John Edwards Political Beliefs
Political positions
Edwards promotes programs to eliminate poverty in the United States, including arguing in favor of creating one million housing vouchers over five years in order to place poor people in middle-class neighborhoods. Edwards has stated, "If we truly believe that we are all equal, then we should live together too." He also supports "College for Everyone" initiatives.
Although Edwards initially supported the Iraq War, he later changed his position and in November 2005 wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post in which he said he regretted voting for the Iraq War Resolution, and discussed three solutions for success in the conflict. He has denounced the "troop surge" in Iraq, is a proponent of withdrawal, and has urged Congress to withhold funding for the war without a withdrawal timetable.
On social policy, Edwards supports abortion rights and has a universal healthcare plan that requires all Americans to purchase healthcare insurance, "requires that everybody get preventive care,"and requires employers to provide health care insurance or be taxed to fund public health care. He supports a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants, is opposed to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage; and supports the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
He has endorsed efforts to slow down global warming and was the first presidential candidate to make his campaign carbon neutral.
Political Anthropology International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences; ...study of competition for political power, it became vitally...distinguish the implementation of political decisions and the carrying...control of decision-making positions.Anthropological interest in political typologies and the attempt......
Political stability and balance of payment: an empirical study in Asia.(Report) American Journal of Applied Sciences; Ali, Arfan Shukui, Tan Selvarathnam, Santhirasegaram Xiaolin, Xu Saboor, Abdul; ...problems if they have a stable political regime with good leadership...close relationship between political stability and theoretical...with the stability of the political regimes. Mobilization of...stable government will be in a position to invest a large ......
Political Organizations Encyclopedia of Sociology; ...differ fundamentally from other political organizations in methods of...perhaps half qualify as political organizations based on their efforts to communicate their positions on national policy issues...and expansion of U.S. political organizations seem to ......
Political microcultures: linking civic life and democratic discourse. Social Forces; Perrin, Andrew J.; ...civil society" and political participation (e...organizations underlies their political engagement. Robert...adamant defender of this position--claims that declines...Tocquevillean voluntarist political positions (Ehrenberg 1999; Swidler......
Political Bosses St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture; ...power base.Each individual political boss is a leader within the political machine hierarchy. Little...appoint persons to formal positions of power in the government...minority groups into the political system; and the nomination......
Political activism and civic education among Australian secondary school students. Australian Journal of Education; Saha, Lawrence J.; ...knowledge and normative forms of political activity. Introduction The...between civics education and political activity among Australian...related to the adult social positions they will occupy later in...participation in the social and political culture of ......
Political power and intellectual activism in Tanure Ojaide's The Activist.(Critical essay) Nebula; Nwagbara, Uzoechi; ...so he jumps on the political bandwagon to effect change...change. The Activist's political victory was the first...anyone was elected to that position in the state--this...novel as well as the political elite, whose leadership......
POLITICAL PARTIES SPROUTING IN IRAQ The Boston Globe; Elizabeth A. Neuffer, Globe Staff; ...established Iraqi political opposition group...government buildings to position themselves for this...to follow. Thus, political parties are jockeying for position, seeking to be among...Many of Iraq's political parties were formed......
Political Parties International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences; Political Parties Political parties are organizations subscribing...voters, raise funds, articulate political positions, coordinate policy making, develop...loyalty. Parties are rooted in political, religious, sectional, ethnic......
political science Dictionary of the Social Sciences; Craig Calhoun; political science Broadly conceived...politics. In this sense, political science dates back to the...new forms of social and political unrest in the United States...groups together a range of positions, but generally seeks to......
Senate tenure
Senator Edwards on Meet the Press
Edwards won election to the U.S. Senate in 1998 as a Democrat running against incumbent Republican Senator Lauch Faircloth. Despite originally being the underdog, Edwards beat Faircloth by 51.2% to 47.0% ? a margin of some 83,000 votes.
During President Bill Clinton's 1999 impeachment trial in the Senate, Edwards was responsible for the deposition of witnesses Monica Lewinsky and fellow Democrat Vernon Jordan, Jr. During the 2000 presidential campaign, Edwards was on Democratic nominee Al Gore's vice presidential nominee short list.
