John Edwards is building bridges

Posted by Jim on January 17, 2008

Presidential candidate Senator John Edwards is building bridges on the campaign trail. Unfortunately those bridges are for the hundreds of thousand of US military veterans who are living under those bridges. It is sad though that no such vets exist in the numbers Edwards preaches to his far left audiences.

Now those soldiers and sailors and marines served in a war that John Edwards opposes. Senator Edwards claims that these vets are there because they are poor. He fails though to understand that poor people do not live under bridges. The lower half of the US economy in huge numbers has cable television in their homes which the own or rent to house their color televisions and DVD players. If you don’t believe me, call them on their phones. The picture of poor in this country is not people living 30 deep in a one bedroom home with no electricity. Senator Edwards is trying to paint a picture for the media and his audiences that does not hold water.

Senator Edwards, myself and every other working American knows who is living under bridges - drug addicts, alcoholics, mentally ill, or some combination of those three. There are numerous people in this country doing their part to help people in need. To say that hundreds of thousands of not just poor, but poor, destitute former US military are living under those bridges is just bull.

In Philadelphia, I see the bridge dwellers every time I wanted a bag of Philadelphia soft pretzels. In the past 4 years I have had a hard time getting those pretzels because there are not a lot of people living under those bridges in Philadelphia. And while that means I don’t get my pretzels for 4 or 5 for a $1, and I have to go into the malls to Auntie Anne’s and spend $2 a pretzel, I am glad for it. People in need can get some type of help. Yes you can argue that they can not get everything in the world. But we are not a society that wants to take care of those who can take care of themselves. We want to help them. American society wants to lessen the blow of a hardship. But we don’t take the hardship away.

Ask your friends, family and religious leaders. They will tell you that hardship is a part of our life. And those hardships help to bring people together or back together. It strengthens us as a commnuity and it causes increases in donations, volunteerism and social awareness. And it reminds us that we are mortal. So Senator Edwards, we all know you love bashing the military for fighting a war you do not agree with, but why do you bash them back here at home when they get out of the military that you publicly hate?

Senator Edwards your campaign tells us that you have outlined an ambitious agenda to eliminate poverty within a generation. Where is the legislation you have pushed into action in all your years in office to bring this plan into action? Senators can do things now. Voters can only do things ever year, 2 years, 4 years and 6 years. If you feel that so many are living under bridges, can you tell us what legislation you have gotten sent to the President for his signature or veto to address the problem?

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