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Thursday, July 19, 2007

John Edwards: The Real Deal

In my brief time as a volunteer for the Democratic Party, I've had the pleasure of supporting various candidates for public office, Jon Corzine and Bob Menendez in N.J., Jim Hodges in S.C., and Kerry/Edwards and Clinton/Gore in various states; my fervor for candidates is perhaps most active at the time of their respective candidacies, but I can say that I've perhaps never been as excited about a candidate and his platform than I currently am for former Sen. John Edwards. All ideas, all positive initiatives, all substantial platforms -- this marks the Edwards campaign thus far.

This week, for instance, while other candidates are probably fundraising and schmoozing with the Washington elite, Edwards is touring some of the most impoverished parts of the country in hopes of bringing national attention to poor rural and urban Americans. He's visited a poultry factor in Mississippi and spoken with the workers there, he's gone to rural Virginia and talked with those who have never had health care, and he traveled to Pittsburgh to talk with workers who are struggling. This is a campaign based on substance with a candidate who has lived through many of the struggles that working class and poor Americans have lived with. I admire his work and intend to do everything possible to ensure he is elected president.

(For a Time article on Edwards' tour: http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1644961,00.html

Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Rich Dennison For New Jersey State Senate

Just north of my home in Camden County is the 7th district, a district which stretches from western Burlington County slightly north and westward and which trends Democratic. For years, this district has been represented by a Bush Republican, Diane Allen, who is hardly a leader in the New Jersey state senate and who didn't bother to vote in support of expanding stem cell lines and for civil unions for gays and lesbians.

Rich Dennison, a Democrat from Florence, N.J., would provide a new voice for 7th district voters and is much more in tune with their political views than Allen. Though Dennison's platform is still being honed, he is particularly strong in the area of health care, and I think he shares my vision of universal, single-payer health care for all; further, as someone who works in public education, I value Dennison's commitment to this institution and know that he'd work hard for teachers and students in Trenton.

I'll post more on Dennison as we get closer to the November election, but some further information on him can be found here:
http://www.our7th.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=39
Dennison, a former Clinton speechwriter,and a local resident with strong community ties, is the right person for state senate and can win this race.