Issues.
The decision to support Edwards is strategic.


The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT, but there is NO ROOM for those
who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR.

[eridani]

82. If you are in a primary only state, I understand that

I think that anyone in a caucus state ought to go for the full strength shots of progressive politics, straight up, no soda or ice. Caucuses allow strategy moves further along in the process.

[trashcanistanista]

28. I come from a long line of alcoholics

Grandfather abandoned family during the depression, father worked on and off in construction, mother stay at home. Despite that, my parents paid off their home, always put food on the table and helped me get through college. With my degree I earn 10x more than my dad ever did, am single, non-alchoholic thank god, and have not been able to pay off my home and don't expect to get the same level of health insurance, nor any pension much less social security that my folks enjoyed after their retirement. Something has gone terribly wrong in this country. There are many who are worse off than me. I feel fortunate that I don't have to work 2 jobs. Working people need to wake up and smell the coffee. I support John Edwards, too.

[democrat2thecore]

29. Very well said! -nt

[HughBeaumont]

30. When it comes down to it, Voting Edwards is voting for ALL of us.

It's about soldiers who aren't going to get out of the hellhole the current bastard holding the White House hostage sent them to until at LEAST 2013, when the body count is more than likely to be double what it is now despite the Failure Fuhrer lying to his audience on TV about troop reduction. That's 5 YEARS.

It's about the lives of 47 million Americans; men, women and children, without health insurance. It's about millions more who have lousy health insurance; one of the most mediocre in all of the world, who have the specter of one major illness hanging over their heads. If that happens, most likely everything they worked so hard for will be gone in an instant; straight in the pockets of Big Insurance, Big Med, Big Pharma and their CEOs.

It's about the livelihoods of hard working people who lost their jobs because of plants moving overseas, downsizing, offshoring and the continued plundering of the middle class by heartless CEOs and their shareholders. Often times, they never recover what they made. Underemployment runs rampant in this country thanks to the shifting from industrial to a service (read: lower paying) economy. This is only going to get worse as long as Big Business is allowed carte blanche over the rest of the population thanks to Congress. Seen the multiple thousands being fired from Citi and Sprint? Now what choice do you think THEY'LL make?

It's about people who've been lulled into acceptance that no one is going to correct these problems because they've either lost all hope or even worse, become apathetic in their comfort zones and 24-7 entertainment.

http://www.johnedwards.com/issues/working-families/
http://www.johnedwards.com/issues/health-care/

I plan to contribute to this campaign Friday because I believe his plan and stand by it. Stop selling out the workers of this country. Stop footing the children of this country with tax break and war bills. Start caring.

[earth mom]

31. You're singing to the choir here! And it sounds great!

:woohoo:

[kwassa]

32. We all work for a living, get a grip.

Work is work, whether it is blue-collar or white collar, it is work. I've never understood the phrase "working man" because all except the independently wealthy work for a living.

[bvar22]

52. Keep going.....

Anyone who is NOT independently wealthy or earning less than 200K/year and votes FOR Hillary or Obama is voting AGAINST their economic interest.

Hillary believes the Middle Class is the top 6% (200K and above), and will protect those making above 200K/year from paying any increase in Social Security. (Hillary is AGAINST raising the Cap)

Thanks, Hillary!!!!

[Evergreen Emerald]

33. Yikes! you are using a slur

It is vote "democratic." Your use of the word is not only improper English, it is a slur started by the Republicans.

[rAVES]

41. Ah the Hillbots have no answer but to nitpick the wording...

[denem]

48. Read #39

[bvar22]

54. You need to take that up with my father.

Did you notice the quotation marks around "Democrat"?
I used the quotation marks because that is what he said, although he always refered to the Party as the "Democratic Party".

I am not ashamed of my Working Class father.
During the 50s there were many like him.
In spite of his lack of education, he was a wise and observant Human Being.
He done good! :)
(Want to correct MY English?)


You may try to correct his English, but I don't think he would have much use for you or your candidate.

cheers!

[gmudem]

69. Nice substantive response

Did you even read the post? The OP does a great job of expressing his support for Edwards, and that's the best response you can come up with?

[onehandle]

34. kick. nt

[dionysus]

35. good post

[LSK]

36. My Father was a Union Electrician for 40 years

I worked with him during summers in High School and it was a SHIT JOB.

Go Edwards.

