Edwards Exploited Son's Death, Not Coulter

[Def Conservative]

For those of you attacking Ann Coulter for bringing up John Edwards' son's death, some perspective:

From Front Page News Edwards' public success spotlights son's death

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Used it again at the end of 2003 in his own piece, Four Trials

Scroll down to the bottom.

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Running for his son: Teen's death changed Edwards' life

Here is the Edwards press machine making it an issue in 2004, acting as if they are finally opening up about it...but they were on record as talking about it in 2001....

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Here again, in 2005, Edwards pretends he's finally opening up about his son's death in a Chicago Tribune article:

Throughout his campaign for president and then vice president in 2004, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina made it clear that the death of his teenage son in a car accident was off-limits, not for discussion in a political context.

But now his wife, Elizabeth, has sent an e-mail to supporters voicing a connection she shares with Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq. As Sheehan was camped near President Bush's Texas ranch, protesting the war, Edwards called on her own family's backers to support Sheehan.

And, in a departure from a campaign-trail silence that the Edwardses kept about the death of their 16-year-old son, Wade, Elizabeth Edwards noted that Sheehan's son, Casey, 24, died in Iraq eight years to the day after her own son.

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Here the Edwards are again in 2006, using it with Oprah and her dimwitted audience:

Book saves memory of son, Edwards tells Oprah ******************* Here's John again, finally opening up about his son's death (HOW MANY TIMES CAN YOU FINALLY OPEN UP!?!?!?)

Edwards Opens Up About Son He Lost

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The Edwards campaign site loves to bring it up also:

A Tribute To Wade Edwards

Here again,The Story I Am

Here, the Edwards' blog suggest the way to honor their dead son is to vote for John Edwards: Here again,Getting Young People To Vote

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Its funny how Wade Edwards manages to make it into the political arena whenever John Edwards is running for something....

[outlawcam]

I saw her stated preference for Hunter, but I didn’t get what you got out of her Thompson comment.

[Bob]

"She called him “our Obama”

What do you think she meant by that?

I think she meant that Fred is being treated by many Republicans very much like Obama is being treated by a lot of dimocRATs. I think it was a comment more about Fred's supporters rather than about him.

[OldEagle]

You may very well be right. It was a semi-cryptic comment that could have meant a lot of different things.

[Def Conservative]

If someone who lost a relative in 9/11 talks about supporting the Iraq war, many people cheer "someone who gets it." If someone who lost a relative in 9/11 talks about opposing the Iraq war they are "exploiting" their tragedy. The double standard is transparent. The is nothing wrong with the Edwards' discussion how the death of their son changed their lives and I'm a little ashamed to share a country with people who think that poking fun at their tragedy is somehow acceptable "political" speech. The double standard IS transparent...When Coulter attacked the 4 9/11 widows it was a big deal, when Coulter attacks say, Bill Clinton, not a peep. What makes the Jersey Girls different? They suffered personal tragedy? So has Bubba. As a matter of fact, SO HAS EVERYBODY! Going through a tragedy does not make you off limits. And Coulter was dead on about Edwards exploiting his death because he CLEARLY made it an issue right before all of his campaigns...and each time acted as if he was finally speaking about it, when he evidently did it before during the last campaign season.

[Def Conservative]

Not trying to defend slimeball Edwards...but, IMO, Coulter lowered herself to his level with inappropriate jokes about what is obviously grief for the Edwards family. No one (dirbag politician or not) can gain anything positive from the death of a child. Except the presidency.

[Mr. Know It All]

.When Coulter attacked the 4 9/11 widows...

Coulter said things like "I've never seen women enjoying their husbands' deaths so much" (IIRC). What did the Jersey Girls do to deserve that — besides becoming widows? What they were doing was lobbying to have an analysis of the tragedy performed and a set of security reforms put in place so that other people didn't have to lose their loved ones.

Maybe you think that their efforts were woefully misguided. In that case, attack their efforts. I've looked and I can't find where Coulter attacks the Jersey Girls for a single actual position they hold — she just derides them for being famous widows. Just because you're a widow doesn't mean you can't be an idiot, so if the Jersey Girls are idiots, point out their idiocy.

I can't find a single instance where the Jersey Girls said, "We're widows, you can't disagree with us." Furthermore, I actually went through and read all the links in the post, and I can't find any evidence that John Edwards ever took the position that he should be elected anything because his son died.

Coulter's attacks on both Edwards and the Jersey Girls are predicated on the claim that they are guilty of cynically exploiting the deaths in their families. As far as I can tell, their motivations for making these events part of their public life are entirely sincere. These attacks have no substance and the fact that they are centered on such tragic losses make them particularly indefensible.

Obviously, no one here is planning to vote for Edwards, so in a way is doesn't matter whether or not we have substantive reasons to criticize Edwards. There is, however, a greater point.

This laziness is a dereliction of our duties as voters to stay informed and know the facts. Look at all the people who are suddenly up in arms over Bush's amnesty bill. The guy's been President for over six years and hasn't once changed his position on immigration reform. To read the forums here, you'd think that he just made up his mind last week. This disconnect suggests to me that a lot of people aren't putting any more effort into learning about the people they do vote for.

We need to do better. Doesn't our country deserve it?

[Mr. Know It All]

"“How can you question Gore’s commitment to stopping the scourge of smoking, he lost a sister to cancer!!!"

The issue isn't his commitment to the cause, but whether his policy is effective or Constitutional. Gore's obviously committed to cutting down CO2 emissions. So what? The question is whether or not that will benefit the planet its inhabitants.

There will always be people who respond irrationally to emotional arguments. Instead of focusing on winning them back with equally emotional arguments, maybe we should reduce the number of those people by sticking to logic and reason, thus elevating the national debate.

[Aquamarine]

Edwards - No Class

[vlad335]

“Yeah, supposedly she made a joke about it a couple of years ago...that is what Mrs. Edwards was upset about.”

Do you really think EE is so terribly upset about this article written by Ann three years ago?

Seriously? Why the outrage now? It amazes me people cannot see this for what it truly is. Freepers to boot.

The Edward’s campaign is in trouble financialy and are going with a proven cash cow... Ann Coulter. Plus, as an added bonus, they get to inject their dead son right back into public discourse. Win-win on the sympathy gravytrain.

Anyone who can’t see through these cheap tawdry tricks are probably excited about the offers from Nigeria they just got in their email.

[papasmurf]

She used it as a metaphor, not a literal. She’s entitled to her opinion, even if I do disagree with it.

I’m a FRedhead, and I have no problem with it. That said, I’ll bet she pulls the handle for FRed next year. :)

[napscoordinator]

Edwards is a disgusting phoney. Not only did he exploit his son’s death, he did it again recently with his wife’s cancer. Once an ambulance chasing trial attorney.....Well, you get the idea.

He might be a phony, but I hope that I don’t ever have to go through what he has had to go through. I am sure that he would rather have his son back. I refuse to believe that he does not care that his son died. Even if he is a jerk, no parents deserve that.

[cmotormac44]

As a felllow vet I like your bio and personal post——however, Coulter can’t be any worse than most so-called ‘pubs’ who are selling us all down the river to the mex’s-—at least she has the qumquats to say the truth-—what a pile of s—t we have as candidates for the leader of this Nation——God Protect America, although I don’t believe it deserves it right now with the garbage we have elected to high offices-

[boop]

"Maybe you think that their efforts were woefully misguided. In that case, attack their efforts. I've looked and I can't find where Coulter attacks the Jersey Girls for a single actual position they hold — she just derides them for being famous widows. Just because you're a widow doesn't mean you can't be an idiot, so if the Jersey Girls are idiots, point out their idiocy"

Are you kidding"? They cut commercials for John Kerry. They were liberal hacks.

[ozzymandus]

You need to change your name from “meandog” to “lapdog”. Every time Ann says something provocative and the left gets upset and demands apologies, it gives conservatives another chance to repeat all the outrageous things the left has repeatedly said about them. Bill Mahar wishing that Vice-President had been killed by terrorists, for example. She’s the only person brave enough to engage the RATS in their own gutter.

[ozzymandus]

Jeeze, need a hankie, little girl?

[meandog]

You need to change your name from “meandog” to “lapdog”. Every time Ann says something provocative and the left gets upset and demands apologies, it gives conservatives another chance to repeat all the outrageous things the left has repeatedly said about them. Bill Mahar wishing that Vice-President had been killed by terrorists, for example. She’s the only person brave enough to engage the RATS in their own gutter.

Well, I'm of the opinion that we ought to be better than the left. I'm not a PC linguist but the word "faggot" has a connotation in most quarters now as offensive and crass as "nigger," "kike," "wop," and "spic" and Ann applied it to Edwards. She doesn't need to be our lightning rod for them to go raise cash...Peggy Noonan and Laura Ingram have the same conservative qualifications as Ann but don't resort to such language.

[Mr. Know It All]

[The Jersey Girls] cut commercials for John Kerry. They were liberal hacks.

There ya go. You managed to criticize the Jersey Girls without ridiculing their personal loss. It's not that hard. That's my point.

[Mr. Know It All]

Grow up.

[PGalt]

John and Elizabeth are victims of their own minds.

[AD from SpringBay]

Go Ann go! Stop shooting the wounded. What Ann says is tame, and true, compared to the opposition. When she turns a phrase used by Bill Mahr on a democrat, it makes Good Morning America and we turn on her. Why is that? When, three years ago (any other three year old quotes out there we're talking about, or just from Ann Coulter because she's special??), she turned on the lights on Edwards' capitalizing on his own son's death, we criticize. Enough already. Maybe that's one of the reasons why the republicans in congress have no spines. They know half their constituents will turn on them the moment the media decides to.