David Edmunds has now provided Pilot readers with the “unvarnished truth” regarding our senator, John Edwards.

One “truth” is that Edwards gets very poor grades from the American Conservative Union and The National Taxpayers Union. What a huge surprise. Would his ratings have been more positive if he had voted for tax refunds for corporations, including $254 million for Enron, which paid no taxes for four out of its last five years? Edwards also opposed income tax revisions which he and many others felt unduly benefited the wealthiest Americans.

Another “truth” is that Edwards opposed two of President Bush’s appellate court nominees who were approved by the ABA. There is a bit of irony here, because early in his administration, Bush dismissed the ABA’s long-standing role in assessing the qualifications of judicial nominees. It is also relevant to recall that Sen. Jesse Helms stymied a Clinton appellate nominee from North Carolina by invoking a Senate rule that precluded the nominee from even being accorded a hearing by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

John Edwards has now, for better or worse, split with many Democrats and a few Republicans by declaring his support for the Bush doctrine on Iraq. Perhaps this will boost his standing with the American Conservative Union and David Edmunds.

Bill Hay
Southern Pines