[Nederland]

40. It is not possible today

...because the rest of the world wants the same thing.

[zalinda]

45. For those of you who say corporations support us

You know damn well that there are good corporations and bad corporations. And you know that Edwards is only talking about the bad corporations. Those who are reaping the benefits of government funding but hiring only overseas. Those who try to break the back of the little guy while the CEO's are making more than 400 times their average worker, are the bad guys. Costco who starts their employees at $15 an hour are the good guys, but they get lost in the shuffle.

And unless you have lived counting every single penny until the next paycheck, year after year, you DON'T know what it's like. You don't know the fear of getting sick, or the next phone call from a collection agency, or telling your kids, mom will eat later, when there is no more food. You JUST DON'T KNOW. Edwards is speaking up for US, and he is the only one who is that has a shot at the Presidency.

And while the rest of you talk about Clinton and Obama like they're American Idols, we, those who are always forgotten will not get health care, will not have a higher minimum wage, will not get better schools, will not get better jobs. Because in all they're rhetoric, they never once talk about the poor, we will never be able to afford THEIR health care. Nothing will change, we will remain invisible. With Edwards at least we'll have a shot at the American dream, which is all we are asking for.

zalinda

[truedelphi]

84. Anytime anyone says that Clintonand Obama are the same as Edwards

I cringe.

I think Rachel Maddow is right when she says that if we want to strengthen the party, vote Hillary.

If we want a great personality, vote Obama. If we want power for ourselves, vote Edwards.

Your many words summed up what I think about whenever Hillary is on TV. Watched a recent speech of hers at Silicon Valley where she bragged about her getting the foreign worker visas for the computer company CEO's.

Then a few breaths later, she is saying, we need to enourage our chidlren to do well in math and science.

The woman has it wrong. The kids see that their dad or mom, who hold not one but TWO master's degrees in the sciences, go out of work while someone from India or Bangladesh is invited here to work the job they should be working. So why the heck should American kids do their homework? The research labs are now in Singapore, there are more than enough teachers, etc. The kids realize that this country is being sold out from under the feet of the middle income class.

Doesn't Hillary realize it? And she is responsible for it...

[China_cat]

46. I remember that there were 2 big milestones in a guy's

life when I was growing up (I specify guy, because at that time women rarely worked outside the home and if they did, not at union jobs)...getting your driver's license and getting your union card.

[Dawgs]

49. I might have more sympathy if Edwards didn't vote for a war that cost us billions.

Besides talk, what has he done since entering the Senate to help the working class?

[desertflamingo]

53. if not edwards, then who?

he is the ONLY viable candidate talking "our" talk and not the corporate or republican-lite talk. at least he's addressing what so many of us are experiencing and his message HAS NOT changed. i believe him. i believe his wife. he is an evolving man with roots in the middle class. i'd rather vote for someone who's talking the talk than vote for someone who's not talking the talk but who i HOPE will do the right thing once they're president. furthermore, i, too, swore i would never vote for anyone who voted for the war; however, he has not triangulated is apology, he said it plain and simple - i was wrong. i admire that. i'm so sick of these bullshite candidates who CANNOT answer a question without going 'round and 'round until you can't even remember what you asked them. edwards does not do that. you only do that when you are owned by someone else or you're trying to put something over on someone - and he is not. so... i ask you to not be myopic about his vote on the war and look beyond that to what he's saying AND the plans he's presented. he's not perfect for me, but dammit, he's hands down better than ALL the rest (except for kucinich, though i'm mad at him for throwing his iowa voters to obama).

[Dawgs]

57. Maybe Kucinich threw his support to Obama because he actually walked the walk on helping the poor.

And, Obama also had the judgement on being against the war.

I just don't see any there there when it comes to Edwards. I will agree that he does have a good message.

