That’s the Seattle Times headline. The Seattle P.I.‘s story is headlined, “Edwards assails Bush budget,” but begins with the snarky but honest, “Good gosh: Can it be presidential campaign season again already?”
Yesterday, in Seattle, John Edwards — director of the Center of Poverty, Work and Opportunity, a Univ. of No. Carolina think tank — “addressed a public-policy coalition, a low-income housing group and a state Democratic banquet.”
Today, Edwards and the Service Employees Int’l Union (SEIU) leads a downtown Seattle rally to unionize security guards, a large low-wage group. (P.I.)
[I]n a speech to the Progressive Legislative Action Network [that’s a David Sirota baby — it has its own site] … Edwards said poverty would resonate louder if politicians did a better job of championing the poor, who are mostly working women with children.
“These are the people the American people would embrace if they just heard their stories,” Edwards said.
As for the polls that indicate little interest… Edwards retorted: “That’s our [Democrats’] job, isn’t it? Our job is not to follow, it is to lead. ….”
Edwards said he had no idea whether poverty would become a major concern to voters next year, or in 2008.
And he said he didn’t care.
“I work on poverty because I think it’s the right thing to do. I don’t think there’s any way to predict what the leading issue will be in the next two to four years.”
BELOW: Edwards’ travels, PAC work for local Dem candidates nationwide, and the AP story in today’s WaPo:
The Times’ story also describes Edwards’ coast-to-coast travels and his PAC’s work to help local Dem candidates. Below, snippets from the AP story in the WaPo:
Edwards Says Poverty a Key Democrat Issue
By CURT WOODWARD
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 16, 2005; 10:21 PM
SEATTLE — Democrats can build the party’s national strength by pushing their policies in statehouses around the country, 2004 vice presidential candidate John Edwards told a group of legislators Tuesday.
“We know what we believe. We know what we stand for. But the American people need to hear it from us,” the former U.S. senator told a group of about 300 at a waterfront convention center.
Edwards’ speech highlighted a program put on by the Progressive Leadership Action Network, a group that aims to rival the clout of established right-leaning think tanks such as the American Legislative
Exchange Council. […..]
Action Network organizers hope the new Helena, Mont.-based nonprofit will become a clearinghouse of ideas, support and research for left-leaning state lawmakers, but acknowledge they have a lot of work to do.
The group is hoping to raise $1.5 million in the next year, and is planning to target its work in a select group of states with legislative sessions in 2006.
“You all of a sudden just can’t have a 30-member staff and a $30 million budget,” PLAN co-chairman Steve Doherty said.
Tuesday’s meeting attracted legislators from around the country, who are attending the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures annual convention in Seattle.
Democratic Missouri state Sen. Patrick Dougherty said the new policy group’s focus would help legislators feel they aren’t alone in critical policy battles at the statehouse.
“It helps us to reach a lot of Americans who, I think, feel forgotten by a lot of politicians,” he said.
More: WaPo/AP
