Edwards and 'special interests'washingtonpost.com
Edwards and 'special interests'
Added 1966 days ago in Politics
blog.washingtonpost.com — "Special interests control our government while members of the middle class who work hard and play by the rules are left behind." "Alliance for a New America" website

Our focus today is Alliance for a New America, the shadowy advocacy group that praises John Edwards as the candidate who will sweep the "special interests" out of Washington. The organization emerged out of nowhere over the last few weeks with a series of mailers and television and radio ads in Iowa that have cost over $1 million, and seems likely to recede back into the shadows as soon as the election is over. Edwards has said he has no influence over the group, even though his former manager, Nick Baldick, has been identified as its organizing genius.

Barack Obama has dubbed all these funds "special interest" money, much to the ire of the SEIU and other unions. His campaign manager, David Plouffe, accused the Edwards campaign of "exploiting the biggest loophole" in the campaign finance system.

"It is completely out of bounds for someone to say that regular working Americans are somehow a special interest," said Dave Regan, president of SEIU district 1199 and a moving force behind the Alliance. "Our workers include nurses, health care workers, social workers, janitors. We are not some narrow special interest in the way that term is usually used."

Whether you consider organized labor a "special interest," Nick Baldick constitutes a prime example of someone who flits with ease from the world of political campaigns to the world of lobbying and public relations.

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Posted by JBeal
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Is Edwards exploiting a loophole in campaign finance by using "special interest" money & groups that lobby on his behalf?
Yes, He's a Hypocrite
51%
No, He has no control over independent advocacy groups
49%
This is not a scientific survey, click here to learn more. Results may not total 100% due to rounding and voting descrepencies.
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