SENATE DEMOCRATS WORKING OUT ROLES; WITH NO CLEAR LEADER, REPUBLICANS SAY THEY DON'T KNOW WHO IS IN CHARGE.(Local) The Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY); ...conference that regained power of the state Senate Thursday appointed four leadership positions...Sen. Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, is Senate president; Sen. John Sampson, D-Brooklyn...said Austin Shafran, spokesman for the Senate Democrats. "These positions all work......
SENATE NOW VOTING ON THREE DISTRICT COURT NOMINEES. States News Service; ...by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy: The Senate will vote this afternoon on three pending...on judicial nominees in two weeks. The Senate is expected to confirm Nancy D. Freudenthal...judicial nominations remain pending on the Senate's executive calendar. They have been......
Senate.(Legislative Reports) Canadian Parliamentary Review; Mussell, Mary; ...was early in the new session when the Senate was launched into its legislative work...bills would hold the attention of the Senate until spring. Legislation It was only...when Bills C-5 and C-4 arrived in the Senate. Bill C-5, which brought forward the......
SENATE: Skills crunch brings senior executives back on-line, says new service, SENATE. M2 Presswire; M2 PRESSWIRE-1 March 1999-SENATE: Skills crunch brings senior executives back on-line, says new service, SENATE (C)1994-99 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD...executives, according to research by SENATE, a new search and recruit service......
Senate secretary likely to act as presiding officer.(Main News) Manila Bulletin; ...become head of the Upper Chamber, acting Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile said on Saturday he will ask the Senate secretary to temporarily preside when...26.Enrile made his position clear to Senate reporters as the two contenders for the......
SENATE CONFIRMS DISTRICT COURT NOMINEE. States News Service; ...by Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy: The Senate Monday night unanimously confirmed Rosanna...judicial nomination confirmed this Congress. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy...delays in confirming judicial nominations. Senate Republicans have objected to time ......
Senate provides its own tax plan Post-Tribune (IN); Steve Walsh, Post-Tribune staff writer; ...SLIGHTLY FROM PRINTED VERSION (PHOTO) The Senate passed its own version of tax restructuring...deal before the end of the session. The Senate plan seeks to reduce property taxes to...provisions for that are absent from the Senate bill. All Senate Democrats ......
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE TO HOLD PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED RULES OF ETHICAL CONDUCT. States News Service; ...The following information was released by the Pennsylvania State Senate, State Senator Joe Scarnati (R): Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi (R-9), chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, announced today that a public hearing on the......
Senate Seeks High-Tech Ways to Get Out the Word The Washington Post; Walter Pincus; The Senate sergeant-at-arms, Henry K. Giugni...so that members could conduct from the Senate studio a television call-in show with...Giugni is also exploring creation of a Senate cable TV system that would be separate......
Senate asks US justice dep't to reject Bolante's asylum.(Main News) Manila Bulletin; Byline: JUDE C. GALFORD III The Senate formally asked the US Justice Department...lawyers contend. Bolante was tagged by the Senate agriculture committee as the ''grand...Magsaysay said at a regular forum in the Senate yesterday. "Allow us to respectfully......
In his time in the Senate, Edwards co-sponsored 203 bills. Among them was Lieberman's 2002 Iraq War Resolution, which he co-sponsored along with 15 other senators, but which did not go to a vote. He voted for replacement resolution in the full Senate to authorize the use of military force against Iraq, which passed by a vote of 77 to 23, On October 10, 2002, he stated that:
"Almost no one disagrees with these basic facts: that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a menace; that he has weapons of mass destruction and that he is doing everything in his power to get nuclear weapons; that he has supported terrorists; that he is a grave threat to the region, to vital allies like Israel, and to the United States; and that he is thwarting the will of the international community and undermining the United Nations' credibility."
He defended his vote on an October 10, 2004, appearance on Meet the Press, saying "I would have voted for the resolution knowing what I know today, because it was the right thing to do to give the president the authority to confront Saddam Hussein...I think Saddam Hussein was a very serious threat. I stand by that, and that's why stand behind our vote on the resolution". However, he subsequently changed his mind about the war and apologized for that military authorization vote. Edwards also voted in favor of the Patriot Act.