[Ignis]

50. Right on! K&R. (nt)

[oasis]

51. I work for a living and I'm a loyal Democrat.

:dem:

[desertflamingo]

56. damn right!

my mom was a divorced woman raising two kids in the 60s and 70s. she worked for an international corporation - alcoa - and started as a part-time pbx operator in the 50s with just a high school education. she struggled, worked long hours and without any child support or any other support from my dad, provided for us pretty damn well. when i was in high school, she made $700/mo. she eventually became one of the first female managers. it was tough, but... we had health care, nice clothes, and really whatever we needed - not wanted, needed. now she's retired with a very nice pension, a great portfolio, health care and recently bought a very nice home. me? college grad with a trade and struggling all the time. i make far more than my mom EVER made, i don't have kids and thank goodness because i can't afford them. i own my home, have very little debt and some savings, and i own my car... but it's always always tight. there's not much wiggle room. i don't go on vacations, don't have cable, etc etc. i will not have a retirement package AND i'll probably be working until i'm dead. sadly, i'm not alone. what the hell has happened to this country? i see john edwards as the savior of this nation. he is not perfect, and i don't agree with all of his policies; however, he's talking about what really ails this country and he recognizes the people who make it great are being squeezed out of the picture, destined to be slaves to the "man." i pray he will make it all the way to the white house, though i have to say, the similarities between him and bobby kennedy make me nervous (need i go further with that?). i truly believe he is the man who will change our fucked up world. i see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. i hope i'm not wrong because if i am and he turns out to not be the guy he's presenting or doesn't make it to the presidency, we are doomed.

edwards '08

[Pierzin]

58. Amen to you. k&r!! John Edwards is the man! #83

I wish it could be DK but he doesnt have a chance.
Everyone in my family is struggling too, and no one has a decent job.
There are no factories that make anything. Housing is outrageous. Health care is bad. College? Fogedaboutit. Unless you want to be in debt the rest of your life.

[peacock]

59. Thank you bvar22!

Everyone who supports JRE please doanate any few dollars or cents you can on Jan 18.

http://johnedwards.com/

WE ARE THE DECIDERS!

Let´s prove it!

[Pierzin]

60. welcome to du peacock!

[7horses]

61. Vote John Edwards!

Ever notice how the rich talking heads of the media are always trying to put any Democrat down who talks about helping the poor or fighting the corporations, by saying, 'CLASS WAR'? Well damn right! It has been a class war with the middle class and the 'working poor' losing in that war. We need to help John Edwards in his fight against the corporations and for the middle class. Remember to donate on Friday to John Edward to help break the record for a one day donation to a candidate. Go, John go!!!

[GrantDem]

62. My father also...

proud union member and was able to support the family with a single income.

[snagglepuss]

63. Excellent post.

k & r

[MissDeeds]

65. Those were great days

I remember as a child going into the polling booth with my grandma and asking her how she wanted to vote. The answer was always the same: "Straight Democrat". And like your parents, she said "Democrat". Great memories. Thanks for posting this.

[dmallind]

67. And she was right

they were voting for Democrats, not Democratics. We vote for people after all.

And heck most of em probably WERE straight too ;) (sorry couldn't resist...)

[MissDeeds]

74. good one!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Lorien]

66. Rosanne Barr has been saying the same for years now

she says that a family like the Conners (from her sitcom) does not exist much of anywhere in America anymore. Raising four kids on two blue collar incomes and living in a decent four bedroom home? Not happening. My mother's parents were just like yours and they also raised four kids and put them through college on blue collar wages. The repugs and the DLC have made that way of life vanish for most of America, and hardly anyone is saying anything about it!

Oh yeah, and Barr is an Edwards supporter (She even sells "Gore/ Edwards '08" T-shirts on her site): http://www.roseanneworld.com/blog/

[Historic NY]

68. The limousine, merlot drinking wing of the party sold us out....

add in the Hollywood mix and the influence peddlers and Joe Six-pack who built the party is outside looking in. I ask is no wonder we clamor for change? It time to vote for our wallets and our way of life. We are the endangered species the blue collar Democrat. I'm voting for change. I am tired of being an outcast in my own country. I am a Democrat, damm it not some commie, pinko, whining liberal.

[Seabiscuit]

77. Hey, don't knock merlot in a limousine! It's better than a cab in a cab.

[hunter]

70. My parents worked hard and are enjoying a very comfortable retirement.

They sent me to off to college and I graduated without any loans. My parents entertain themselves by traveling far and wide, volunteering within their community, and remodeling their house.

If their grandkids worked just as hard as they did, in the same jobs, they'd never be able to afford the sort of house we grew up in. Their kids would have to take out huge loans to go to college. When their grandkids retired they'd probably end up in a small apartment trying to decide if they should pay the dentist or the electric bill because they couldn't pay both.

