Edwards Evening News Roundup-Will You Stand Up Edition

Welcome again to the nightly news roundup. Hope everyone had a good day. Now with that said are you ready to STAND UP...haha thought I was going to say sit back and relax ;)...nope,not this time. We have lots of work to do. Before you get started reading the roundup, please take time to listen to and watch the video posted below.

More below the flip...

credits to NCDemAmy for the video

Ok, is everyone standing up????? Are we excited yet????!!! Excited to have a candidate to support that is willing to stand up for the American people and help to bring back the middle class of this country...the backbone of this country? Hell yeah!

Now that we have our blood pumping...on to tonight's news...

First we have John at the AFSCME Candidate Forum in Washington, D.C today. John knocked it out of the ballpark with this one. Doesn't he make you proud?

Edwards Statement On Employee Free Choice Act
     
Chapel Hill, North Carolina – Senator John Edwards released the following statement today in anticipation of the U.S. Senate beginning debate on the Employee Free Choice Act later this week:

"Organized labor has been the most important anti-poverty movement in American history—strengthening the middle class and providing good-paying jobs for millions of Americans. We need a president who will make it easier for workers to organize themselves into unions, not work against them. If a Republican can join the Republican Party by signing their name to a card, any worker in America ought to be able to join a union by doing exactly the same thing.

"This will probably be the single most important vote on the future of the middle class cast in the Senate this year. Working men and women will be watching their Senators to see whose side they are on."

http://johnedwards.com/...

Here is great article from Bob Geiger at HuffPo writing about the Take Back America Conference held today at the Washington Hilton.

"I want to start by talking about this war in Iraq, because we need to bring this war to an end," said Edwards, grabbing onto what is clearly the dominant issue for most conference attendees. "I voted for this war and I was wrong to vote for this war. I take responsibility for that and I will have to live with that."

"But Congress had a mandate as a result of the election last November. The American people made it very, very clear what they wanted. They wanted to see a change, they wanted to see a different course in Iraq and they wanted to see America leaving Iraq."

This brought a loud cheer of approval from the energized crowd and Edwards used the moment to lash the Democratic Congress for giving George W. Bush a blank check with which to continue the war.

"It was time for the Congress to stand firm, to stand strong and to have courage. Unfortunately, that did not happen. But we need strength and conviction in the Congress because this president has no intentions of ending this war."

The former North Carolina Senator then went on a tear that proved to most in the room that he belongs on the same rhetorical stage with Obama and he told the crowd his core beliefs to building applause:

snip

And Edwards talked at length about the moral leadership that America needs to once again show, promising the standing-room-only audience that "on the first day that I'm sworn in as president of the United States, I will close Guantanamo."

That was the tone of Edwards' entire speech and it seemed to strike all the right notes with a crowd that embraced him as much, if not differently, than Obama.

snip

"This is what I intend to do for the rest of my life. I will speak for the poor, I will speak for the uninsured, I will speak for the disenfranchised -- this is my life and I'm going to do it as long as I'm alive and breathing," he said, while asking for similar committment from his audience. "My question to you is this: What are you willing to do? How much are you willing to give? How much do you love this country? To paraphrase Gandhi, 'You've got to be the change you believe in.' Your country needs you. Everybody in America needs you."

Both Edwards and Obama were mobbed after their speeches by autograph seekers and those simply trying to snap a picture or get close to two people who just might become the next president.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

Don't for the Party for Change Wednesday, June 27

It's Time to Party for Change!
On Wednesday, June 27th thousands of Americans will gather in living rooms across the country to join John Edwards' campaign to change America.

We'll discuss the issues, build local support, and talk live with John Edwards about what's next.

All we need now is you.

http://party.johnedwards.com/

Here are some events coming up you want to make sure to catch if live in the area

Cooper Union Dialogue Series
June 21, 2007 - 6:00 pm
7 East 7th Street
New York, NY 10003
Tickets will be available on a first-come first-serve basis the day of the event, beginning at 4 p.m. in front of Cooper Union's Foundation Building. The event is free.

Small Change for Big Change - New York, NY
Friday, June 22 - 5:30 pm
Strata
915 Broadway
New York, NY 10010

Ok, that's it for tonight's diary. Hope you enjoyed it and hopefully everyone is ready and willing to STAND UP AND GET BUSY to help John Edwards become the 44th President of the United States of America! Let's take our country back!