Presidential candidate Edwards not hypocriteBy Kevin Wilson: Freedom Newspapers
June 5
Since it’s already come up and will come up more in our campaign season, let’s have a vocabulary lesson.
Today’s word is “hypocrisy.” On dictionary.com, it’s “a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.”
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We know what is a hypocrite, so let’s talk about what isn’t — John Edwards. You’ll be told over the next few months he’s a hypocrite because he’s a millionaire lecturing about how hard it is for people living in poverty.
Ask these people why it’s hypocritical to want to help a social class you aren’t a part of. Also ask if it was hypocritical for any white person to participate in the civil rights movement in the 1960s because they weren’t black. I think you have your answer.
Now, if Edwards had used his Senate votes to support George Bush’s tax cuts that would have lined his pockets and cut from social programs the poor rely on, that would define hypocrisy. But Edwards voted against those tax breaks for himself.
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Maybe you don’t like John Edwards because you’re leery of people who make money as a trial lawyer. Maybe you don’t think his one Senate term is enough experience to get things done in Washington. If those are your reasons for voting elsewhere, don’t support Edwards or others who fit that criteria.
But don’t vote against Edwards for being a hypocrite on poverty. He’s not.
http://www.pntonline.com:80/opinion/edwards_10823___article.html/hypocrite_don.html