Edwards Rally in Iowa City
By Connie Wilson

[A big THANK YOU to Connie Wilson for her intrepid reporting as she has covered the political scene for Blog for Iowa!]

Thursday, October 21, 2004

In the field across from the Iowa Memorial Union at Madison and Jefferson streets in Iowa City, on Thursday, October 21st, the movie star of the campaign came to town and showed us the future of the Democratic party.

Whatever happens, John Edwards is here to stay, politically, on the national scene. Not since JFK have women voters swooned like this over a 51-year-old heart-throb, who, in this case, is running for Vice President on the Democratic ticket. Of course, the student introducing Edwards, Karen Emerson, President of the University Young Democrats, accidentally introduced John Edwards as “the next President of the United States,” which may have been wishful thinking on her part.

John Edwards in Iowa City yesterday.

Before Edwards spoke, the usual array of hopeful local candidates had their say. Jim Larew, an attorney and a Johnson County Democrat talked about John Edwards’ integrity and the fact that “his feet touched the ground.” He described “stalking” him during the caucuses.

Dave Franker, candidate for Congress in Iowa District 2, noted that we “only have 12 more days to go,” and added, “If you want change, you have to vote for change.” Since Franker is running neck and neck against the vulnerable Republican Jim Leach, he took the opportunity to point out that Leach would be backing Dick Cheney. The contrast between Cheney and Edwards could hardly be more pronounced. Which one of these guys do we want a heartbeat away from the Presidency? Especially since they may have to use the paddles on Cheney at any minute!

The Bush rally Gestapo forces recently arrested and strip-searched five Southeastern Iowa Community College students who showed up to peacefully demonstrate at a Republican rally, charging them with “interfering with official acts.”  Tom Woodruff of SEIU, where Edwards had spoken on Tuesday night, fairly oozed outrage as he told the crowd this anecdote.

Woodruff went on to say, “We’re on the wrong track. 36 million living in poverty….4 million more since this pResident took office. Eighty million United States citizens with no health care. That’s a disgrace; that’s the wrong track.”

Humorously, Woodruff noted that Warren Buffett, one of the world’s richest men, got a $374 million tax cut under Bush’s tax cuts for the richest 1% of the population. Woodruff said that he had heard Buffett comment, during a television interview, “I didn’t ask for it. I don’t need it. I don’t want it.”  

So, said Woodruff, “I wrote Warren Buffett a letter telling him to send it my way and I’d spread it around. It’s been over a year ago. I go to the mailbox every morning and the check is still not in the mail.” Woodruff also noted, “How in the world are you safer (under Bush?) We went all around the world pissing off everybody in the world! That’s not the way to make us safer! Our children….our grandchildren….they won’t have the education, the job opportunities, or the chance at Social Security because of this. Throw out these greedy sons-of-****. You can do it! You can do it! You can do it!”

This emotional outburst was followed by music (“Summer in the City,” “Walkin’ on Sunshine” and “I Won’t Back Down”).

[*The music at the Democratic rallies is always guaranteed to be far, far superior to the music at the Republican rallies. Republicans are lucky to get C&W music by a local beer band. Ted Nugent likes Bush “because he’s a Christian.” When Nugent was asked to name the 10 Commandments, however, he said, “Well, I couldn’t rip them off right now, but give me a few days.”

The rest of the Nugent rant on this is pure fiction, but there is a rumor that Nugent thinks one of the Ten Commandments is “Thou Shalt Not Barbecue on Sunday” and that another is “Thou Shalt Not Shoot An Animal in the Crotch.” (This makes me wonder if hitting a deer with your side-view mirror, as I did while driving to the Kerry rally on Tuesday night, would be Commandment Number Three: “Thou Shalt Not Stun a Drunken Deer Who Wanders Into Your Car With Your Side-View Mirror.”]

When Edwards took the stage, surrounded by signs like “Eleven Days to Change the World,” “Hippies love John,” “Jews for Kerry,” “John + John = Good Thing” and “Peace, Love and Edwards,” the crowd was hugely enthusiastic. The crowd numbered in the thousands and was backed up waaaay past the porta-potties. They were in a great mood, dancing, schmoozing. The weather was mild and the warm-up comments were passionate.

