Edwards Supporters, Take 5 Minutes

Go ahead, just take five minutes. A little cut and paste, a few clicks, and it's on it's way. I've even provided the addresses, and what the hell, the phone numbers too. Ya got a phone don't ya? How bout you do both? You know, call, then write. Tomorrow morning, get out of bed, and repeat.

It's us against them. My money is still on us.

Here's yet another letter for you to send along to our good friends in the corporate media. Who knows? Maybe some young intrepid reporter will find the story, and start something before his bosses have a chance to stop him?

It could happen.


Special thanks to Ca Volunteers Steve & Kathy for letter.

Here's the contacts:

*Associated Press
info@ap.org
1-212-621-1500

*NBC Nightly News
nightly@nbc.com
Phone: 212-664-4444

*NBC Nightly News
nightly@nbc.com
Phone: 212-664-4444

Chuck Todd, Political Editor
NBC/MSNBC
Todd, Chuck
Chuck.Todd@nbcuni.com

MSNBC
hardball@msnbc.com
(201) 583-5000

*CBS Evening News:
evening@cbsnews.com
212-975-4321

*CNN
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/cnntv/
404-827-1500

USA Today
http://feedbackforms.usatoday.com/marketing/feedback/feedback-online.aspx?type=18
Phone: 800-872-0001 or 703-854-3400
(800) 872-7073 (Reader's Editor)
Fax: 703-854-2165

Now go do something Edwards Supporters. Trust me, take the 5 minutes, and you'll feel better.

I may tweak the actual content of the letter just a bit, though.

Is "shithead" hypenated? (FOX News / Mr. Brit Hume / News Division / Dear Shit-head: --etc.

Although I do think the hyphen adds empathies.

The media were just climbing back from the Bush Iraq disgrace and then they fall flat on their faces trying to cover the Democratic primaries.

:rofl:

AFTER it came out of my nose.

zalinda

DU and I pass it up.

:kick:

We won't give up this fight.

It needed to be brought into the open again. Edwards did it, and now it's out there! People are talking about it!

thank you

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=2642431 (Helderheid post showing media mentions of the top three Dem candidates)

and...

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-chamber8jan08,0,4301350.story?coll=la-politics-campaign

From the above LA Times link: "Alarmed at the increasingly populist tone of the 2008 political campaign, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is set to issue a fiery promise to spend millions of dollars to defeat candidates deemed to be anti-business.

'We plan to build a grass-roots business organization so strong that when it bites you in the butt, you bleed,' chamber President Tom Donohue said."


K & R!

:kick:

Good additions.

I never ask, but can we keep this kicked?

:)

There was a 5 minute spot about the "Democratic race" on Hardball (for example), and they talked only about Hillary and Obama, despite John beating Hillary the night before, and only when Chuck Todd mentioned John in the final 10 seconds did he get mentioned, and that was only to say that the Obama camp was hoping he'd hold on to make sure Hillary finished 3rd.

The 2nd 3rd and 4th place finishers (heck even the 5th!) in the GOP get mentioned all the time in the race, why is JOHN EDWARDS being ignored despited beating Hillary in Iowa and finishing 3rd with 40+ thousand votes and 17% (much more than the GOP candidates who got mentioned every hour but John didn't!). The amount of stories on the net I saw about him were TWO, and there were dozens about Hillary. This is not equal time for a candidate who beat her big money. Are you all being ordered to ignore him? Because, there are a bunch of people I personally know who are for Edwards and we're not in an Edwards group or organization. Yes, there are people I know who like Obama and Clinton, but John Edwards deserves equal time as long as he's in this race and could surge 5-8 points and make it a tie for 1st - therefore, his message should be heard - it was heard in Iowa only because he was there so much, he got hardly any press about New Hampshire.

Please make sure he gets at least a minute when you all give 5-10 minutes to the Clinton/Obama battle, that'd be great....

K&R!

:kick:

You back in Nevada yet?

:hug:

and ask them to forward it to as many people as they can. Actually it shouldn't matter who you support. Isn't fair reporting what everyone wants?

I am also furious that the broken clock candidate on the (R) side isn't given equal time.

:hi:

Yesss, indeedy, you got that right!

Skewed media isn't good for the *nation*, regardless of how it's skewed!

:yourock:

:kick:

:rofl:

Get bent.

:hi:

primary on which he focused for 3 years. Good guy, but not a contender.

I'm inviting you to leave, friend.

And I'll send twice as many emails as I would have initially, just to counter-balance your reluctance.

:patriot:

Holy crap, I haven't heard "get bent" in years. And to see it followed by :hi:

:spray:

:rofl:

Thank you, thank you, thank you for that.

:pals:

:hug:

and his supporters still say "oh, but wait until next primary!" He'd be a better AG than a President imo.

I'm inviting you to leave.

to laugh at. You want to stick it to the media? Win a damn primary!

