JOHN EDWARDS
CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT - 2008
Bilderberg 'performance' key
to Edwards VP pick
'He reported back directly to Kerry'
said participant in super-secret conference
World Net Daily | July 8 2004
Sen. John Edwards' standout
"performance" at the super-secret Bilderberg meeting in Italy last
month may have been a key reason for his selection as John Kerry's
vice presidential running mate, according to the New York Times.
The 50th anniversary conference of the elite
group – which many believe conspires semi-annually to foster
global government – met June 3 through June 6 in Stresa, Italy, at
the Grand Hotel des Iles Borromees.
Among the attendees from the U.S., according
to a list obtained by WND, were Senators John Edwards, D-N.C. and
Jon Corzine, D-N.J., Henry Kissinger, Richard Perle, Melinda Gates
(wife of Bill Gates), David Rockefeller, Timothy F. Geithner,
president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Donald Graham,
chairman and CEO of the Washington Post Company, and even Ralph
Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition.
(Here
is the entire Bilderberg attendance list as published previously
by WND.)
According to a
report in yesterday's New York Times by Jody Wilgoren,
analyzing why Kerry chose Edwards over the other 24 serious
contenders for the No. 2 spot:
Several people pointed to the secretive and
exclusive Bilderberg conference of some 120 people that this year
drew the likes of Henry A. Kissinger, Melinda Gates and Richard A.
Perle to Stresa, Italy, in early June, as helping win Mr. Kerry's
heart. Mr. Edwards spoke so well in a debate on American politics
with the Republican Ralph Reed that participants broke Bilderberg
rules to clap before the end of the session. Beforehand, Mr.
Edwards traveled to Brussels to meet with NATO officials,
brandishing his foreign-policy credentials.
"His performance at Bilderberg was important,"
said a friend of Mr. Kerry who was there. "He reported back
directly to Kerry. There were other reports on his performance.
Whether they reported directly or indirectly, I have no doubt the
word got back to Mr. Kerry about how well he did."
Since 1953, the Bilderberg group has convened government,
business, academic and journalistic representatives from the U.S.,
Canada and Europe with the express purpose of exploring the future
of the North Atlantic community.
According to sources that have penetrated the
high-security meetings in the past, the Bilderberg meetings
emphasize a globalist agenda and promote the idea that the notion
of national sovereignty is antiquated and regressive.
'Shadowy aura'
"It's officially described as a private
gathering," noted a BBC report last year, "but with a guest list
including the heads of European and American corporations,
political leaders and a few intellectuals, it's one of the most
influential organizations on the planet."
And according to a BBC report on June's
conference in Stresa: "Not a word of what is said at Bilderberg
meetings can be breathed outside. No reporters are invited in and
while confidential minutes of meetings are taken, names are not
noted. The shadowy aura extends further – the anonymous
answerphone message, for example; the fact that conference venues
are kept secret. The group, which includes luminaries such as
Henry Kissinger and former UK chancellor Kenneth Clarke, does not
even have a website."
But, counter participants, the secrecy is not
evidence of a grand conspiracy, but only an opportunity to speak
frankly with other world leaders out of the limelight of press
coverage and its inevitable repercussions.
"There's absolutely nothing in it," argues the
UK's Lord Denis Healey, one of the four founders of Bilderberg.
"We never sought to reach a consensus on the big issues at
Bilderberg," he told the BBC. "It's simply a place for discussion
:2006-12-28
Edwards Shoots for White House Again
By NEDRA PICKLER
AP
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Former vice presidential nominee John Edwards
said Thursday that he is a candidate for the 2008 Democratic
presidential nomination, promising "a grass roots, ground-up
campaign where we ask people to take action
Clad in blue jeans, an open-necked shirt and with his sleeves rolled up,
Edwards chose the backyard of a victim of
Hurricane Katrina
in New Orleans' devastated 9th Ward for his unorthodox announcement.
"We want people in this campaign to actually take action now, not later, not
after the next election," the former North Carolina senator said, sounding as
much like a recruiter as a presidential campaigner.
"Instead of staying home and complaining, we're asking Americans to help,"
Edwards said. "Most of the good that has been done in New Orleans has been done
by faith-based groups, charitable groups and volunteers."
Edwards - who is calling for cuts in poverty,
global warming
and troops in
Iraq
- chose the site to highlight his signature concern of the economic disparity
that divides America.
Dear Friend,
1-15-07
Yesterday, I had the honor of speaking to nearly 2,000 parishioners
at the historic Riverside Church in New York City.
Almost 40 years ago the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood at
the pulpit in Riverside Church and, with the full force of his
conscience, denounced the war in Vietnam -- calling it a "tragedy
that threatened to drag our nation down to dust."
As Dr. King put it then, there comes a time when silence is a
betrayal -- not only of one's personal convictions, or even of one's
country alone, but also of our deeper obligations to humanity.
