John Edwards, the model American

[ClimbingPanther]

Edwards was asked during his appearance how he explained the contradiction of asking Americans to sacrifice while he's living in a 28,000-square-foot mansion.

 

He said he came from nothing, worked hard all his life, has always supported workers and fought big corporations as a lawyer.

 

Sounds like something a good Republican would say. I'm sure it's all a cozy 72 degrees all year long too. What a model citizen. The world would truly be a better place if everyone lived as extravagantly as their wallet allowed. Thanks, Mr. Edwards, for being a leader and showing the world what America is all about. Anybody can squander resources like a true American if they just work for it.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/29/edwards.kucinich.ap/index.html

 

To be fair though, I would be real curious to know what nobody's talking about... how do all the other candidates live? How big is McCain's house? Clinton's vehicle? Romney's extended Mormon family?

[ClimbingPanther]

Oh yeah, the title of the article is:

 

Edwards: Americans should sacrifice their SUVs

 

 

What, they didn't start from nothing and work hard for their SUV's? What a poser.

[JayB]

Making a fortune suing doctors over birth defects which they had no control over, then opposing legislation to create a state fund that would help families with children cope with the said defects since provisions of the said legislation would curtail the very lawsuits he'd made his fortune with, then investing a substantial portion of the profits in, and deriving fees from an offshore hedge fund that's foreclosing on homeowners in New Orleans as a consequence of sub-prime bets gone bad, all while lambasting offshoring, unscrupulous subprime lenders, etc every day on the campaign trail...the economic equivalent of Senator Craig's "wide stance" in the bathroom stall.

 

The man is a sack, but thankfully he has zero chance of securing the Democratic nomination.

[archenemy]

Agreed that he is a turd.

 

 

But more and more I get concerned about the socially accepted eco-rightiousness that pervades so many conversations. Why is it that the same group of folks who often pride themselves on being open-minded and non-judgemental don't hesitate to pry into other people's lives and judge their personal choices?

 

Yes, yes, the environment is important. Without it's health, we die. But anyone who is concerned about this may make choices that are different than yours and have made trade-offs that you don't see--just like you do. Yet you feel totally comfortable ragging on that person and their choices with the army of "I'm more environmentally purist than you are" holier than thou psuedo wanna be hippie sixties punters.

[ClimbingPanther]

the economic equivalent of Senator Craig's "wide stance" in the bathroom stall.

exactly.

"You must give up your excesses becuase I said so, but I earned the right to live excessively!"

Yes, archy, everyone has the right to make different decisions about what's acceptible in this country, but he's saying "do as I say, not as I do."

[underworld]

but but but he's buying carbon offsets. what a saint!

 

carbon offsets: live as a zero instead of making a difference

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Yes, yes, the environment is important. Without it's health, we die. But anyone who is concerned about this may make choices that are different than yours and have made trade-offs that you don't see--just like you do. Yet you feel totally comfortable ragging on that person and their choices with the army of "I'm more environmentally purist than you are" holier than thou psuedo wanna be hippie sixties punters.

 

Amen, sister. Exactly what I was trying to get across to Olyclimber the other day.

 

I nominate you for POTD

Edited August 30, 2007 by KaskadskyjKozak

[KaskadskyjKozak]

he's saying "do as I say, not as I do."

 

No, he's saying "Some animals are more equal than others".

[archenemy]

Let's all just agree that we are all hypocrites at times and we all have double standards at times. As a matter of fact, it is a little lame to be pointing the finger at this guy for holding a double standard as if each one of us has not done so in our lives. But please, get out of mine and stop demanding I use a low-flo toilet, wear organic cotton underwear, and drink free trade coffee. I'm just not that good a person.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Let's all just agree that we are all hypocrites at times and we all have double standards at times. As a matter of fact, it is a little lame to be pointing the finger at this guy for holding a double standard as if each one of us has not done so in our lives. But please, get out of mine and stop demanding I use a low-flo toilet, wear organic cotton underwear, and drink free trade coffee. I'm just not that good a person.

 

He's standing on a pedestal and dictating to us how to lead our lives, while living exorbitantly. He deserves what he gets here.

 

[archenemy]

I don't feel dictated to. I feel like it was another talking head saying whatever he needs to in order to get elected. Nothing personal.

 

And I am keeping my V8 and driving the fuck out of it whenever I damn well choose. His opinion has no effect on my driving habits.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Let's all just agree that we are all hypocrites at times and we all have double standards at times. As a matter of fact, it is a little lame to be pointing the finger at this guy for holding a double standard as if each one of us has not done so in our lives. But please, get out of mine and stop demanding I use a low-flo toilet, wear organic cotton underwear, and drink free trade coffee. I'm just not that good a person.

