Why Edwards Can Seal the Deal
by Sarah Lane, Wed Apr 25, 2007 at 03:26:31 PM EDT
Last Monday John Edwards appeared on the Ed Schultz Show at a town hall meeting in Chapel Hill, N.C. I've never been much of a fan of Ed Schultz, but that's a whole different story. Back in 2004, we had to witness what I call "Kerry Speak". Kerry became a victim of run on sentences and over explaining issues to death. I do not think he was able to get his point across clearly and concisely, whether the subject was Iraq or health care. The thing is, I really like Kerry and I think he would have made a fantastic President, he just came off wrong.
This is one of the big differences between Edwards and Kerry. Edwards can explain complicated policy proposals with ease. Edwards can talk about his bold, progressive policy proposals without coming off as a socialist. He can talk about Universal Health Care without putting people off. He can talk about policies to help the urban and rural poor without sounding like he's all about big government. I think he can do this because of his ability to connect with working Americans. He doesn't over explain his ideas and he doesn't gloss things over with fancy adjectives. He tells it like it is, simply and plainly.
I've been thinking about this since the 2006 elections. People like Jon Tester got elected in red Montana because he connected with folks on dinner table issues. Tester often talked about the rural poor and affordable health care. The rural folks are people the Democrats have largely ignored the past couple elections. This is where many Democrats can connect with moderate Republicans on domestic issues. Tester wasn't complicated or sleek, he was straight forward and plain spoken. Tester's brand of populism in the rural mountain west won him his seat and helped give the majority of the Senate to the Democrats.
Back to Edwards on the Ed Schultz show, it's no secret on the blogs that I support Edwards, so I found myself surprised at how much I loved this appearance. I thought it was one of the best appearances I had ever heard from a politician. His answers were to the point, and he nailed every single one of them. His wife did amazingly well, which is always expected, she is quick on her feet and extremely witty. Ed asked Edwards about his Universal Health Care plan and here's what Edwards said:
John: I'll give you a very short version. What I'd do is require employers to cover their employees or pay into a fund. We'd set up healthcare markets across the country - consumers can choose either a private plan or a government plan and there would be a government plan in there. We subsidize healthcare costs to just under 100k of income. We cover the cracks in the healthcare system. Complete mental health parity. Mental health treated the same as physical health. Chronic care, preventative care, long-term care all covered. We'd bring down the cost of the care for the entire system through preventative care from birth to death. Healthier. The mandated use of technology, lowered administrative costs, mandated use of electronic record keeping. If you have your healthcare in one of these markets you can take it with you so you are not locked in to a particular job. We outlaw pre-existing conditions; there will be no such thing as pre-existing conditions....And by law every man, woman and child has to be covered. The cost is 90 to 120 billion dollars a year paid for by getting rid of Bush's tax cuts for those who make over 200k a year.
I swear he said it without hesitating at all and said it in less then thirty seconds. It was really awesome, and as someone who doesn't know the ins and outs of health care, I understood everything he said. Here's what Elizabeth said when Ed asked her if John was a good attorney:
Elizabeth: He did some of that, he...I'll tell you what was really great about John as an attorney. What he did is he took really complex cases, this ability is great in a politician too, takes a really complex set of facts and explains them to a jury in a very plain way so that all these people from different educational backgrounds can understand what he is saying. And then he moves them to a position they ought, to where he thinks they ought to be on this complex issue. Now if you talk down to them they'd know it. If he said something that isn't true the other side is going to call him on it. So he had to be completely truthful but speak plainly about complex issues and move people on them. That's exactly the kind of ability we are lacking right now in the White House.
This is a big part of the reason I think Edwards can seal the deal in the general election. He can talk plainly and people will listen to him with ease He can propose his progressive policies and connect to people's current struggles.
Tags: 2008 Preisdential election, Ed Schultz, John Edwards, John Kerry, universal health care (all tags)
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