Today, another president is trying to escalate another war. And
once again, silence is betrayal.
Congress can stop Bush's escalation, but they'll only do so if
the people demand it. That's why today -- in honor of the memory
and courage of Martin Luther King -- I'm asking you to do two
things:
-
Join nearly 50,000 other Americans who have signed the petition
calling on Congress to block funding for escalating the war in
Iraq.
- Tomorrow, when Congress returns to session, call your Senators
directly and tell them to block funding for escalation.
Click here for your Senators' contact information.
Let's be clear: This is not a time for symbolic speech and
hand-wringing from Washington. Congress has a very real choice to
make -- either they fund Bush's escalation and he risks more
American lives, or they don't, and we start to bring this war to a
close.
Every member of Congress is responsible for that choice -- if they
know this war is going in the wrong direction and that escalation is
wrong, it is no longer enough for them to study their options and
keep their own counsel.
But the ultimate responsibility for our country does not lie in
Washington -- it lies with us. All of us who believe that Bush's
plan to escalate the war is wrong for America, for Iraq, and for the
world, must do more than hope for action in Washington -- we must
take responsibility and act ourselves.
Your urgent calls will help push the Senate to hold a vote on
funding Bush's escalation, and we'll deliver your signatures to
Congress to help ensure they cast the right vote when the time
comes.
Today, as we honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr., let's do
our part for the nation he loved and the peace he sought.
Click here to demand that Congress block funding for the president's
escalation of the war in Iraq.
Thank you for breaking the silence.
John Edwards
P.S. -
Click here to view a video of my address at Riverside Church --
then forward the video to your friends and family. And help us keep
the pressure on Congress by
contributing what you can today.
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Jul 17, 2007
5:32 PM (ET)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Elizabeth Edwards said Tuesday that her husband,
Democrat John Edwards, would be a better advocate for women as
president than his rival Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"I think one of the things that make me so completely comfortable
with this is that keeping that door open to women is actually more a
policy of John's than Hillary's," Edwards said in an interview
published in the online magazine Salon. "I'm not convinced she'd be
as good an advocate for women. She needs a rationale greater for her
campaign than I've heard. "
Elizabeth Edwards said she sympathized with Clinton, who is
running to be the first female president. She recalled the
challenges she faced early in her career as a female lawyer and said
she understood the pressures Clinton must feel.
"Sometimes you feel you have to behave as a man and not talk
about women's issues. I'm sympathetic - she wants to be commander in
chief," she said.
A Clinton spokesman said the campaign would have no comment on
Elizabeth Edwards' remarks.
Among other things, Edwards criticized Clinton for not producing
a plan for universal health care, calling it a women's issue. She
also said Clinton should speak out more about poverty, calling women
- especially single mothers - the "face of poverty."
John Edwards, who is trailing Clinton and Barack Obama in most
polls, has tried to make poverty a signature campaign issue. He's
currently in the middle of a three-day, multistate tour of
impoverished communities.
The interview wasn't the first time that Elizabeth Edwards has
criticized Clinton. In October, she told an audience that her
choices in life had made her happier than the New York senator.
Edwards later apologized to Clinton, saying she thought her comments
had been off the record.
July 27, 2007
Read More: John
Edwards
MyDD* flags an
intense minute and a
half from John Edwards
in Creston, Iowa,
yesterday in which he
heatedly tells an
audience that the
attention to trivia (I
assume the reference
here is to his haircuts)
is "not an accident" and
that "they want to shut
me up" to silence his
message about ending the
war and universalizing
health care. He warns,
in the video segment
posted by his campaign,
that if we don't beat
back these unnamed
oligarchs, "They're
going to control the
media. They're going to
control what's being
said."
He doesn't go into
detail about who "they"
are, other than a
reference to people who
make $100 million a
year, and compares them
to the (actual
well-funded,
conservative) operation
that put the Swift Boat
ads on air. He also
doesn't explain exactly
how this corporate-media
collaboration works, but
his audience seems to be
rapt.
Here's from his
remarks:
This stuff's
not an accident.
Nobody in this
room should
think this is an
accident. You
know, I'm out
there speaking
up for universal
healthcare,
ending this war
in Iraq,
speaking up for
the poor. They
want to shut me
up. That's what
this is about.
"Let's distract
from people who
don't have
health care
coverage. Let's
distract from
people who can't
feed their
children.... Let's
talk about this
silly frivolous
nothing stuff so
that America
won't pay
attention."
They will
never silence
me. Never.
If we don't
stand up to
these people, if
we don't fight
em, if we don't
beat them,
they're going to
continue to
control this
country. Thye're
going to control
the media.
They're going to
control what's
being said. They
do not want to
hear us talking
about health
care for
everybody.
*UPDATE: The
person who posted
the video to MyDD,
Tracy Joan Russo,
is actually
an Edwards staffer
who does blogger
outreach. So the
campaign must
think this is a
winning message.