Only the NBC Traveling Press guy, cynic that he may be, was wearing a button that said, “I’m not deaf; I’m ignoring you.”

Edwards first noted that George Bush asked a very relevant question in the second debate: “Is my time up yet?” Obviously, Edwards and Kerry feel that it is. Said Edwards of “W’s” inability to think of a single mistake he might have made, (when asked this question during the debates): “After November 2nd we’re gonna give him the rest of his life to think about his mistakes. He is out of touch with America.”

Edwards commented on the many, many Bush officials who are now campaigning nationwide for the beleaguered Republican ticket…everyone from Bush and Cheney to Tommy Thompson. His question: “Who’s minding the store?” (Who, indeed!)

A refrain that we heard at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds Rally and heard again in Iowa City was this one: “Eleven hundred men and women lost in Iraq, and yet the Administration says things are going well there. Bush and Cheney are the last two people in America who think things are going well in Iraq.” Edwards added, “We are going to aggressively keep this country safe.”

Moving on to economic issues, Edwards only needed the statistics: 5 million who have lost health care, 4 million who have sunk in to poverty under Bush. And he cited this one, “George W. Bush is the first pResident in 70 years, Democrat or Republican, war-time or peace-time, to lose jobs on his watch.”

Edwards commented that Bush and Cheney “think that outsourcing jobs would be good for our economy,” following this with the comment, “What would be good for our economy would be to outsource George Bush and Dick Cheney!” while noting that the cost of Medicare is up +17%.

Commenting on this nation’s dependence on oil, Edwards stated the obvious: “an Administration with deep and long ties to the Saudis (*See Craig Unger’s “House of Bush and Saud”) is not going to try to move America away from oil dependence.” However, since we sit on only 3% of the oil reserves (as noted by Kerry in Waterloo on Wednesday), we need to “make fuel efficient cars of the future, and they should be built right here in the United States of America.” (Applause)

“You cannot stand with the American people and stand with big oil, and big corporations, and big HMOs and the big drug companies. You deserve a President who will fight for you every day.”

On a light-hearted note, Edwards said that he would like to see the big drug companies have some truth-in-advertising in their television spots. “Right now, you watch TV and think that if you take this drug, tonight, you and your spouse will be skipping through fields of flowers.” (Laughter).

Edwards came out squarely in favor of stem cell research, drawing huge applause. Bush opposes stem cell research for all but the least promising lines of stem cells, based on his Christian fundamentalist beliefs, which all of us are expected to embrace, like it or not. (Not, in my case.)

Edwards cited the fact that the typical American’s paycheck dropped by $1500 under George W. Bush and that he had cut 84,000 students off Pell Grants to aid in paying for their college educations. Edwards said that he and Kerry would propose a program whereby a student who promised to give 2 years of service to the country after graduation would receive a 4-year college education, free of charge, in return. Edwards noted, “If you drive by the polling places on election day and see long lines of young people voting, you will know that we have won.” He echoed Democrat Mary Mosher who said, “This election means so much to all of us. Johnson County must deliver.”

Edwards called Jessica Mangler to the platform, noting that she had personally taken 47 people to register to vote early. A television commentator…(a large man who constantly wandered into my still shots just as I was taking them and stood in front of  both of us blocking our view 50% of the time)….was heard saying, on camera, that the Johnson County Auditor’s office has set up early voting sites in the basement of the Iowa Memorial Union.

Echoing my own thoughts about this election, and the debate topic into the wee hours of the night in Waterloo with three other members of the traveling professional press, Edwards stated, “This is the most important election of our lifetime. We’re fighting for you. We’re fighting for the America we all believe in.  The reason this election is so important is that John Kerry and I believe we should never look down on anyone. We should lift people up.”

Amen to that! U-2’s “It’s a Beautiful Day” - which it was - ended the rally. Even my $15 parking ticket couldn’t dampen my spirits.