Why I Won't Vote for John Edwards in 2008

After his second place showing in the state of Iowa, John Edwards now needs to be considered as a true contender. After doing my research on John Edwards I realized that I agreed with him on many issues. However, there are issues where John Edwards opinion conflicts with my personal view. Although I do now agree with him on all the issues and he is not my first choice for president of the United States, I think he is qualified to the job and do it well.

Why I won't Vote for John Edwards: Gay Marriage: John Edwards doesn't believe in gay marriage, but his wife and I do. He claims his religious beliefs prevent him from supporting gay marriage, yet thankfully, he supports civil unions between same sex couples. His lack of support on the gay marriage issue is a red flag to me that he is a religious conservative.

Why I won't Vote for John Edwards: Corporate Subsidies: While John Edwards supports removing tax breaks for corporations that encourage them to outsource jobs overseas, he does support giving these same corporations tax breaks to keep these jobs in America. So it doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out he supports big business subsidies. Attempting to run as the working mans candidate, he would still be granting tax breaks to wealthy corporations just disguising them as supposed benefits for the American working class. This policy seems like a double standard, and once he is playing politics to make himself look good.

Why I won't Vote for John Edwards: Bankruptcy: Once again playing both sides John Edwards says he supports the workingman and anti-poverty legislation yet in July 2001, while a member of the US Senate, he voted to place restrictions on bankruptcy, which passed and was enacted. In April of 2005 as a guest blogger on http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/bankruptcy/archives/2005/04/index.php, he said it was the wrong vote. John Edwards writes "This bill (the one he voted for) won't do anything to give struggling families more security. It will only make it harder for good and decent people to start over. The new means test (that was enacted by this bill that he voted for) will mean hundreds of dollars in new legal fees for families who barely have money to put food on the table." Do I sense a "flip-flopper here? Or even worse a senator that was negligent in his duties to the citizens of South Carolina and did not even read the legislation he was voting on.

Why I Won't Vote for John Edwards: Crime in America: I was upset to learn that John Edwards openly supports the death penalty. The death penalty is barbaric, antiquated and distributed disproportionately.

Why I Won't Vote for John Edwards: Marijuana and Hemp: This is a quote from the very recent 2007 Democratic debate at Drexel University Oct 30, 2007: "Decriminalizing marijuana sends the wrong signal to young people."

John Edwards is definitely not my first choice (which is Illinois Senator Barak O'bama) or my second choice (Delaware Senator Joe Biden) for Election 2008. I Despite the differences I would rather see him in office than Hillary Clinton or Mitt Romney.