But since you want an Edwards chatroom on a public message board (a curious notion that only a certain group is invited), go right ahead! I'm out

First they ignore you.

Then they laugh at you.

Then they fight you.

Then you win.

---- Gandhi

Have fun with that laughter.

It might turn on ya......

accuracy@usatoday.com.

but you went the extra mile and added the letter and links! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

A lot of people have done the work, now we just have to follow through.

Thank you!
Onwards, Upwards, Edwards. 2008

If we all get in the fight, we can win.

is that what he needs?

Really?

But as long as you're entertained, I guess that's all that matters.

How'd the speach go?

Definately beat the Obama spokesperson!

I'm very excited about speaking in Reno.

I would love to speak for Edwards publicly.

Which is about 2 to 3 hours from my house, and call, knock, call for a couple of days. Then you set up 600 chairs and risers for an Edwards event, and if you're lucky, you get to shake his hand. The next week, you go back and do it again, but this time it's only call, knock, call, and oh yeah, eat some really bad food.

Do this a couple more times.

Then like some crazed fool on an angles mission, get on a plane, and fly from sunny ca to gloomy and cold Iowa, and call, knock, call for six days straight. About 15 to 18 hours a day. Have I mentioned data entry? It's my favorite. Did I mention that it's cold in Iowa? Did I also mention, that whenever you leave Iowa, someone from Iowa calls you two days later to say, "You missed the thaw, hell, it's 50 degrees here today"?

Oh yeah, and if you get to assist a caucus captain, you might get one of these:


Then you get on a plane, coach, only coach, and come back to your job, ugh, and your life. Then as you settle back in you plant your ass in the chair and write the whole thing for everyone to see. And you call a staffer you are friendly with in Reno, and say, "I'm coming back for more", and beg him to let you speak at one of the Precincts.

Oh yeah, being a loud mouth helps. Did I mention the Salinas Straw Vote?

That's about all you have to do. And make sure your chronicle it all, right here, on DU. It's really pretty easy.

:toast: to you and saracat for what you have done for the campaign! I wish I could do more myself but I can't make it to an early state.

We'll take all the positive vibes we can get man. :toast:

Is this for the Edwards campaign or your job?

zalinda

God, I could never do data entry for a job. That would kill me.

My hearing is not very good, so I can't call. And, my knees need to be replaced so I can't even hand out literature. I don't think there is much I can do for the campaign.

zalinda

Liberals need to start showing the media that we do not like being fucked with, and that means pouncing on every slight.

I'd just like to see all of the American people, not just the people here on DU, and in other forums out there, to know about all of them.

I will do my part - hope it helps!!!!

:yourock: Come to Nevada, it's a blast!

Go to work night owls.


Help Edwards, Help this cute baby.

nt

Thanks for doing this. I will encourage all my friends to follow.

Welcome to DU, and how proud I am you used this for your first post!:hi:

Keep up the good work!

sent my letters

hope it helps

Great idea. Thanks for the great work!

Voted and kicked.

Thanks for the post and for replying on my thread.

:kick:

:bounce:

I hope most edwards supporters aren't like the ones I've seen on this board who claim he's done and should drop out and all that other bullshit which makes me wish they'd take his avatar / sig off if that's how they feel.

:kick:

K&R

Lets put this on the front page and keep it there!

:kick:

No way we can lose with this much heart.

Double check and correct them before sending.

I'm passing it along to my group of e-mail volunteers.

Thanks, for doing all the hard work and this is a great idea.

Called/emailed all outlets including locals..

And hey, a big welcome to DU! :hi:

:yourock:

:yourock:

I do feel better!

Thanks for this, asdjrocky. I'll put everyone I know to work on it right away. :toast:

Thanks for the great idea. Even my son who is unaware of campaign events as he is a new dad and a 2nd year law student--no time and he is totally disgusted in politics these days.. has noticed that there is no media coverage on Edwards. He has been visiting with us during his school break and he commented after the Iowa 2nd place finish that if one only watched the tv news you would never know that Edwards was 2nd in Iowa...he's so right. Even Olbermann doesn't speak very kindly of JRE. Maybe Tweety is rubbing off on him. GOD I hope not!!!

Do I get an A++++++++++++++++++?:-)

And I'm a professor, so it counts. :toast:

I'm cutting and pasting that everywhere. How many credits do I get? I've been meaning to finish high school.

Sorry for the football analogy but We'er still in the first 5 mins of the First Quarter:

A score of 25 to 18 at this point is still a toss up.

Delegates so far:

Obama
25

Clinton
24

Edwards
18

Thanks for making the letter available.

....Folks lets take America back from corrupt politicians and corrupt new organizations...i.e. big business.

Damn I'm pissed.

Lets go John Edwards 08.

That has checked in here. America is still a republic and we can keep it, if we all work together.

