February 2004

Do As We Say: Vote for John Edwards on Election Day

With the "Super Tuesday" Democratic Primary elections this Tuesday, and most of the Evil Robots family in either NY, MD or MA, we decided to finally endorse a candidate for President of the United States.

We have picked John Edwards, the Senator from North Carolina.

The primary reasoning behind this endorsement is based on Massachusetts Senator John Kerry being remarkably unlikable. Sure, it's not because we know him personally, but rather, it's on account of him being unable to give us a concrete reason to like him. We have found it nearly impossible to extract a tangible theme in his campaign. He looks like he's running to run.

Godzilla, a long time ago, back when it was still too soon to really care, thought that maybe John Kerry was the way to go. Then he witnessed, as did the rest of the world, how much of a political opportunist he is. And a sissy. As the clear front runner over a year ago, he went along with the Bush Administration on the Iraq War so as to not fall into the "unpatriotic" trap set so obviously by Bush and Company. Then he claimed to be SHOCKED that it was all a farce. Godzilla is disappointed with the Democratic Party, including Mr. Edwards, as a whole for being so spineless, but he is particularly turned off by John Kerry's clear poll-based flip-flopping.

John Edwards' campaign, on the other hand, is grounded in concrete values honed over a lifetime of service to his community. Grandpa first noticed Edwards in February of 2003, and took to him like a fish to water. Godzilla remembers being impressed with a profile of Edwards he read in Washington Monthly back in September of 2002, which persuaded him that Edwards prior career as a crusading trial lawyer was an asset (despite what sued-for-screwing-the middle class-with-their-pants-on Republicans would surely put forth).

But back to the issues, which is what we really care about. Edwards basic message is this: a Government's policies reveal what it's leaders value most, and the Bush administration seems to value the super-rich above all. Do those who work two jobs, 60 hours a week, to feed and clothe their family deserve a greater piece of both Bush tax cuts? Or should more of that be given to the investor, and the inheritor, reflecting the administrations greater respect for passive income.

On each issue critical in this campaign, Sen. Edwards urges Americans to think about not only the reason for action, but the deeper implications. His philosophy creates a strong platform for a campaign against the sitting President, who would prefer to fight battles on his terms. On the tax issue, President Bush will argue, "My opponent will raise your taxes!" To which Sen. Edwards will respond, "That is not true, Mr. President. In fact, I wish to lower the taxes for all working Americans this time around. America can no longer afford to undervalue hard-working Americans." Or something to that effect.

We think that John Edwards attention to the economy is demonstrative of a compassionate leader. While Mr. Bush constant asserts that the economy is in good shape, Mr. Edwards breaks it down for the average American. While it's true that "the economy" as a system is performing well, this has very little affect on the vast majority of Americans. The vast majority of Americans do not live off of massive investments in the stock market. The vast majority of Americans are working people, whether it be behind a desk or underneath a car. The Economy has survived in maximizing profits while minimizing economic benefit to the rest of us. The export of jobs from the US has resulted in a better bottom line for corporations and investors, but is stripping Americans of opportunity. Mr. Edwards understands that a healthy economy is more than just the bottom line- it's opportunity for all to pursue, and achieve, a degree of happiness that working at Wal-Mart because Detroit prefers to manufacture autos in Brazil can seldomly provide.

Unlike Kerry, Edwards is not simply opposed to the President. John Edwards' strongest similarity to John Kerry is in Kerry's speeches. More and more each day, John Kerry has been putting pieces of John Edwards' message into his. As a front-runner, he is becoming more of an empty suit every day. We can only imagine that presidential candidate Kerry would begin to integrate Bush's mantra's into his speeches if necessary. That will not do. The Democrats need a candidate who's ideas can stand alone against and in opposition to Bush's.

This is why we think John Edwards is more "electable" that John Kerry. First of all, we think that the "electability" issue is bullshit. Most likely this was an idea spread by conservatives fearful of a Democratic candidate with integrity. After all, we know how Bush feels about integrity if we think back to the libelous and unethical push-polling conducted in the South Carolina primary in the last election to destroy John McCain. Polls asked voters how if they would vote for McCain if they knew he had fathered a child with a black woman out of wedlock. This to play off the fact that McCain and his wife had adopted an asian child. This kind of tact is repulsive at best. If this is the style of campaigning we can clearly expect from George W. Bush, wouldn't it be better to send in a candidate who has more of a reputation of crusading for the common man than one of waffling in favor of political expediency?

We feel that John Edwards has set convictions that will most benefit the American people. We urge Americans to vote with their hearts and not fall for the cynical trap of "electability". Edwards offers the best opportunity for a departure draconian policies of the Bush Administration.

In our opinion, John Edwards has managed to create a message and campaign which will not only be able to defeat the incumbent, but that will also go a long way to calming the divisive stalemates in Congress. Not to sound trite, but John Edwards may be the "uniter" we've certainly not seen in Bush.

He's running behind, and is a long-shot, but a strong performance on March 2, and an even stronger one on March 9th will give John Edwards a chance to win the nomination. We not only urge you to vote for Sen. Edwards, but you should also encourage your family to follow suit. After all, this election is a referendum of the soul of America. We'd hope to see compassion and equality beat political opportunism, which should ultimately trump corporate piracy.