Tell John Edwards: "Crony-In, Crony Out" Led to 43-Term White Male Monopoly of the Presidency and Vice Presidency

Today, I received a mass e-mail from Joe Trippi, John Edwards' senior adviser, about the resignation of Alberto Gonzalez:

( . . . ) as pleased as we are to see Gonzales go, the fight is far from over. ( . . . ) John Edwards knows America deserves better than crony out, crony in—and if Bush tries to replace one crony with another, John will lead the fight against their nomination just like he led the calls for Gonzales to resign more than five months ago.

We need your support in this fight—just like we needed your support in the fight against Gonzales. Support the campaign that is saying "no" to crony out, crony in—make a donation today.

John knows that this ongoing debacle is only one example of how Washington is rigged for well-connected D.C. insiders and against everyone else.

We need big change to fix the way Washington D.C. works ( . . . )

What could be a more gross example of "crony-in-crony out" than an unbroken string of 43 consecutive white male presidencies AND vice presidencies? Isn't this America's most infamous case of historical cronyism? Wouldn't adding one more white male president to an already all-white-male club be just another example of cronyism at its worst? Is there anything so great about John Edwards that he deserves to be the 44th consecutive white man in the job? Let' face it! If he were Black or Latino or female with such a mediocre record and no real history of political accomplishments, then he'd wouldn't even be running.

John Edwards' observations are so obvious that they are hard to disagree with. 'Bush is bad, Gonzalez is bad, Bush will name a bad replacement.' The ability to state the obvious about national problems is not indication that a candidate has viable solutions or even a real determination to confront those problems. Maybe he just wants to get elected. And then he would be our problem.

John Edwards has a habit of insisting that America's worst problems are a good reason
to send money to John Edwards, and to support his campaign, and he has set up a string of anti-poverty corporations whose greatest accomplishment is keeping Edwards campaign members on staff between elections and paying for Edwards' national and international travel and administrative costs. Here's what SourceWatch.Org says about Edwards "Dodging campaign finance laws:"

Edwards, who reported in 2007 "that he had assets of nearly $30 million, came up with a novel solution ... to keep alive his public profile [after his 2004 defeat as the Democratic vice presidential candidate] without the benefit of a presidential campaign that could finance his travels and pay for his political staff..., creating a nonprofit organization with the stated mission of fighting poverty.

The organization, the Center for Promise and Opportunity, raised $1.3 million in 2005, and — unlike a sister charity he created to raise scholarship money for poor students — the main beneficiary of the center’s fund-raising was Mr. Edwards himself, tax filings show," Leslie Wayne reported June 22, 2007, in the New York Times.[12]

Because "Edwards said the organization’s purpose was 'making the eradication of poverty the cause of this generation,' its federal filings say it financed 'retreats and seminars' with foreign policy experts on Iraq and national security issues. Unlike the scholarship charity, donations to it were not tax deductible, and, significantly, it did not have to disclose its donors — as political action committees and other political fund-raising vehicles do — and there were no limits on the size of individual donations," Wayne wrote.

"The money paid Mr. Edwards's expenses while he walked picket lines and met with Wall Street executives. He gave speeches, hired consultants, attacked the Bush administration and developed an online following. He led minimum-wage initiatives in five states, went frequently to Iowa, and appeared on television programs. He traveled to China, India, Brussels, Uganda and Russia, and met with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain and his likely successor, Gordon Brown, at 10 Downing Street," Wayne wrote.

"In addition to the two nonprofit organizations, [Edwards] created a leadership political action committee and a 527 'soft money' organization that also shared the same name: the OneAmerica Committee. These two committees each allowed donors to give more than the $2,300 per person limit in a presidential primary or general election, and, in some cases, to give in unlimited amounts.

"From 2005, when he established them, through 2006, the committee and the soft money organization raised $2.7 million, most of which paid for travel and other activities that helped Mr. Edwards maintain his profile," Wayne wrote. SourceWatch.O

See also, What Edwards Doesn't Get About Poverty, w/Francis L. Holland cited in the American Prospect.

Edwards claims that he wants to be president to help the poor - women and Black people who aren't as rich as he is. He says he wants to end "crony-out, crony in." But, let's face it: Although there is cronyism among white men in the Democratic Party and among white men in the Republican Party, the greatest system of cronyism is the one that promotes white men above all others, regardless of party. That's why we've had 43 consecutive white male presidencies and vice presidencies.

So, let's end "crony-out, crony in" in 2008. Let's end the 43-term white male monopoly of the presidency!