TOUCHDOWN: Today the House of Representatives voted to extend the moratorium on Internet taxes for the next seven years. The House originally passed a four year ban, but after the Senate passed a seven year ban the House met the Senate. A permanent ban was considered but opposition to that resulted in the seven year compromise. State and local governments cannot tax Internet transactions as long as the moratorium is in place. Touchdown. October 30, 2007
Battle in Philadelphia - Gloves Come Off - Obama: "I'm Rocky in this Situation" - Edwards: Hillary is a Double Talker
Barack Obama compared himself to Rocky in the race for the Democratic nomination. After stating that the country is facing big challenges Obama said that the country needs "big meaningful change." He continued by saying it is important to distinguish the Democratic Party from the Republicans. He then listed how Hillary is like a Republican citing her support for NAFTA, her differing positions on "torture" and her changing positions on Iraq. Obama said Hillary's vacillations do not offer the clear contrast the Democrats need.
Hillary responded that she is the main target of the Republicans and that proves her Democratic bona fides. She said that she has stood against President Bush and the Republicans and will continue to do so.
Edwards piles on saying that Hillary continues to defend a system that is corrupt, will continue the war in Iraq by continuing combat missions there, voted to give Bush the first step in taking military action in Iran (By voting for the Kyle-Lieberman Amendment which Sen. Jim Webb said mandated the military option in Iran), and that she is actually in favor of making changes in the Social Security system in private, although publicly proclaiming that she is not. Edwards said he stands behind his description of Hillary as a double talker. Edwards also added that the reason the Republicans keep talking about Hillary is that they might actually want to run against her.
Edwards continued, asking whether Hillary who has raised the most money from Washington lobbyists, the health industry, the defense industry, will be the person who brings about change in this country. He finished the thought by saying, "I believe in Santa Clause, I believe in the Tooth Fairy but I don't think that's gonna happen, I really don't."
Hillary fell back on an old left-wing standard, complaining about the Supreme Court "handing" the White House to George Bush. She did not respond directly to Edwards's and Obama's challenges.
Bill Richardson chimed in with the "voice of reason" pleading with Obama and Edwards to stop the personal attacks because it would help the Republicans. He reasoned that the Democrats needed to save this type of attack for the Republicans.
Seeming to ignore Richardson's comments, Chris Dodd followed by saying that fifty percent of the country has already said they will not vote for Hillary. He said that the party must consider this fact because it is essential in his view for a Democrat to be in office on January 20, 2009. He said, "We need to elect a Democrat . . . a Democrat that is electable."
John Edwards then continued the savaging attack on Hillary by saying, "We are here in Philadelphia where the founding fathers decided that the power, the sovereign power in this government, should not reside with the rich and the powerful (pointing at Hillary Clinton), it ought to reside with the people."
Tim Russert, also a prominent Democrat voice, continued the savaging. He called Hillary to the carpet on her contradiction in stating publicly that she would not support any changes to Social Security and her comments to a school teacher overheard by a reporter that she would consider changes.
John Edwards: Hillary is Corrupt
Mr. Edwards will most assuredly be asked about his statements in the Democratic debate tonight on MSNBC. According to an AP article Edwards said, "Good people are caught up in this system, and I've given some examples of the places that I think she's caught up in it . . . And I also, secondly, think that she continues to defend it. And I don't think you can bring up the change this country needs if you defend a corrupt system that doesn't work." John Edwards Takes Aim at Clinton Character Issues, AP, Fox News.
He continued, "The closer we get to the election and the more people move past celebrity and to the issues such as honesty, integrity and who can actually bring about change, I think they are going to pay very close attention to those questions."
According to the article Edwards went on to question Hillary's motivation for wanting to be president, implying that she only wants it because it is her ambition and not because she wants to make positive changes for the country. One must ask whether more is to come. Keep a close eye on tonight's debate. If Edwards is going to the mattresses on this one, it should be a bloodbath.