Edwards Met By Enthusiastic Crowds

hello from district 1 (0.00 / 0)

I am looking forward to hearing Edwards at the Grover Cleaveland dinner this spring.  I live in the sticks so i miss most of the action down country.  I wrote Edwards in for vp in the 2004 primary.  Off thread but anyone going to hear Hounsell on wed. and his political apathy program with guest star William Gardner in Conway?  If you are say hi i will wear something orange.  I just registered wow a three digit id. I hope this blog catches on like wild fire in time for 2008.

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by: Pat @ Sun Feb 25, 2007 at 12:15:21 PM CST

Thanks for coming to BH, Pat. (0.00 / 0)

I can't believe how this site has grown since we started in mid-November.  Compared to more well-established state/local progressive blogs in other states with bigger populations and more internet access, we are really doing well. 

When we get to a nice round user id or some other milestone, I'll do a roundup of some stats.

In the meantime, please feel free to comment.  The comments make this site what it is as much as the diaries.  We've got some wicked smaaht Granite State activists here.

birch, finch, beech

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by: Dean Barker @ Sun Feb 25, 2007 at 12:59:52 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Hi Pat (0.00 / 0)

Pat,
I met John Edwards in January '02 at a State Senate Caucus Fundraiser hosted at the Devine Millimet law offices in Manchester. There had been an ice storm that day and the turnout was still good. We had heard of a young smart Southern Senator who had high ambitions. State Senator Caroline Mc Carley and current Sen. President Sylvia Larsen happened to be in DC on 9/11 to meet with him. With everything that happened that day, life went on, and they invited him to New Hampshire to help raise funds. Edwards had just returned from a trip to Afghanistan with John McCain, the first American politicians to go there after the War against the Taliban.(still going on ?? No Mission Accomplished ??)

He and Elizabeth were very engaging that day. Speaking with her I felt a kinship as both of our fathers had been trained as Naval Airmen at Pennsacola during WWII. Her grandfather was a also there, training pilots, and so we knew there was the chance that my father was one of his students. We discussed how it was that good people who served ther country in the Armed Forces, or lost family memebers who had served, and happened to be Democrats, were branded unpatriotic if they disagreed with anything this Administration wanted, post 9/11.

In any case, about a year later I ran into friends one Sunday morning at the video store in Concord. It was right at the time we had invaded Iraq. They looked disconsolate. When I asked what was up. Maryanne told me her nephew had been killed going into Iraq with the Marines. They wanted to get him buried at Arlington but there was a waiting list. The nephew was a hero to them because his mother had died when he was a child, he grew up in difficult circumstances, and became a wondeful young man and a  Marine. He was bettering himself by serving his country.

I called Nick Baldick, a former political operative for The Clinton White House, and the guy who ran the 1996 co-ordinated campaign in New Hampshire. He was advising Edwards.I left him a voice mail on a Sunday afternoon. Twenty minutes later my phone rang. It was Elizabeth. She wanted all the details. She called Rob and Maryanne to express her condolences and committed to help them.
With the work of Sen. Edwards and his office staff, the burial took place in Arlington. It was an emotional time, and the help from the Edwards family was heartfelt and appreciated. That's the way they are. True friends who understand the loss a family goes through when a young man gets taken before his time.

Next time, there may be no next time.

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by: Jon Bresler @ Sun Feb 25, 2007 at 14:32:04 PM CST

[ Parent ]

House Party Saturday (0.00 / 0)

I was there too, and I had no idea I was in such impressive company.  We got stuck in the back due to kids in the playroom, but it worked out to be perfect for us.  Elizabeth Edwards as well as all of the staffers were hanging there too.  I couldn't hear so well, but I did have the chance to talk to EE briefly.  Everyone who came up to her (besides me) had a cancer survivor story to share.  She was so gracious and warm.

My kids & I actually brought a gift for the Edwards' children: Todd Parr's "The Family Book."  We inscribed it with a note, and we gave it directly to EE.  She admired the handmade card on it and gave me a hug.  I was trying not to get choked up when I added, "We are a two-mom family and we want the next president to treat ALL families equally."  She thanked me again and held/hugged the book for most of the event until eventually passing it off to a staffer.  So, there.  I made my statement for LGBT rights to someone whom I think has a pretty good shot at the Oval Office.  8-)

Edwards himself seemed tired, hoarse, but still warm and genuine.  I wasn't able to catch Meet The Press this morning & am looking forward to hearing or reading about that later.


Paula M. DiNardo
Dover NH

A Blue Hampster since 2007!

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by: pdinardo @ Sun Feb 25, 2007 at 14:33:06 PM CST

I have a lot of respect (0.00 / 0)

for Elisabeth Edwards.  And i have to give them credit for putting themselves and thier family through this again.  I remember John bieng upset when they were heckled on the back of the train and it upset their little ones.  It doesn't suprise me she went to bat for your friends. Thier humanity is a virtue we sure could use more of.

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by: Pat @ Sun Feb 25, 2007 at 16:07:31 PM CST

Well, the message seems to depend on the venue-- (0.00 / 0)

Pipelines and Imperial Missions

by Kenneth Anderson

http://www.opednews....

Tough talk is all the rage in Washington. As nascent presidential bids move forward, tough talk is now de rigueur and that appears to be especially true among Democratic hopefuls. Indeed, John Edwards seems to have already jumped the shark during his recent visit to a conference in Herzliya, Israel, where he "took aim" at Iran and pledged that the "world won't back down," reminding the Israeli audience that "ALL options must remain on the table." Indeed, Edwards sounded every bit the Bush administration official. He reiterated every White House talking point on Iran and then asserted that
For years, the US hasn't done enough to deal with what I have seen as a threat from Iran. As my country stayed on the sidelines, these problems got worse.
Edwards seemed either to forget or does not know that Iran was aiding the US against the Taliban not so very long ago. Edwards echoed every doubtful and outright dishonest claim that the White House has already launched in their effort to demonize Iran and lay the foundation for military strikes against "high value" targets in that country. While Edwards was more than happy to claim that Iran is supplying the insurgency in Iraq and otherwise supporting terrorism harmful to US interests, he conveniently ignored the fact that the Pentagon has been funding and supporting at least two terrorist groups that have carried out operations on Iranian soil. Known as "operational assets" in Pentagon-ese, the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK) and, more recently, the Kurdish PEJAK, have been encouraged by the DoD in efforts against the Iranian government. The MEK is responsible for numerous terrorist operations against Iranian officials, including assassinations and bombings, while PEJAK itself claims that it "regularly launches raids into Iran." Such has been the aggressiveness of PEJAK that both Iran and Turkey have amassed tanks and artillery on their borders, with Iran actually shelling PEJAK bases back in August, 2006.[...]

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by: hannah @ Sun Feb 25, 2007 at 17:51:28 PM CST