Inheriting a lot of money, failing at business repeatedly, being bailed out by one's father's friends, talking a city into building a baseball stadium and giving you all the land around the stadium qualifies a Republican to be President. Working as a trial lawyer and being successful at it disqualifies a Democrat. As a matter of fact it doesn't matter what a Democrat does; unless he is poor his whole life up till running for President, there's something hypocritical in him running for President.
Rich Lowry takes this tack in his latest article on John Edwards. It's pretty predictable that whoever moves to the front of the Democratic pack is a jerk in the eyes of Republicans. Anyway Lowry point is that, as a trial lawyer, Edwards is used to manipulating people and therefore shouldn't be President.
More to the point this a further attack on our judicial system. Everybody hates Lawyers right? Well I hate to break it to you, but if you get hurt on the job, or if your doctor proscribes the wrong pill, or if the food your eating poisons you, well, the only way you can protect yourself is through the judicial system. Which is, of course, why conservative shills like Lowry want to tear the system down. They are fine with the system when it's filling our jails with non-violent drug offenders, but it bothers them that the people might use the legal system to protect themselves from corporate interests.
Lowry also resorts to distorting Edward's positions. "Anything that companies do to make a profit is basically a crime, and Edwards is going to go after them, just as he did as a trial lawyer in the medical malpractice cases that made his $12 million to $60 million fortune. Edwards makes no notable call for self-reliance or individual responsibility, since in his worldview people basically aren't up to it."
First of all, I'm pretty sure Edwards, as a lawyer, considers breaking the law a crime. If Lowry feels that companies can't make a profit without breaking the law, well perhaps that says a bit more about Lowry than it does about Edwards.
In conclusion, let's consider some of Edward's own words.
"Where I come from, voters are looking for answers, not attitude. They're tired of Democrats stopping in for a visit to say, "We know what's best, we know what's good for you."
Voters don't want be looked down upon and they aren't looking for a hand out. They want leaders who will them treat with respect. They want you to listen to their concerns, and give them a fair chance to do well in life. I will never keep quiet about what I believe or fail to articulate my values simply because someone might disagree with me. Democrats don't turn their backs on a challenge, and I never will.
We need to take on these issues. This president says he wants to have a values debate, and that's exactly what I will give him. On almost every issue, George Bush's values are not America's values. This administration values wealth over work...special interests over our interests, secret meetings over open debate, the privileged few over the rest of us."
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