Houston Democrats

John Edwards opened his address by reassuring everyone that Elizabeth is doing great and recovering well after being treated for breast cancer. She was diagnosed with cancer the day after the election. John said he had initially cautioned her that she didn't need to go public, but that she insisted on doing so in order to encourage women to go get an exam. Elizabeth believes that if she was able to get just one woman to do so and catch the cancer early on, she would be successful.

However, John noted that we still have "two Americans, one for the wealthy and privileged, and one for everyone else." He said that he and his wife were blessed that they were privileged enough to be able to afford the best treatment available, but that many Americans have to get by with less or none at all. He said that the right to health care should be a universal right.

Edwards began his speech by remarking on the political pundits on TV he affectionately calls "yappers." Following the election, the yappers stated the Democratic Party had lost its way and did not even know what it believed in anymore, even suggesting how the party might change its ways. Edwards responded that Democrats have believed in a set of convictions and that he was one Democrat who knew exactly what he believed, including health care for all, fighting the causes of poverty, preserving Social Security... That it is these issues that Democrats must fight the hardest for and believe in, not to allow ourselves to be swayed by others who say we should alter our position. He remarked on the large number of young people in the room and said that we need to work on engaging others to encourage them to become involved.

Edwards noted that he was chosen to lead the new Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, to promote an issue that receives far less attention than it deserves. His new position brings him back to his days as a child, and the fact his father had to borrow $50 just to be able to bring him home from the hospital. His father worked in a mill in South Carolina and John did as well when he was young. Edwards stated that working class Americans like his father went to work everyday because they believed they could create a better life for themselves if they worked hard.

He gave an example of one woman, Loretta, who has been able to establish a small pizza shop. When asked how many employees she had, Loretta replied that "there are eight of us," not that she had seven other employees, but that each one of them considered the others as equals. He said that Loretta also takes pride in just being able to give he other coworkers paychecks.

John noted he has been fortunate to be very successful, but that he could have just as easily ended up still living in poverty, a state far too many Americans must live in everyday. He said that we can choose to face the causes of poverty or to turn away. Democrats created Social Security and many of the social programs to help the disadvantaged to raise themselves out of poverty, and that we need to fight to preserve Social Security for those who need it most, adding that Republicans are attempting to take the 'security' out of Social Security. He added that we also need to raise the minimum wage and to focus on programs that help individuals improve their standard of living.

One of the issues Edwards highlighted was freedom and that the current administration must do more than just talk about it, but to lead by example, not muscle. Edwards asked: if the woman in Saudi Arabia who wanted to vote in the recent elections but was not allowed to vote just because she was a woman is free, or if the man in Russia who spoke out simply for what he believed was right is free? Those in attendance all responded with a resounding "No!"

He added that while we are striving to spread freedom abroad that we should also be doing something to promote it at home. When an American votes, he or she should not have to wonder if his or her vote was counted, and that it was counted correctly. We should not have to need poll watchers and vote protectors. As a free society we should be able to vote without fear of intimidation, or even to be disqualified from voting. We should be working to ensure that every American can vote, not trying to disqualify Americans because they don't have a photo ID. Edwards asserted that Americans should have the best voting technology available so the next time we vote for the "Leader of the Free World" we can be certain that the person elected is in fact our chosen leader.

I thought that Edwards' talk was very inspiring. He does have a pervasive charismatic quality that allows him to connect with an audience. However, I would have liked for there to have been a town hall meeting component to the talk, but Edwards probably had another engagement to go to that prevented that format. Nevertheless, I was very glad to have had the chance to listen to him speak.

If anyone else who attended, there were several I recognized, remembers some aspect of his speech that I left out, I know I have, please add it below.