Edwards wins 10,000 Iowa pledges

From NBC/NJ’s Tricia Miller

DES MOINES, IA -- In what might have been the sweetest endorsement so far, Edwards this afternoon got the nod from Caucus for Priorities, the brainchild of Ben Cohen, co-founder of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.

Caucus for Priorities is the political branch of Iowans for Sensible Priorities, a state branch of Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities. Peggy Huppert, executive director of Caucus for Priorities, said that in the past two years Caucus for Priorities staffers in Iowa attended more than 550 events and asked more than 250 questions. Edwards himself answered questions from Caucus for Priorities staffers 36 times, she said.

Caucus for Priorities represents 10,000 Iowa caucusgoers who signed a non-binding pledge to support the candidate who will cut back Pentagon spending in favor of more domestic spending on programs like education and health care.

“Ten-thousand caucusgoers can tip the scales in a tight caucus,” Huppert noted.

Cohen described the endorsement decision process: “There was three criteria,” he said. “One was the answers on the questionnaires and the answers to our bird doggers on the stump. The second was viability, the likelihood that the candidate could come out in the top three in Iowa and go on to win the White House. That was where most of the other candidates were kind of ruled out -- the candidates who scored higher than . Third, the criteria was willingness to speak out on the issue, and the senator was excellent on that issue.”

He cited Edwards’ stand against new nuclear weapons and echoed parts of Edwards’ stump speech when he called for caucusgoers to support a candidate who would stand up to special interests in Washington.

“Our politicians in Washington have neither the spine nor the wit to make these choices, and the people who end up paying the price are our kids,” he said. “We need a president who will answer to the people, not a bunch of lobbyists.”

more...

http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/11/09/458044.aspx

I know when my union would vote to support someone they never asked the members.

There is no doubt that he has the support of this group...this is not a union but he has the support of a few of those, too.

Were any of hillary's endorsements unanimous? Obama's? Richardson's?

:shrug:

"
Caucus for Priorities represents 10,000 Iowa caucusgoers who signed a non-binding pledge to support the candidate who will cut back Pentagon spending in favor of more domestic spending on programs like education and health care."

So yes, he did win 10,000 pledges. They're non-binding, but he still won them. I swear, do you like debating semantics, or have you just run out of things to bash edwards with?

:thumbsup::applause::kick:

Thanks for posting!

Depends on where they are geographically

It means a lot more than just the endorsement itself.

he says a lot of things I'd like to see implemented.

Of all the candidates, I think he is the one that resonates with them the most. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I think most people from Iowa are not into the politics as usual that Hillary seems to represent. If Edwards wins Iowa, is it truly over for the Hill? Would that be one way she could just go away?

with an estimated 125,000-150,000 people attending caucus 10,000 can easily make the difference between 1-2-3!

Great article here by David Sirota:

http://www.creators.com/opinion/david-sirota/the-huey-longs-of-iowa.html

...snip...

Iowa's diners, farms and small businesses are a long way from Washington — a long way from the think tanks, lobbying firms and television studios that manufacture a conventional wisdom that pretends America likes elitist politicians and power-appeasing politics. The beauty is that, occasionally, Iowa's first-in-the-nation caucuses shove aside that fake conventional wisdom and reward power-challengers like Huckabee and Edwards for the intensity of their middle-class populism, rather than the size of their campaign bank accounts.

Whether these two Huey Longs (the article is about Edwards and Huckabee) win or lose, their competitive position reminds us that underneath the campaign contributions and media coronations, that forgotten thing called democracy still beats in the heart of America.

...snip...

Thanks for posting.

For John Edwards and this fantastic endorsement! :bounce::woohoo::bounce:

More info: http://www.caucus4priorities.org/index.php