lawfuel – The Law Newswire – In a raw populist appeal, Democrat John Edwards on Saturday accused presidential rival Hillary Rodham Clinton of defending a lobbyist-driven political system that is “rigged against regular Americans” and that killed her plan for universal health care, AP reports.
The former North Carolina senator accepted a major union endorsement while insisting that no Democratic candidate legitimately can promise to change America without swearing off special interest money from federal lobbyists. New York Sen. Clinton has refused to do so.
“When it comes to the existing lobbyist game, we’ve got to end it and not defend it,” Edwards told more than 700 members of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters.
The anti-lobbyist challenge is not new for Edwards. But he stepped up his attacks against Clinton by focusing on her most notable leadership role in 30 years of public life — the failed health care plan that, as first lady, she drew up in 1993 for her husband, then-President Clinton.
“For more than 20 years, Democrats have talked about universal health care. In 1993, Democrats controlled both chambers in Congress” and voters had elected “a president who actually had the courage to propose a plan for universal health care. It was completely killed” by lobbyists for insurance companies and the health care industry, Edwards said.
