One North Carolinian's Opinion Of Mr. John Edwards

Six long years ago my home state did a terrible thing. It ousted long-time conservative Republican Senator Lauch Faircloth and elected a pretty-boy Democrat named John Edwards.

Senator Faircloth never really came across as a particularly charismatic fellow, but he voted pretty much along the same lines as did Jesse Helms. I appreciated that about Senator Faircloth. And it must have been hard serving in the Senate at the same time Senator Helms was. It would have been nearly impossible to attract any attention in the press, because everyone in the press loved to hate Senator Helms. It doesn't really matter that philosophically they were basically the same; for some reason Senator Helms attracted attention like a shark in a kiddie pool. Mr. Faircloth would have had to have been a real pistol to have competed with all of that.

I suppose that Senator Faircloth's relative obscurity in Jesse Helms' shadow contributed to his demise, but another thing that hurt him was that he decided to run a mud slinging campaign against a South Carolina version of Bill Clinton. John Edwards smiled, ran a polite campaign and basically charmed his way into the Senate. There are many negative things that I can and will say about John Edwards, but one thing that I can't deny is that he is NICE. He is CHARMING. He is PRETTY. It is precisely for those reasons (and the fact that he is a Democrat) that I smelled a rat.

My suspicions were confirmed almost the moment that John Edwards was elected. It didn't take long before he was visiting other states and showing up in the news here and there. It became evident (in fact, he hardly hid the fact) that his only reason for running for the Senate was to provide a platform for him to launch a Presidential campaign. If you check his record (I have been watching him closely ever since he attained office.) you will find that Mr. Edwards has done alot of campaigning in his six years in office and not alot of governing. Talk of his aspirations for the Presidency surfaced almost simultaneously with his election.

Another aspect of Mr. Edwards' campaigning is his utter conformity to the Democratic Party line. Don't believe him when he is pretending to be a moderate. There is NOTHING moderate about him. If you check his voting record, you will find that he ALWAYS toes the party line. He never differs. EVER. Abortion? For it. Pornography? Must protect freedom of speech. Guns? Control them. Hate crime laws? Gotta have them. More entitlements? Pleeeease! Affirmative Action? It's only fair. Lower taxes? NO WAY! That would be irresponsible! I have written him concerning various matters, and his response is always word for word the same as the drivel that you hear the likes of Ted Kennedy or Tom Daschle spew forth. On an issue that the party hasn't defined a position yet, you can expect him to waffle. He and Kerry ought to get along swell.

Another problem that I have with Mr. Edwards is that he made his millions as an ambulance chaser. How is someone who made a fortune suing doctors for malpractice going to help solve the problem of out of control health care costs? Hint: he's not. I know that the lawyers aren't the only problem, but they are a big part of it.

My biggest problem with Mr. Edwards is that he has NEVER served North Carolina at all since he got to the Senate. Contrast what he has done there in six years to what Senator Elizabeth Dole has done in 4. There is no comparison. He is one of the most truant Senators on the Hill. He is a self-serving egomaniac who will do the same thing if he ever attains the White House. God help us if he ever does. I for one will do everything in my power to make sure that he doesn't. My greatest hope is that the Kerry/Edwards ticket will fall flat in November, leaving Mr. Edwards unemployed and out of the public eye for at least 2 years until Ms. Dole's term expires. Between losing the election and the 2-year exile, which should just about spell the end of his political career.... I hope.