Living standards are almost certainly declining for lower and middle class families. Sure it's a little easier to afford shiny toys like televisions, but the cost of important substantial stuff like college educations, medical insurance, housing, etc. is much greater.

[Lasher]

71. I couldn't sum it up better.

I'm retired and will be 59 tomorrow. My wife and I are not rich but are relatively secure in our modest lifestyle. We have medical coverage. I worry a lot about most of the younger folks today. No pension, no health care, become an indentured servant to get an education, declining real income. They stole the American Dream from us.

:cry:

[PleadTheFirst]

72. K&R

You summed it up perfectly.

[debbierlus]

73. Ditto Here: My dad collasped on the mill floor after 42 years of swing shifts

Fortunately, he was on the tail end of decent pension & benefits & he was able to go on disability until he retired. He had invested in stocks with a matching fund & he had wonderful health care coverage. Good thing because he has needed two pace makers to the tune of over 100,000 (that is the cost JUST for the pace makers, isn't that SICK).

He was one of the last for his company. His old mill closed just last week.

I am a blue collar girl, born & bred. I worked at a mill with the workers as a occupational health nurse, & I saw how they worked, the long hours, the monotony of their jobs. That mill is now closed as well.

The global corporations are out to make the whole world indentured servants, as they rule all.

Obama & Hilliary are PART of that system. I hope Edwards is sincere as he sounds. He is the only feasible choice right now.

[crud76]

75. "The Democratic Party is a BIG TENT,

but there is NO ROOM for those who advance the agenda of THE RICH (Corporate Owners) at the EXPENSE of LABOR and the POOR."

To that I would add small business - people who struggle to make it on their own and have lost ground along with most everyone else these past terrible twenty seven years.

[childslibrarian]

76. Whooo hoo

You go:bounce: :hi: :kick:

[midnight]

78. DITTO!!!!!!!!! John Edwards-Making a living wage popular-again.

[VotesForWomen]

79. no offense, but men who work 'manly,' union jobs think that they're the only ones who work; they're

they're not. i have worked with these guys and i have worked with people in the semi-fast food industry, who make minimum wage and have no rights or benefits, and the latter group works harder and has a lot better attitude than the former. i wish unions would take a good look in the mirror, and make some sensible reforms, or they are going to continue to disappear, and this is at a time when the average american worker needs all the help they can get. btw, i like edwards fine, he's probably the best out of the 'top 3' on workers' rights.

[ColesCountyDem]

80. 3rd-generation Democrat and 'forgotten American' here.

Although my paternal grandmother had been raised to be a Republican, I remember her telling all of us how the Great Depression showed her the Republican Party's 'true colors' and made her into a Democrat for the remainder of her life. My other 3 grandparents were committed, 'yellow dog' Democrats and all of their children were, too, as are virtually all of their grandchildren.

Mom's father was a union plumber and her mom was a seamstress and homemaker. Dad's father started as a coal miner, became a school teacher in a one-room, country school and, in his 30's, managed to attend and graduate law school at the University of Illinois; he went on to be elected county judge and served in that capacity for 16 years. He then practiced law privately for the next 37 years, until his death.

My grandparents were all able to own their own homes, send their children to college, afford health and life insurance and save enough money to decently supplement their retirement pensions, and so were their children. In contrast, MANY of their grandchildren are struggling, despite having good educations and working one or two full-time jobs.

What's happened to us, America? We're playing 'by the rules', just like we were taught to do, but we're not seeing the rewards we were told we would surely receive, if we did.

[Lou Syffire]

81. So did MY father

he worked really really hard. Put his soul into things. Does he get any thanks? Not really. He's damned more than he's praised, on a daily basis. Plus he keeps it all in. I'm afraid it will kill him some day. I tell him he needs to vent more, but so far he's kept it in check.

[truedelphi]

83. This was my favorite topic in a month

My Hat is off to you for writing it and putting it up to share.

[uppityperson]

85. New Buicks?

My parents raised a bunch of us, dad worked outside, mom raised us then died. They had loans for home, and borrowed from parents. Drove used cars, don't think ever had a new car until kids were gone. Had college loans and healthcare. 1 voted Dem, 1 Repub until Repubs became so fundamentally righteously right that they didn't represent parent.

[ChiciB1]

88. Same Here, & My Husband WORKED For A Union Too! I See A

completely different America than ever before, and THAT'S what John Edwards is trying to give us back!!

Our America!!!