Edwards Draws Link Between Clinton, Lobbyists With New Site
From CBS News' Aaron Lewis, on the trail with the John Edwards campaign:
AmericaBelongsToUs2008.com asks Americans to pledge "not to vote or caucus for a Democratic presidential candidate that accepts campaign contributions from Washington lobbyists and special interest PACs." The goal of the campaign is to gain 1 million pledges by the Super Tuesday date of February 5th.
Deputy campaign manager Jonathan Prince said the effort has the potential to "change politics overnight" if enough voters sign the pledge.
While it's clear the new site puts Clinton in the crosshairs, campaign officials denied that the pledge is a direct hit at Barack Obama, who has taken lobbyist money in the past, but now insists those days have ended. Senior campaign adviser Joe Trippi said the pledge is intended to give politicians incentive to resist lobby money from this point forward.
"It's about people taking a stand," said Trippi, who warned other Democratic candidates to continue taking money from lobbyists at their own peril.
Edwards regularly boasts that he's never taken money from lobbyists or PACs. And in his stump speeches to voters in Iowa and New Hampshire, Edwards has often challenged citizens to resist voting or caucusing for candidates who continue to take corporate money.
In addition to the pledge, visitors can check the site to read the "Outrage of the Day," which the campaign promises "will highlight the many different ways that lobbyists corrupt and influence Washington." The subject of today's outrage? Credit card companies.