 

He's standing on a pedestal and dictating to us how to lead our lives, while living exorbitantly. He deserves what he gets here.

 

One politician who stands in stark contrast is Jerry Brown - at least back in the '70's. When he took over as governer he declined to live in the governer's mansion, rented a modest apartment, didn't us a limo, etc. I disagreed with the guy's politics, but at least he practiced some of what he preached.

[tvashtarkatena]

Let's all just agree that we are all hypocrites at times and we all have double standards at times. As a matter of fact, it is a little lame to be pointing the finger at this guy for holding a double standard as if each one of us has not done so in our lives. But please, get out of mine and stop demanding I use a low-flo toilet, wear organic cotton underwear, and drink free trade coffee. I'm just not that good a person.

 

He's standing on a pedestal and dictating to us how to lead our lives, while living exorbitantly. He deserves what he gets here.

 

One politician who stands in stark contrast is Jerry Brown - at least back in the '70's. When he took over as governer he declined to live in the governer's mansion, rented a modest apartment, didn't us a limo, etc. I disagreed with the guy's politics, but at least he practiced some of what he preached.

 

Plus he was doing Linda Ronstadt.

[mattp]

KK's right. Let's just reelect the head dufous - for life - and be done with it. The man lives his values.

[KaskadskyjKozak]

KK's right. Let's just reelect the head dufous - for life - and be done with it. The man lives his values.

 

Can you ever NOT put words in someone's mouth?

 

The "head dufus" is done. He's hit the term limit. NOBODY is advocating putting him back in office.

[mattp]

[kevbone]

Edwards was asked during his appearance how he explained the contradiction of asking Americans to sacrifice while he's living in a 28,000-square-foot mansion.

 

He said he came from nothing, worked hard all his life, has always supported workers and fought big corporations as a lawyer.

 

Sounds like something a good Republican would say. I'm sure it's all a cozy 72 degrees all year long too. What a model citizen. The world would truly be a better place if everyone lived as extravagantly as their wallet allowed. Thanks, Mr. Edwards, for being a leader and showing the world what America is all about. Anybody can squander resources like a true American if they just work for it.

 

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/08/29/edwards.kucinich.ap/index.html

 

To be fair though, I would be real curious to know what nobody's talking about... how do all the other candidates live? How big is McCain's house? Clinton's vehicle? Romney's extended Mormon family?

 

 

Are you slamming JE for working hard/living the american dream and making enough money to support his family?

[Crux]

The slam seems to be about a big, swift boat.

[JayB]

Is that how he commutes to the office at the hedge-fund in the Caymans?

[KaskadskyjKozak]

Is that how he commutes to the office at the hedge-fund in the Caymans?

 

and let's not forget that this model-American spends $400 on a haircut.

 

linky

 

 

[Crux]

Is that how he commutes to the office at the hedge-fund in the Caymans?

Atually, I'd be inclined to think it your own commuter vehicle of choice.

 

By the way, any links to credible sources regarding the hedge fund or trial lawyer scandals you speak of would be appreciated. So far, from where I'm sitting, Google is not your friend in this regard.

 

 

Edited August 30, 2007 by Crux

[Fairweather]

I seems Google is only as productive as the willingness of the user to click on the links. Sorry Crux, no "Huffingtonpost" for your liquid refreshment this time - and this will require far more reading than you're used to...

 

The Hedge Fund:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/10/AR2007051002277.html

 

Legal Career, from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards

 

 

 

Before running for political office, John Edwards was a personal injury trial attorney, specializing in representing people who were alleged victims of corporate negligence and/or medical malpractice.

 

After law school, he clerked for a Federal judge and in 1978 became an associate at the Nashville law firm of Dearborn & Ewing, doing primarily trial work, defending a Nashville bank and other corporate clients. The Edwards family returned to North Carolina in 1981, settling in the capital of Raleigh where he joined the firm of Tharrington, Smith & Hargrove.[12]

 

Edwards' first notable case was a 1984 medical malpractice lawsuit. As a young associate, he got the assignment because it was considered a losing case; the firm had only accepted it as a favor to an attorney and state senator who did not want to keep it. Nevertheless, Edwards won a $3.7 million verdict on behalf of his client, who suffered permanent brain and nerve damage after a doctor prescribed a drug overdose of anti-alcoholism drug Antabuse during alcohol aversion therapy.[13] In other cases, Edwards sued the American Red Cross three times, alleging transmission of AIDS through tainted blood products, resulting in a confidential settlement each time, and defended a North Carolina newspaper against a libel charge.[12]

 

In 1985, Edwards tried a case involving medical malpractice during childbirth, representing a five-year-old child born with cerebral palsy whose doctor did not choose to perform an immediate Caesarian delivery when a fetal monitor showed she was in distress. Edwards won a $6.5 million settlement for his client, but five weeks later, the presiding judge sustained the verdict but overturned the award as being "excessive" and that it appeared "to have been given under the influence of passion and prejudice," adding that in his opinion "the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict." He offered the plaintiffs half of the jury's settlement, but the child's family appealed the case and settled for $4.25 million.[12] Winning this case established the North Carolina precedent of physician and hospital liability for failing to determine if the patient understood risks of a particular procedure.[13]

 

After this trial, Edwards gained national attention as a plaintiff's lawyer. He filed at least 20 similar lawsuits in the years following and achieved verdicts and settlements of more than $60 million for his clients. His fee, as is customary in "contingency" cases, was one-third of the settlement plus expenses. These successful lawsuits were followed by similar ones across the country. When asked about an increase in Caesarean deliveries nationwide, perhaps to avoid similar medical malpractice lawsuits, Edwards said, "The question is, would you rather have cases where that happens instead of having cases where you don't intervene and a child either becomes disabled for life or dies in utero?"[12]

 

In 1993, Edwards began his own firm in Raleigh (now known as Kirby & Holt) with a friend, David Kirby. He became known as the top plaintiffs' attorney in North Carolina.[12] The biggest case of his legal career was a 1997 product liability lawsuit against Sta-Rite, the manufacturer of a defective pool drain cover. The case involved a three-year-old girl[14] who was disemboweled by the suction power of the pool drain pump when she sat on an open pool drain whose protective cover other children at the pool had removed, after the swim club had failed to install the cover properly. Despite 12 prior suits with similar claims, Sta-Rite continued to make and sell drain covers lacking warnings. Sta-Rite protested that an additional warning would have made no difference because the pool owners already knew the importance of keeping the cover secured. In his closing arguments, Edwards spoke to the jury for an hour and a half without referring to notes. It was an emotional appeal that made reference to his son, Wade, who had been killed shortly before testimony began in the trial. Mark Dayton, editor of North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, would later call it "the most impressive legal performance I have ever seen."[15] The jury awarded the family $25 million, the largest personal injury award in North Carolina history. The company settled for the $25 million while the jury was deliberating additional punitive damages, rather than risk losing an appeal. For their part in this case, Edwards and law partner David Kirby earned the Association of Trial Lawyers of America's national award for public service.[13] The family said that they hired Edwards over other attorneys because he alone had offered to accept a smaller percentage as fee unless the settlement was unexpectedly high, while all of the other lawyers they spoke with said they required the full one-third fee. The size of the settlement was unprecedented and Edwards did receive the standard one-third plus expenses fee typical of contingency cases. The family was so impressed with his intelligence and commitment[12] that they volunteered for his Senate campaign the next year.

 

After Edwards won a large verdict against a trucking company whose worker had been involved in a fatal accident, the North Carolina legislature passed a law prohibiting such awards unless the employee's actions had been specifically sanctioned by the company.[12]

 

In December 2003, during his first presidential campaign, Edwards (with John Auchard) published Four Trials, a biographical book focusing on cases from his legal career.

 

 

Edited August 31, 2007 by Fairweather

[Crux]

Useful information, but how does it support the allegation that the defendants in the medical malpractice suits were innocent or that Edwards is a predatory lending baron?

 

More:

Edwards Talks Tough on Hedge Funds (NYT blog reports in July that Edwards has "the bulk of his financial assets" invested in Fortress hedge fund)

 

John Edwards 2008: What's not to like (more on hedge fund involvement, and lots of other slimey shit.)

 

John Edwards Accidentally Made Millions from Katrina Victim Abusing Subprime Lenders (cites WSJ...)

 

[kevbone]

I seems Google is only as productive as the willingness of the user to click on the links. Sorry Crux, no "Huffingtonpost" for your liquid refreshment this time - and this will require far more reading than you're used to...

 

The Hedge Fund:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/10/AR2007051002277.html

 

Legal Career, from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Edwards

 

 

 

Before running for political office, John Edwards was a personal injury trial attorney, specializing in representing people who were alleged victims of corporate negligence and/or medical malpractice.

 

After law school, he clerked for a Federal judge and in 1978 became an associate at the Nashville law firm of Dearborn & Ewing, doing primarily trial work, defending a Nashville bank and other corporate clients. The Edwards family returned to North Carolina in 1981, settling in the capital of Raleigh where he joined the firm of Tharrington, Smith & Hargrove.[12]

 

Edwards' first notable case was a 1984 medical malpractice lawsuit. As a young associate, he got the assignment because it was considered a losing case; the firm had only accepted it as a favor to an attorney and state senator who did not want to keep it. Nevertheless, Edwards won a $3.7 million verdict on behalf of his client, who suffered permanent brain and nerve damage after a doctor prescribed a drug overdose of anti-alcoholism drug Antabuse during alcohol aversion therapy.[13] In other cases, Edwards sued the American Red Cross three times, alleging transmission of AIDS through tainted blood products, resulting in a confidential settlement each time, and defended a North Carolina newspaper against a libel charge.[12]

 

In 1985, Edwards tried a case involving medical malpractice during childbirth, representing a five-year-old child born with cerebral palsy whose doctor did not choose to perform an immediate Caesarian delivery when a fetal monitor showed she was in distress. Edwards won a $6.5 million settlement for his client, but five weeks later, the presiding judge sustained the verdict but overturned the award as being "excessive" and that it appeared "to have been given under the influence of passion and prejudice," adding that in his opinion "the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict." He offered the plaintiffs half of the jury's settlement, but the child's family appealed the case and settled for $4.25 million.[12] Winning this case established the North Carolina precedent of physician and hospital liability for failing to determine if the patient understood risks of a particular procedure.[13]

 

After this trial, Edwards gained national attention as a plaintiff's lawyer. He filed at least 20 similar lawsuits in the years following and achieved verdicts and settlements of more than $60 million for his clients. His fee, as is customary in "contingency" cases, was one-third of the settlement plus expenses. These successful lawsuits were followed by similar ones across the country. When asked about an increase in Caesarean deliveries nationwide, perhaps to avoid similar medical malpractice lawsuits, Edwards said, "The question is, would you rather have cases where that happens instead of having cases where you don't intervene and a child either becomes disabled for life or dies in utero?"[12]

 

In 1993, Edwards began his own firm in Raleigh (now known as Kirby & Holt) with a friend, David Kirby. He became known as the top plaintiffs' attorney in North Carolina.[12] The biggest case of his legal career was a 1997 product liability lawsuit against Sta-Rite, the manufacturer of a defective pool drain cover. The case involved a three-year-old girl[14] who was disemboweled by the suction power of the pool drain pump when she sat on an open pool drain whose protective cover other children at the pool had removed, after the swim club had failed to install the cover properly. Despite 12 prior suits with similar claims, Sta-Rite continued to make and sell drain covers lacking warnings. Sta-Rite protested that an additional warning would have made no difference because the pool owners already knew the importance of keeping the cover secured. In his closing arguments, Edwards spoke to the jury for an hour and a half without referring to notes. It was an emotional appeal that made reference to his son, Wade, who had been killed shortly before testimony began in the trial. Mark Dayton, editor of North Carolina Lawyers Weekly, would later call it "the most impressive legal performance I have ever seen."[15] The jury awarded the family $25 million, the largest personal injury award in North Carolina history. The company settled for the $25 million while the jury was deliberating additional punitive damages, rather than risk losing an appeal. For their part in this case, Edwards and law partner David Kirby earned the Association of Trial Lawyers of America's national award for public service.[13] The family said that they hired Edwards over other attorneys because he alone had offered to accept a smaller percentage as fee unless the settlement was unexpectedly high, while all of the other lawyers they spoke with said they required the full one-third fee. The size of the settlement was unprecedented and Edwards did receive the standard one-third plus expenses fee typical of contingency cases. The family was so impressed with his intelligence and commitment[12] that they volunteered for his Senate campaign the next year.

 

After Edwards won a large verdict against a trucking company whose worker had been involved in a fatal accident, the North Carolina legislature passed a law prohibiting such awards unless the employee's actions had been specifically sanctioned by the company.[12]

 

In December 2003, during his first presidential campaign, Edwards (with John Auchard) published Four Trials, a biographical book focusing on cases from his legal career.

 

 

 

yeah....so?

[No. 13 Baby]

I think its cute that the "support the troops" cabal who eagerly vilify decorated veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces when it suits their political needs, are the same ones who characterize an attorney that represents the family of a dead three-year-old girl who was disemboweled by the suction power of the pool drain pump as an "ambulance chaser."

 

Seriously -- how hard is it to remain willfully ignorant? Surely it would take less effort to be well-informed.