The Hater

by Rich Lowry - January !st, 2008 - National Review Online

John Edwards is angry, and he wants people to know it. Republicans complain of Democratic class warfare all the time. It’s usually an overwrought charge. But Edwards is the real thing. His message is resentful, confrontational and paranoid, verging on the openly hateful. And Iowa [democrat] audiences are loving it.

Edwards is like a stand-up comedian who has honed his act down to the most effective material. In the case of the comedian, all that’s left is laughs; in the case of Edwards, almost all that is left is unbridled hostility.

For North Carolina, a state already dominated by the corruption of politicians who cynically use politics to extort money from business by any means necessary, John Edwards winning the Democrat nomination will be a disaster. Polls indicate that a huge number of North Carolinians will vote for anyone from our state, no matter what his policies. The Edwards message of hate is bad for America. For our state, where his coattails will keep corrupt democrats in power even if he loses the Presidency, it will postpone any chance to clean up corruption for another election cycle.