Among other positions, Edwards was generally pro-choice and supported affirmative action and the death penalty. One of his first sponsored bills was the Fragile X Research Breakthrough Act of 1999. He was also the first person to introduce comprehensive anti-spyware legislation with the Spyware Control and Privacy Protection Act. He advocated rolling back the Bush administration's tax cuts and ending mandatory minimum sentencing for non-violent offenders. Edwards generally supported expanding legal immigration to the United States while working with Mexico to provide better border security and stop illegal trafficking.
Edwards served on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the U.S. Senate Committee on Judiciary, and was a member of the New Democrat Coalition.
Before the 2004 Senate election, Edwards announced his retirement from the Senate and supported Erskine Bowles, former White House Chief of Staff, as the successor to his seat; Bowles, however, was defeated by Republican Richard Burr in the election.
Edwards's tough talk claims of '04 disputed Kerry camp sees soft touch on Bush The Boston Globe; Rick Klein; ...aggressive criticisms of President Bush, John Edwards, a former Democratic vice presidential...attacks on his 2004 running mate, John F. Kerry, but was stopped by the Kerry camp. Edwards, who first made the statement in......
Edwards Unveils Ascendra Aortic Heart Valve Replacement System. PR Newswire; ...Vancouver, British Columbia, used Edwards' proprietary Cribier-Edwards percutaneous heart valve to...cardiovascular surgery, and Dr. John Webb, director of interventional...Early results from the Cribier-Edwards percutaneous heart valve trials......
The Edwards at 300 Symposium and the Future of Jonathan Edwards Studies. Early American Literature; Kidd, Thomas S.; ...past and future usefulness of Edwards's thought was echoed in other...Plantinga Pauw contended that Edwards's deep conviction of human...narratives of its own purposes. John Saillant showed how Edwards's Calvinist typology provided......
EDWARDS IN EAU CLAIRE, CALLS BUSH INCOMPETENT.(FRONT) The Capital Times (Madison, WI); ...Associated Press EAU CLAIRE -- John Edwards ripped President Bush...contacted later, called Edwards' remarks "scare tactics...Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's record on national...ASSOCIATED PRESS Sen. John ......
EDWARDS SAYS BUSH HAS FAILED WORKERS.(FRONT) The Capital Times (Madison, WI); ...Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards kicked off the Labor Day weekend...country is he talking about?" Edwards asked. John Kerry has a health care plan that...Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards ......
A.G. Edwards suing over broker defections; Firm's live-and-let-live attitude toward departing brokers may be a thing of the past.(News) Investment News; ...battle between A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. and Stifel...sparked Aug. 23 when John Lee, A.G. Edwards' Western regional manager...separate case, A.G. Edwards this month sued Terrence...Coen, Stephen Macko and John Stollmeyer - after they......
EDWARDS BECOMES A FORMIDABLE FOE.(FRONT) The Capital Times (Madison, WI); Nichols, John; Byline: John Nichols The Capital Times A jubilant John Edwards got off the best line of the Wisconsin...showing than anyone had predicted, Edwards won the opportunity to go head-to-head with front-runner John Kerry in the Super Tuesday ......
Edwards trying to collar case of Iowa blues; Dem candidate pitches farmers, unions as he falls behind in polls Chicago Sun-Times; Jennifer Hunter; ...last week of October, I follow John Edwards for a few days around rural Iowa...bumper sticker that says "Hogs For Edwards" above "Support the Family Farm...more support here than Democrat John Kerry. Edwards, the former senator from North......
John Edwards' wife's cancer returns: `Optimistic' couple vow to fight on in race for presidency. Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL); ...Nevertheless, Elizabeth and John Edwards, in revealing the news Thursday...nomination and could reshape the field. John Edwards, a former North Carolina senator...intend to do exactly that," said John Edwards, alluding to ......
Edwards hopes labor puts him in race Chicago Sun-Times; Robert Novak; ...soak up news media attention, John Edwards has pushed for organized labor...shadows. It is not good news for Edwards if some Teamsters are put off by the triumvirate of John Edwards, Elizabeth Edwards and Dave Bonior......