It’s snowing tonight in Rochester. About everything is shut down. So, I’m spending some time, drinking a bit of Irish Coffee, and warming myself in front of a roaring computer. Looking outside, we’ve got a fresh snow measuring a good foot on the ground, and it’s showing no signs of stopping. A practically dry Christmas, and now this. It’s metephoric, I think for what I see going on in the political world of late. Take these last few days for an example…
Democrats, we are told, are looking for a new voice, one who shares the vision of the American people for their future.. someone who doesn’t represent big money, and who represents fairness. So, who comes to the front of the line? Who do the Democrats claim is the answer to their quest?
None other than (drum roll, please) Sen. John Edwards, the Multi-multi millionare lawyer. Edwards, as you may know, made all his money, being a professional ambulance chaser.
He was on all three national TV morning shows, all at the same time, the morning after his announcement. You couldn’t escape it, if you had the TV running. That they have this timing suggests a willing press being used as campaign fodder by the Democrats who are struggling to get back into the spotlight, after the voters kicked them out last November.
That rather obvious point aside, the Democrats will tell you with smiles on their faces that Edwards largely funded his own Senate campaign with a $20-50 million fortune. What they don’t say, what’s hidden behind the smile, is that he got all that money as a trial lawyer, winning huge medical malpractice and products liability
claims.
Back in the day of the debate over the Tobacco settlement, many Republicans, including then House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., singled out the multibillion-dollar contingency fees contained in the proposed tobacco settlement for “enriching a small group of trial lawyers” rather than aiding children’s health. Newt was right, too… and Edwards is one such person.
In 1997, a suit leveled by Edwards, gathered a state record $23.5 million award. Edwards went on to break his own record later that year with a $30 million award. In an area of practice where the mouth piece gets around 30% fees, one can easily see the attraction.
However; that amount of money, and that kind of voting history comes with a cost, assuming the the Republicans are willing to extract such a cost… we know full and well the press won’t. That cost is simply described. Edwards is going to be hard pressed to sell himself to the public as ‘Joe Everyman’, given his millionaire status. His vote record certainly doesn’t reflect the desires of the average American, either, further eroding his chances. While the so-called mainstream news media calls edwards a moderate, let’s consider they did that with Bill Clinton, as well.
Since they won’t tell you about this, I will.
Edwards voted NO to partial birth abortion ban
Edwards voted NO to eliminating the marriage tax penalty.
Edwards voted NO to repealing the estate tax
Edwards voted NO on the confirmation of Interior Secretary Gale Norton
Edwards voted NO to the bipartisan tax cut plan
Edwards voted NO to temporarily suspending the gasoline tax.
Edwards voted NO to limiting the social security tax to 50% of total benefits (it had been 85%).
Edwards was backed by Bill Clinton, who raised around 400,000 dollars for him.
Edwards voted NO to stopping the use of federal funds to distribute the “morning after pill” on school grounds.
Is there any doubt that this is the record of a far-leftist?
This… this is supposed to be new, and refreshing?
This is not supposed represent big money?
This is supposed to represent fairness?
Sorry, but this is nothing more than the same often criminal tripe the DNC has been pushing for decades.
Clearly this support of a rich lawyer is nothing new for the Democrats, who have been in the hip pocket of the American Trial Lawyers Association (ALTA) for decades. Thing is, for all Edwards’ blowing smoke about healthcare as an issue, and for all the noises form the DNC that this will be an issue come next Presidential election, has anyone seriously looked at the role Edwards and his ilk have played in the worsening healthcare situation in this country?
Perhaps we should do so here, since again, the so-called mainstream News Media won’t. And certainly Edwards the ATLA and the Democrats won’t.
The biggest problem with doctor fees right now, are insurance costs. Malpractice insurance is driving good doctors out of their practice. ATLA falsely blames insurance companies. So does Edwards. But wait! Ask the question: Where are the doctors going? They’re retring, but the ones that aren’;t ready to retire yet are leaving for states that have Tort reform on the books… you know.. the tort reform the ATLA and their puppets, Democrats, are against, and are lying about, while
states without tort reform are losing doctors to the exodus. As a result, the United States increasingly faces a health care crisis.
This is not the fault of the insurance companies, but rather of the kind of outrageous lawsuits that we’ve seen. Trial lawyers like John Edwards are the biggest reason why. The ‘get all the money you have coming to you’ commericals we’re all assulted with daily of late from lawyers like Edwards have a price… and healthcare costing more in those few places you can now find it, is that cost.
The gargantuan awards in malpractice lawsuits brought by Edwards and his fellows, have caused a lot of insurers to abandon medicine altogether, and those that remain have been forced to raise premiums to rates that have been bankrupting doctors… yes, even those who have never had an insurance issue. Some of the doctors I’ve seen
reporting on such matters, say they’re getting hit with rate increases of between 20 to 400 percent in the last few years. This can get into the range of $200,000 per year, per doctor. Gee, do you suppose this might affect your healthcare coverage costs?
A report in the paper, “Roll Call”, 86 percent of the $1.39 million raised by Edwards’ recently formed political action committee came from fellow trial lawyers. Roll Call writes, “No other Congressional leader or potential presidential contender has such a heavy reliance on a single industry for their leadership PAC.”
The reasons for such PACs, along with the ATLA want Edwards in office is to gather them yet more money. Problem here is they’ll finish the job they’ve started; killing off affordable healthcare in this country. I say it again:These are the people killing off healthcare, and the people who need it.
And they’re running for office.
What I find particularly frustrating here, is the lying Edwards and his supporters have already started with: He makes lots of noise about ‘helping the helpless’, but his record is one of making a fortune and cutting a path to power, by chasing Doctors out of business, and thereby harming the helpless who are now without healthcare they need as a direct result.
I wonder; how many people have already died because of people like Edwards? This guy wants to be elected President? Like the snow outside, tonight, the level of nonsense from the Democrats constitutes a snow job that shows no sign of stopping soon. Break out the shovel.