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Email from a Neighbor of Edwards

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by rimrocker, Aug 15, 2004.

  1. rimrocker

    rimrocker Member

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    Didn't someone post the referenced email lately? Furthemore, didn't the person who posted it claim to know or at least have some relation to the author who, it was claimed, had recently lived near Edwards but had since moved? Seems the author still lives near Edwards but claims the email was doctored up before it was posted on the Freep website. Hmmmm.

    ______________________

    E-mail about Edwards disputed
    Neighbors say an online posting skewering the candidate is just plain wrong


    By LYNN BONNER, Staff Writer


    RALEIGH -- An online essay describing vice presidential candidate John Edwards as a rude and selfish neighbor is stirring up placid Country Club Hills.
    For the most part, Democrats and Republicans on Edwards' street, Alleghany Drive, say the man described in the composition doesn't resemble the guy they know, and they say one claim in the essay is demonstrably false.

    The essay, "Meet my neighbor," says Edwards sometimes extended his middle finger to drivers while jogging, skipped neighborhood gatherings and never apologized for the disruption his candidacy caused for his neighbors.

    Attributed to B.T. Nicholson, the essay was posted Aug. 3 on a Web site called Free Republic, and it has received more than 100 positive online responses there. The post was no longer availabe on Friday afternoon; a note on the site said it was removed at the poster's request. It also is posted on at least eight other sites.

    Alleghany Drive homeowners began finding the essay in their e-mail last week. One of Edwards' next-door neighbors heard about it at her exercise class Thursday.

    "John's not a rude person," said Martha Crampton, who has lived next door to Edwards for years. "I just think it's mean-spirited."

    Brian T. Nicholson, a registered Republican who lives on Yadkin Drive, which intersects Alleghany, said he wrote an e-mail message to family and friends that was then doctored and posted on the Web as the essay. He would not say which portions of the essay he wrote and which were changed.

    "I just don't want to talk about this anymore," he said. "You can't attribute it to me."

    Neighbors said they are accustomed to seeing Edwards jog down their street, to and from a nearby greenway. Country Club Hills is a pricey neighborhood off Glenwood Avenue, where homes had an average value of about $509,500 at the 2000 census.

    The essay says, "If you drove past him as he was jogging on the road and didn't slow down enough for his taste he'd flip you the bird. He last showed me his middle finger about four years ago."

    But neighbors this week said they saw Edwards wave while jogging, sometimes giving a thumbs up or stopping briefly to chat. No one said they saw any rude gesture.

    "I've never seen him be rude or ugly," said Tootie Flythe, who was so upset by the essay that she wrote a multipage response in longhand, which she is keeping to herself.

    Flythe lives across the street from the Edwardses, and she said John Edwards sometimes cuts through her yard to get to a greenway. He always stops to ask about her family, said Flythe, a 54-year-old registered Democrat.

    The essay says Edwards didn't hang out with neighbors on the Fourth of July or go out to sledding hills to watch kids play in the snow.

    But Edwards' neighbors said they don't do that, either.

    Ray Mays lived across the street from Edwards for 10 years, until he sold his house this summer. Mays, a 61-year-old who said he will vote for President Bush this fall, said he and Edwards were "passing acquaintances," though he knew Elizabeth Edwards better.

    Mays attended one or two Christmas parties at the Edwards home and remembers Elizabeth spending most of her time in the kitchen, cooking.

    "They were always friendly," he said. "They never gave the appearance that they were stuck up in any way."

    Neighbors say the letter is flat wrong when it says Edwards never apologized for disrupting the neighborhood and never offered to compensate neighbors for lawns damaged by media vans parked outside their homes.

    In a note to neighbors dated Jan. 2, 2003, the day he announced his presidential bid, the Edwardses wrote, "We apologize for any inconvenience you and your family may have experienced." They offered to pay to repair lawns damaged by media vehicles.

    Ron Eckstein, a spokesman for the John Kerry/John Edwards campaign, said the letter is "completely baseless."

    When Edwards is at home, which isn't often these days, police block his section of Alleghany Drive but let residents, guests and home repair services through.

    The essay complained about that inconvenience, but Alleghany residents said they manage easily.

    "We have a lot of contractors coming and going," said Brenda Gibson, 47, a registered Republican. "I have nothing negative to say."

    Some of the neighbors said they liked having traffic access limited because it stops cars from speeding down the narrow street.

    "Alleghany was just a thoroughfare," said Clotilde Collins, 74. "You take your life in your hands trying to get out of your driveway."

    Some said they are excited to have Edwards as a neighbor. And they like looking out their windows to see Secret Service agents.

    "I love the security," Gibson said.

    Jim Anthony, who has lived on Alleghany Drive for 10 years, did say that Edwards was a "very disengaged neighbor" who is also out of step with the neighborhood recycling ethos.