Also: A reader
points out that
there's a boom
microphone in the
shot; again, this
is a message being
delivered, not an
inadvertently-captured
departure.
By Ben Smith |
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WASHINGTON
(AP) - Presidential hopeful John
Edwards is moving staff out of Nevada
to focus on other early voting states
as he deals with limited resources and
uncertainty about the Western state's
prominence in deciding the Democratic
nomination.
The Edwards campaign said Wednesday
that the Nevada staffers were being
relocated to
New Hampshire, South Carolina and
in particular Iowa, where he is hoping
a victory will propel him to the
nomination. The campaign would not
disclose how many staffers were being
moved and neither would Edwards in a
telephone interview.
"I'm sure we'll continue to make
adjustments of how many people we have
in particular places depending on what
the needs are at the moment, and we're
going to compete very hard in Nevada,"
Edwards told The Associated Press,
noting he has campaigned in the state
more than any other candidate. "I will
continue going there and competing
very hard."
Democratic Senate Leader Harry
Reid, the architect of Nevada's new
role in the Democratic presidential
primary, responded with a warning.
"I have always said that for a
Democrat to win the White House they
have to win the West," Reid said in a
statement. "Any candidate who chooses
to ignore Nevada and its rich
diversity does so at their own peril."
The Democratic National Committee
allowed Nevada to schedule its 2008
caucus on Jan. 19, between the
Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire
primary. But New Hampshire has said it
may go earlier than the Jan. 22 date
set by the DNC to maintain its
historic role in choosing the nominee,
possibly moving Nevada back in the
voting order.
Nevada was granted the early
nominating date with the hope that a
Western state with a large population
of Hispanics and union workers will
bring fresh perspective to the
presidential race. Many in the
Democratic Party had expressed
concern that two predominantly white
states such as Iowa and New Hampshire
were not representative of diverse
interests in the party.
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Edwards has visited Nevada 10
times since beginning his
second White House campaign,
hoping that his appeal to
labor would help him. But
Edwards rivals' have been
delivering the same pro-union
message, particularly in stops
at the 60,000-member Culinary
Workers Union hall.
The union that represents
many casino workers is seen as
key to winning in Nevada, but
has no plans to endorse early
and has stressed that it is
looking closely at candidates'
viability.
On that front, the Edwards
campaign in Nevada has lagged
behind New York Sen. Hillary
Rodham Clinton and Illinois
Sen. Barack Obama. It hasn't
been able to secure
high-profile endorsements and
has drawn considerably smaller
crowds.
The most recent Nevada
poll, taken in late June by
Mason-Dixon, showed Edwards in
third place with 12 percent of
the vote. Clinton was leading
with 39 percent, followed by
Obama with 17 percent.
The move by the Edwards
campaign comes as Clinton and
Obama are beefing up their
operations. Clinton spokesman
Mo Elleithee said the campaign
had dozens of staffers in
Nevada and plans to open new
offices in the coming weeks.
Obama spokesman Bill Burton
said the campaign had more
than 30 aides in Nevada as of
July and is continuing to add
staff. The Obama campaign
recently opened an office in
rural Elko and began airing
Spanish-language radio ads.
But Clinton and Obama also
have more than $50 million to
spend around the country.
Edwards has raised $23
million, part of a $40 million
goal that his campaign says
will be enough to run in Iowa,
Nevada, New Hampshire and
South Carolina. He has
declined to staff up in states
that vote on the Feb. 5 super
Tuesday primary day, banking
that victories in the early
states will create the
momentum needed to win
contests that come later.
The Edwards campaign
wouldn't say how many staff
would be left in Nevada, but
said state director Bill Hyers
will keep running the effort.
At least one top staffer in
the state, field director
Preston Elliot, is not headed
to another Edwards' effort but
instead took a job with the
Democratic Senatorial Campaign
Committee.
From the beginning, there
have been questions about how
seriously candidates would
take Nevada and how hard they
would work for the state's 22
base delegates. Nevada had
only 17 caucus sites in
2004—one per county—and just
8,500 of the state's nearly 1
million active registered
voters took part. That was a
huge jump from 2000, when
fewer than 1,000 participated,
and the increase overwhelmed
the party and delayed results
for hours.
This time, the party plans
to have as many as 1,000
sites.
The Democratic candidates
have been making the long trip
to campaign in Nevada, but not
as frequently as they have
been visiting Iowa and New
Hampshire.
___
Associated Press writer
Kathleen Hennessey in
Las Vegas and Jim
Davenport in Columbia, S.C.,
contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
http://www.johnedwards.com
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Edwards did not mention Bush or
Vice President Dick Cheney by name, ... President Bush and his
Republican allies have argued that Edwards has far less ...
www.greatdreams.com/political/john-edwards.htm |
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