EDWARDS -- July 6 2004 Statement
Statement of John Edwards on Being Chosen John Kerry’s Running Mate

Washington, DC – Senator John Edwards released the following statement today on being chosen as John Kerry’s vice presidential running mate:

“I was honored this morning to receive a call from Senator Kerry asking me to join his ticket.  I was humbled by his offer – and thrilled to accept it.

“I’ve served with John Kerry.  He is a man of strength, character and courage. He has a vision for our country that will make life better for all Americans - those in the middle class who struggle every day to make ends meet, and the millions of Americans fighting to enter the middle class.

“I look forward to seeing all of you in the days ahead and talking to the American people about the next president of the United States.”

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RACICOT -- July 6, 2004 Statement
Statement by Bush-Cheney '04 Campaign Chairman Governor Marc Racicot

ARLINGTON, VA -- "I welcome Senator Edwards to the race as Senator Kerry’s running mate. Senator Edwards is a committed liberal and spirited messenger for his party in an election that will decide the course our nation takes in turning a recovery into prosperity for all Americans, and in the War on Terror. There will be vigorous debates about these issues in this election.

"President Bush and Vice President Cheney have worked to create jobs, lower health care costs, reduce taxes on small businesses and improve education by making schools accountable to every child and parent in America.

"President Bush and Vice President Cheney have led America and our allies with the strength of their convictions and the courage of a nation that saw first hand on September 11th the face of a new enemy. They will not waver in their commitment to protect our country from threats abroad and at home.

"Senator Edwards shares Senator Kerry’s views on many important issues, such as his opposition to the child tax credit and marriage penalty relief; his objection to a prescription drug benefit for seniors; and his vote against our troops on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq. There is a clear philosophical difference between the parties in this election, and we welcome an honest debate about which ticket can best accomplish these goals and share the priorities of our great nation."
 

RNC -- July 6, 2004 Press Release
Who is John Edwards?

Washington DC -- John Kerry was against John Edwards before he was for him. But now he's his running mate.

Who is John Edwards?

A disingenuous, unaccomplished liberal and friend to personal injury trial lawyers.

Go to www.kerrypicksedwards.com to find out more about John Edwards.


 

NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICAN PARTY -- July 6, 2004 Press Release
KERRY’S SECOND CHOICE: PESSIMISM WITH A SOUTHERN DRAWL

(RALEIGH) - Senator John Edwards’ “Pick me for VP Tour” has paid off as the Kerry campaign today announced him to be their choice for VP. While Democrats would like to think that Edwards can help John Kerry by wooing Southern voters with his smooth Southern drawl, the reality is that neither Edwards nor Kerry are in tune with Southern voters; the only difference between the two senators is their accents. In fact, the Kerry-Edwards ticket represents one of the most divisive and out of the mainstream tickets for President.  Never before has the Democratic Party chosen the 1st and 4th most liberal members of the United States Senate to represent it in a Presidential campaign.

“The only thing separating John Edwards from John Kerry is their accents,” said Ferrell Blount, Chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party.  “When it comes to their voting records, both are out of touch with North Carolina voters on important issues like taxes, partial birth abortion, Medicare reform, and national security.

“John Edwards delivers his pessimism with a southern drawl and a smile, but his message of a divided America rings hollow in the ears of an optimistic America that is united in meeting the tests of our times with strength and hope,” Blount added.

According to National Journal, “Kerry and Edwards aren’t all that different, at least not when it comes to how they voted on key issues before the Senate last year. The results of the vote ratings show that Kerry was the most liberal senator in 2003, with a composite liberal score of 96.5. But Edwards wasn’t far behind: He had a 2003 composite liberal score of 94.5, making him the fourth-most-liberal senator.” (Richard E. Cohen,  “How They Measured Up,” National Journal, 2/28/04)

And political analysts say Sen. Edwards’ Southern roots aren’t likely to be an asset to the ticket.

UVA Professor Larry Sabato: “He has only one term in the United States Senate. There’s no other public office experience.  It is really going to be impossible for John Kerry to stand up and say if he does pick Edwards ‘I picked the most experienced
person best able to take over the presidency if need be.’ It is just not true and anybody would know it…don't forget Edwards does come from North Carolina but he is not particularly strong in his home state.  He barely won the senate seat.  Most polls
over to last six years have shown him with low popularity.  I am not sure he can carry North Carolina.” (Fox News, “Fox and Friends,” 7/6/04)

Go to http://www.kerrypicksedwards.com/ to find out more about John Edwards.

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BUSH -- July 7, 2004 Answering Questions from Reporters
Answering Questions from Reporters After Meeting with North Carolina Judicial Nominees Raleigh Durham International Airport
Q Mr. President, Kerry, during the primaries, often said that John Edwards was not ready to be President. Do you believe that he is ready to be a heartbeat away from the Oval Office?

THE PRESIDENT: That will be up to the voters to decide. But I tell you what I think about North Carolina. I did well here in 2000 because the North Carolinian voter understood we shared values. I'm going to do well again in 2004. They know we share those values. People in North Carolina remember I came to this state and said we'll make sure our troops are well-paid and well-housed and taken care of, and we've done that. I told them we'd cut their taxes, and we've done that. The economy is strong here in North Carolina. I also know that when they go to the polls to vote for President that they'll understand that the Senator from Massachusetts doesn't share their values.

Steve.

Q Mr. President --

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, speak up. I'm getting a little --

Q If I could try another Edwards question. He's being described today as charming, engaging, a nimble campaigner, a populist, and even sexy. How does he stack up against Dick Cheney?

THE PRESIDENT: Dick Cheney can be President.

Next.

Q Mr. President, does this John Edwards selection force you to spend more time in the South, and change your strategy in the southern states now?

THE PRESIDENT: I'm going to carry the South because the people understand that they share -- we share values that they understand. They know me well. And I am -- I believe that I did well in the South last time, I'll do well in the South this time, because the Senator from Massachusetts doesn't share their values, and that's the difference in the campaign.

Yes.

Q Will you have to spend more time, strategy-wise?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, talk to -- talk to the schedulers. I'm not the scheduler, I'm just a simple candidate.  (Laughter.) ...
 

NADER -- July 6, 2004 Press Release
Nader Urges Kerry-Edwards Ticket to Strengthen Rights of Citizens to Sue for Corporate Abuse

Washington, DC: Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, who urged Senator John Kerry to pick Senator John Edwards as his vice president on June 22, today urged the Democratic ticket to speak out against massive corporate lobbying efforts to weaken the right of citizens to sue when they are injured by corporations who produce faulty or dangerous products, put toxics in the environment, are injured by medical malpractice and other corporate negligence. Corporations seek to escape responsibility under the venerable common law for their wrongful injuries to innocent people.

“There has been a consistent erosion of the citizen’s right to sue in the civil justice system – one of the pillars of our democracy. With the selection of Senator John Edwards the Democratic ticket now should have an effective spokesperson for citizen’s rights in court,” said Nader.  “It is time for the Democrats to speak out and protect the rights of consumers. Let’s hear from Senator Edwards a ringing affirmation of the civil justice system and the civil jury which our forefathers forged so valiantly or at the founding of our Republic.”

Nader went on to describe the importance of the civil justice system:  “When the rights of injured consumers are vindicated in court, our society benefits in countless ways. Injured victims and shattered families are compensated and for unspeakable losses (and saving taxpayers from having to assist them). Future injuries are prevented by removing dangerous products and practices from the marketplace and spurring safety innovation. Evidence in court leads to safety standards being issued for products that have caused injury. The public is educated about unnecessary and unacceptable risks associated with some
 products and services through disclosure of facts discovered during trial. And, civil litigation provides authoritative judicial forums for the ethical growth of law where the responsibility of perpetrators of trauma and disease can be established. This authoritative expansion of respect for human life serves to distinguish our country from most other
 nations.”

The data show that around the country machines break and chemicals burn their victims and the cost of the casualty count in the workplace and marketplace runs into the billions of dollars annually. In addition, at least 80,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical malpractice in hospitals alone according to a study by physicians at the Harvard School of Public Health. More die in a given year as a result of medical malpractice than from motor vehicle accidents (43,458), breast cancer (42,297) or AIDS (16,516). Yet eight times as many patients are injured by medical malpractice as ever file a claim; 16 times as many suffer injuries as receive any compensation. Indeed, very few injured Americans file lawsuits. Overall, only 10 percent of injured Americans ever file a claim for compensation, which includes informal demands and insurance claims.

Tort deform legislation that has been proposed in Congress and in state legislatures around the country over the last 20 years weakens the civil justice system. “Tort reform ties the hands of our courts -- both judges and juries -- by legislators who never see, hear or evaluate the evidence in each specific case, thus undermining our uniquely individualized system of justice. Judges and jurors are free from the influence of corporate lobbyists and fund legislators who then press to weaken the people’s right to their day in court,” said Nader. “Under tort deform, the most severely injured or disease-afflicted Americans — seniors in nursing homes, quadriplegic workers or brain-damaged children who suffer most and suffer for a lifetime — are prohibited from obtaining fair compensation for their injuries and are unable to hold the perpetrators of their harm accountable. Indeed, tort deform laws take away the rights of 99 percent of the people who live in this country, while letting a handful of corporations escape accountability for reckless misconduct that causes injury and death and of course corporations remain unfettered in their power to sue others.”

“While I have differences with Senator Edwards on many issues – the Iraq War and Patriot Act among them, I recognize his selection because he is capable, if he chooses, of standing up to the corporate lobbyists who bankroll legislators to block the citizen’s right to sue,” concluded Nader.
 

DEAN -- July 6, 2004 Statement
Statement from Gov. Howard Dean

John Edwards is a smart choice for John Kerry's running mate. A Kerry-Edwards ticket will bring energy, commitment and a new vision for America. I will be working hard over the next few months to get them both elected.
 

American Conservative Union -- July 6, 2004 Press Release
John Edwards as Far-left Liberal as John Kerry
Both senators scored a paltry 13 percent on ACU's 2003 Annual Rating of Congress

Alexandria, VA – The elite media is seeking to spin John Kerry's choice of Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina as bringing a moderate to the Democratic ticket.  But John Edwards is every bit as liberal as John Kerry, according to the 2003 annual Rating of Congress published by the American Conservative Union.

"In 2003, John Edwards scored a paltry 13 percent in the ACU Rating of Congress," said Executive Director Richard Lessner. "That's the identical score John Kerry recorded.  A measly 13 percent hardly makes Edwards a moderate.  Fellow Southern Democrat Zell Miller, for example, scored 75 percent.

"The elite media may seek to paint John Edwards as a moderate, centrist Democrat, but that portrait is plain phony," said Lessner.  "There isn't a tinker's dam worth of difference between the two Johns.  They're both far-left liberals in the Ted Kennedy tradition."

The annual ACU Rating is widely regarded as the "gold standard" scorecard of Congress from the conservative perspective. The current 2003 Ratings as well as a full archive are available online at www.acuratings.com.

"No one should be fooled by the effort to portray John Edwards as a Southern moderate in the style of a Zell Miller.  Edwards is a trial lawyer and a reliable liberal.  He votes in line with all the leftist special interest groups that control the Democratic Party.

"In 2003 Edwards voted against repeal of the death tax, against repeal of the marriage tax penalty, against research into advanced nuclear weapons, and against medical malpractice reform, while voting in favor of the Roe v. Wade abortion decision.  That's hardly the record of a moderate!"
 

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