    "He has never put the green container in front of his house," said Anthony, 50, a Bush supporter.

    http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/1524289p-7697188c.html
    ------------------------------------

    From the Web essay "Meet my neighbor":

    My neighbor John invited reporters from TV, radio, and print news organizations to come to his house in January 2003 for the announcement of his Presidential bid. He didn't want any news vans parked on his property -- in fact, he made sure all the cameras and reporters waited in the street at the bottom of his driveway. That way everyone could get good footage of him strolling down the driveway to make his announcement, young children in tow. The news vans drove into the yards of John's neighbors and parked there. I heard two families ended up re-sodding their damaged yards, and John never apologized to anyone, much less offered any compensation.

    and from the letter sent to neighbors by John and Elizabeth Edwards...

    Dear Friends & Neighbors:

    As you know, 2003 has gotten off to an exciting start for our family. In light of our recent decision, we know that many of you may also be feeling the effects. We want to apologize for any inconvenience you and your family may have experienced.

    Please call our assistant, Andrew Young, ... if you have any lawn damage from the media traffic. Our personal lawn maintenance company will make any necessary repairs. Thank you for your patience.
     
  2. giddyup

    giddyup Member

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    No. I posted it.

    The woman friend I got it from I do't think had ever lived in Raleigh. When I came to know here she was living on the NC coast but now lives in the Tidewater Virginia area.

    I can't remember if she knew the author or knew someone who knew the author: one of those connections though. I think the latter.

    I was much more interested in the career stuff included in that letter-- how he made so much money off of a system and how much of it appeared to have been undeserved and damaging of companies and reputations. Joe Lunchbucket... sure!
     
  3. Faos

    Faos Member

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    Why is Edwards not popular in his own state? It seems an awful like the Gore/Tennessee situation from the last election.
     
  4. GladiatoRowdy

    GladiatoRowdy Member

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    All of those comments are now suspect since it has turned out that the email was doctored before being sent out.

    There was also a series of posts a while back about one of the cases Edwards worked on, a case where several people, including one 12 year old child, suffered serious injuries from a faulty pool drain. None of the anti-Edwards folks were able to dispute that case, nor were they able to dispute that those types of cases are the perfect example of when trial lawyers are necessary.

    It is telling that the GOP has to resort to such tactics in their attempts to smear their opponents.
     
  5. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Member

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    Another Republican scheme is exposed and you try to change the subject.
     
  6. outlaw

    outlaw Member

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    you claimed it was a friend of a friend

    that crap about recycling is too funny.
    i bet W has never recycled anything in his life
     
  7. Faos

    Faos Member

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    Did you want me to start a whole new thread about Edwards?
     
  8. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Member

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    No, I wanted your thoughts on this doctored email.
     
  9. Faos

    Faos Member

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    How many neighbors thought Jeffery Dahmer was a "nice, quiet" guy?
     
  10. giddyup

    giddyup Member

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    1. Do you remember in what way the pool drain was faulty?

    2. How do you know that the GOP has anything to do with this?
     
  11. bamaslammer

    bamaslammer Member

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    Yeah, the GOP is trying to say he's a terrible neighbor. God you people are pathetic.
     
  12. giddyup

    giddyup Member

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    He's not done much as a senator.
    He is far too liberal for the state.
    He bought the election...

    ... but he seems like a hell of a nice guy.

    SIde note: in the last election cycle <b>when he was running for nothing</b>, Edward had campaign signs all over the state with just has last name and party affiliation on it. Money to burn on offseason name recognitiion.
     
  13. outlaw

    outlaw Member

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    what's pathetic is people posting garbage like this in here claiming it to be from a friend of a friend when that is not even the case.
     
  14. giddyup

    giddyup Member

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    I think I said that I got it from the friend of a friend. It could have been the author but I didn't read it that way-- more as something just passed on from the friend of a friend who knew the author.
     
  15. Oski2005

    Oski2005 Member

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    Right back at ya.
     
  16. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

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    Idiot.
     
  17. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    What's pathetic is that rightwing numbnuts pass around fabricated emails to each other and get hoodwinked into thinking they're real -- certain individuals have a particular problem with this.

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  18. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    That's what you always say when you post this crap.

    My friend of a friend wants you to stop posting garbage.
     
  19. GladiatoRowdy

    GladiatoRowdy Member

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    IIRC,

    In such a way that it ripped the intestines out of a twelve year old girl forcing her to be hooked up to a machine for 12 hours a day for the rest of her life. Sounds like EXACTLY what I would want a good trial lawyer for.

    Are you being deliberately obtuse?

    Who do YOU think doctored the original email and then sent it out?

    Do you believe that Nader's folks were out trying to discredit Edwards?

    To quote Stossell, "Give me a break!"
     
  20. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

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