John Edwards Takes a Giant Step Backwards
Well, one day after putting forth his health care plan, which I thought was pretty bold despite its "wishy-washy" tone, John Edwards took a gun and shot himself in the foot... multiple times. Apparently, in response to criticism from the most extremist Right-Wing nutjobs, like the Fascist Ignorant Asshole Catholic League's Bill Donahue and uber-winger/idiot Michelle Malkin, Edwards fired the two bloggers whom he just hired a week or so ago. Chris Bowers has a great rundown of why we should be mad as hell about this.
For the record, here are some good quotes from Donahue, from the above linked Media Matters piece, to give you an idea of who Edwards is looking to for support:
Name for me a book publishing company in this country, particularly in New York, which would allow you to publish a book which would tell the truth about the gay death style.
***
Well, first they said it [The Passion of the Christ] was anti-Semitic. That didn't work. Then they said it was too violent. That didn't work. Then they said it was S & M. That didn't work. Then they said it was pornography. That didn't work. Now they're saying it's fascistic queer-bashing. That kind of language would ordinarily get somebody taken away in a straitjacket and -- put you in the asylum. I don't know what about -- the queer-bashing is all about. I'm pretty good about picking out who queers are and I didn't see any in the movie. I'm usually pretty good at that.
(Ed note: It takes one to know one, Mary)
***
Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It's not a secret, okay? And I'm not afraid to say it. ... Hollywood likes anal sex. They like to see the public square without nativity scenes. I like families. I like children. They like abortions
***
There's nobody in the United States Senate who has a more radical voting record on abortion than John Kerry. He's never found an abortion that he couldn't justify. ...
And that's just a small taste of Donahue's ignorant idiocy.
Unlike Bowers, I will not reconsider the following: As of today I will not vote for John Edwards under ANY circumstances in the Democratic Primary.Edwards has shown himself to be both an idiot and a coward, and if I wanted a stupid chicken-shit in the white house I'd vote Republican. [I'll revise this last statement. If Edwards comes out and apologizes profusely for this screwup, states that he supports the bloggers unequivocally, and maybe fires the person who made this fantastically stupid move, than I might consider supporting him again....]
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huh?
Except that he hasn’t actually fired anyone yet.
If you dislike Edwards for how he handled the situation, that is cool and a valid criticism. But as of now, no one has been fired and we’ve yet to get a statement from Edwards.
It may be that he does fire them, in which case I too will be very disappointed. It might be that today he comes out swinging at the attackers like Donahue. It might be that he says nothing, but no one gets fired.
There’s a lot still going on and we should all keep our heads until we know the final outcome.
details...
The fact is that this is what is being reported, by friends of the bloggers in question, so I will take their word for it. Amanda and Melissa have obviously been told that they might be fired, and the reasons are still the same, so what’s the difference at this point? I will amend one thing that I said above- if Edwards comes out and says that this is all Bull Shit, and that he would never dream of caving to these extremist idiots for any reason whatsoever, than maybe I can be convinced to change my mind. Anything less than a strong endorsement of the two bloggers, and an equally strong repudiation of those who are attacking them, is tantamount to surrender to the most vial extremists in our land.
Your view, but be accurate
I agree that this is probably a make or break moment for Edwards’ camaign - especially in terms of netroots support, but at this point it’s just not accurate to say that they have been fired.
That is not the same as flat out fired. Who knows what is going on internally over this.
Officially Not Fired
So the statement by Edwards is out. They are officially not fired.
Officially not impressed.
I’ll put that statement back into effect: I will not vote for John Edwards, or anyone else who takes their marching orders from anti-semitic, homophobic, hate-mongers. That was one weak ass explanation and I for one won’t be voting Edwards.