Everyone here that took the time to do it, and do it again, you are all HEROES! Don't let anyone, any where discard what we have done here.

No matter what happens, the people will make a huge thunder, and the people will be heard.

Grit

It's what's right.

"We've given Edwards more coverage than any other network and at appropriate levels"

That is as big a lie as I can imagine. I actually tried to believe him, as well, possibly because I am related to the Todds.

They are ALL determined to nominate you-know-who...

His initial reply:

"no family of networks has given more attention and coverage than the family of NBC. He's getting more than his fair share given his standing in the race right now after the first two contests."

So I wrote back:

"I do agree that NBC has given him more coverage than any of the other networks...and MSNBC is by far my network of choice for news. Where I disagree is in the interpretation of his current standing. You probably don't need me to tell you what the current delegate count is, but I see a swing of 8 delegates when it takes a couple thousand to get the nomination as still being in the race, and not as a distant underdog, which is generally how he is being treated. We all saw how the polls can fail, so basing it on that isn't necessarily a good choice either.

The biggest lack of coverage I have seen so far, and in this I thought MSNBC was guilty as well (though again not nearly as much so as other outlets) was after his second place finish in Iowa. I think that his finishing second in Iowa, where he was so grossly outspent by the other candidates, was a HUGE story, and it really wasn't covered as much more than a footnote. Instead, Hillary beating Obama by just a few percentage points in NH, where she led the polls for months, is a much bigger story. I just don't understand it. It's almost as though everyone in the media wants the race to be decided now, when there have only been 2 votes in small states. Shouldn't we be encouraging the democratic process to continue until everyone, or at least a majority, of the country has had their say? And for the record, I think the amount of coverage given to Hillary misting up a little is ridiculous. It's been treated as though she had an emotional outburst, when that obviously wasn't the case.

That being said, I sent this email to several media outlets and you were the only one to respond, which I truly appreciate, and which restores some of my faith in the media (or at least the NBC networks). As I said, I am a faithful MSNBC viewer, and will continue to be one, I would just like to see the coverage of Edwards be a little more balanced with the other two candidates."

I expected that I was doing this mostly to make myself feel better...and he answered again! I have to say this really impressed me, even though it was short and not necessarily a promise to do something, he still took the time to read my response and respond himself...

He said:

"i hear ya... and understand the frustration; sorry i didn't give you a satisfactory answer"

So though I doubt it will help much, I do feel a little better...thought I ought to post this and help keep this thread active...

I cut 'n pasted what Rocky had devised and I got this in reply:

"no family of networks has given more attention and coverage than the family of NBC. He's getting more than his fair share given his standing in the race right now after the first two contests."

To which I wrote:

" Well,
First I want to thank you for answering. Secondly, please tell me why your coverage reflects more of a popularity contest approach rather than discussing the merits of the candidates proposals. It seems that more and more, the news is just another American Idol show! Hillary’s tearful weaknesses, Obamba’s stirring speeches – WHAT ABOUT WHAT’LL HAPPEN ONCE THEY’RE IN POWER???
And you CAN NOT deny that even when Edwards came in second in Iowa, you guys couldn’t even be bothered to mention it!!! And lest you try and counter that, there’s been many playbacks of coverage from the caucus night that have been dissected to show how much time each candidate got mention in a given newscast. Hell, Ron Paul got more mention than Edwards.
Hey, at 63, I can remember when ALL the network newscasts were held in high esteem. And all that is is a memory anymore. I have to go to NPR or PBS to get news I can trust and news with real meat and potatoes content. Hey – you guys have all the “experts” tellin’ you what works and what doesn’t. I’m just a peon on the receiving end. Thing is, AT 63, I’ve learned to know genuine from phony. And when I sense phony, I consequently think motive. I don’t expect you guys to change at all. But it’s been interesting to hear a couple of maverick talking heads start to voice doubts that maybe the slant they feed their viewers is not right. At least one of them has such high ratings that his job’s probably not in jeopardy. I’ll bet they hear about it from on high tho!"

This is the response I got:

"well, I understand your skepticism... I really do believe we give these candidates an opportunity to catch on... that this last year, we were simply a vehicle for the candidates to make their case... anyway, I'm sorry you are losing confidence in us... I hope simply by having a dialogue you at least have a little trust"

Then we exchanged a few more emails. When I thanked him for his time, this was Chuck's reply:



Transparent eh?

On a side note, I want to thank you for posting this thread. This is the first post I've ever replied to here ...maybe between all of us we can make sure Edwards is finally noticed!

Just did it! It takes even less than 5 minutes!

Thank you for this post... it made me join the DU and I sent the letter to all the media outlets I could find.

Stand with John Edwards until he is nominated!!!

Welcome to DU 7horses. I'm told it gets nicer here after the primaries. Can't wait to see that.:hi: