A letter from Elizabeth Edwards
Elizabeth Edwards came to Athens with daughter Cate Edwards on the eve of the Georgia primary in 2004. I publish her letter to me not because of that or because she is a breast cancer survivor, but because she writes well. Let me know what you think:
Dear Dan,
Each morning when I open the newspaper, I am disappointed.
Disappointed as a mother.
Disappointed as a woman.
Disappointed as an American.
I am disappointed in the way the Bush Administration and Republican leaders are handling the major issues facing our country right now. Each morning, I read about another young life sacrificed in Iraq. As a mother, my heart breaks. These noble young men and women are carrying out their mission with skill and honor.
But in Washington, our leaders are not doing the same. The president failed to conduct a full investigation of how we as a country were misled in the run up to the war in Iraq. The vice president and his staff continue to stonewall an investigation into how a covert CIA agent was revealed just to discredit her husband and why it was so important to discredit his revelations about faulty intelligence. And unbelievably, the Republican leadership in Congress defends torture and secret prisons, the same type of human rights violations that we sent our young people into Iraq to stop, even though we know torture yields untrustworthy intelligence, smears our reputation around the world, and, above all, is wrong.
The American people deserve better. Contribute to Democratic candidates who share your commitment to leadership and accountability in government.
As a woman, I am disappointed and deeply concerned about the Supreme Court. First, the president nominated his personal lawyer to a position for which she clearly was not qualified. When the right wing of the Republican Party determined that she wasn't enough of an ideologue on their issues, the president pulled her nomination -- not because she wasn't qualified but because he couldn't convince a group of narrow extremists that she wouldn't jettison the Constitution in favor of their political agenda. His second choice is a judge with a deeply disturbing record on women's rights and civil rights, one that will denude the Constitution if he is affirmed and his perspective prevails. As the president was making these appointments, the nation was appalled to read the emails of Michael Brown, the president's appointee to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As the water was literally rising in New Orleans, Mr. Brown was more concerned with how he looked on television than with the lives that hung in the balance. And the "lessons" that the president assured us were learned from Hurricane Katrina don't seem to have stuck, because when Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida, FEMA was again unprepared and inept. I worry about our preparedness to respond to a disaster -- natural or man-made -- that we cannot anticipate.
The American people deserve better. Contribute to Democratic candidates who share your commitment to leadership and accountability in government.
I am disappointed as an American, because I know the American people deserve better. But the same papers that bring news of the disappointing performance of our political leaders also bring encouraging news that reminds me of the fundamental decency of the American people. Last week, voters in Virginia and New Jersey stood up for principle and elected governors who are committed to accountability and leadership.
Thanks to your support, John was able to travel to Virginia and New Jersey and campaign for a number of state legislative candidates so that these new governors would have the support behind them to move their agendas. Across the country, voters are holding their elected officials accountable -- and that gives me hope. Simply put, we need to elect public officials who are as good as the American people. That's what John and I have committed to doing, but we need your help. In the past year, your support enabled us to raise $3.8 million for local, state and federal candidates who are committed to leadership and accountability on behalf of ALL Americans.
The election two weeks ago shows us that these candidates can win, IF they have the resources to run against their well-funded opponents. Please join John and me today and stand up for leadership and accountability in government. We don't need to be disappointed in our elected officials. We need elected officials as good as the American people.
Help make that happen now with a contribution to the One America Committee.
Thank you.
Elizabeth Edwards
Dear Dan,
Each morning when I open the newspaper, I am disappointed.
Disappointed as a mother.
Disappointed as a woman.
Disappointed as an American.
I am disappointed in the way the Bush Administration and Republican leaders are handling the major issues facing our country right now. Each morning, I read about another young life sacrificed in Iraq. As a mother, my heart breaks. These noble young men and women are carrying out their mission with skill and honor.
But in Washington, our leaders are not doing the same. The president failed to conduct a full investigation of how we as a country were misled in the run up to the war in Iraq. The vice president and his staff continue to stonewall an investigation into how a covert CIA agent was revealed just to discredit her husband and why it was so important to discredit his revelations about faulty intelligence. And unbelievably, the Republican leadership in Congress defends torture and secret prisons, the same type of human rights violations that we sent our young people into Iraq to stop, even though we know torture yields untrustworthy intelligence, smears our reputation around the world, and, above all, is wrong.
The American people deserve better. Contribute to Democratic candidates who share your commitment to leadership and accountability in government.
As a woman, I am disappointed and deeply concerned about the Supreme Court. First, the president nominated his personal lawyer to a position for which she clearly was not qualified. When the right wing of the Republican Party determined that she wasn't enough of an ideologue on their issues, the president pulled her nomination -- not because she wasn't qualified but because he couldn't convince a group of narrow extremists that she wouldn't jettison the Constitution in favor of their political agenda. His second choice is a judge with a deeply disturbing record on women's rights and civil rights, one that will denude the Constitution if he is affirmed and his perspective prevails. As the president was making these appointments, the nation was appalled to read the emails of Michael Brown, the president's appointee to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As the water was literally rising in New Orleans, Mr. Brown was more concerned with how he looked on television than with the lives that hung in the balance. And the "lessons" that the president assured us were learned from Hurricane Katrina don't seem to have stuck, because when Hurricane Wilma hit South Florida, FEMA was again unprepared and inept. I worry about our preparedness to respond to a disaster -- natural or man-made -- that we cannot anticipate.
The American people deserve better. Contribute to Democratic candidates who share your commitment to leadership and accountability in government.
I am disappointed as an American, because I know the American people deserve better. But the same papers that bring news of the disappointing performance of our political leaders also bring encouraging news that reminds me of the fundamental decency of the American people. Last week, voters in Virginia and New Jersey stood up for principle and elected governors who are committed to accountability and leadership.
Thanks to your support, John was able to travel to Virginia and New Jersey and campaign for a number of state legislative candidates so that these new governors would have the support behind them to move their agendas. Across the country, voters are holding their elected officials accountable -- and that gives me hope. Simply put, we need to elect public officials who are as good as the American people. That's what John and I have committed to doing, but we need your help. In the past year, your support enabled us to raise $3.8 million for local, state and federal candidates who are committed to leadership and accountability on behalf of ALL Americans.
The election two weeks ago shows us that these candidates can win, IF they have the resources to run against their well-funded opponents. Please join John and me today and stand up for leadership and accountability in government. We don't need to be disappointed in our elected officials. We need elected officials as good as the American people.
Help make that happen now with a contribution to the One America Committee.
Thank you.
Elizabeth Edwards
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