PoliticsNJ: Codey to Endorse Edwards

Considering the Implications (0.00 / 0)

Well, Edwards is a rather persuasive person, so Codey may have been sold on what he heard on the 26th.  Edwards is making a play for N.J., seemingly, between his fundraiser in Colts Neck and this rather important endorsement from who is arguably the most popular politician in the state.  As Paul Krugman has stated in a recent article, Edwards is offering specifics on health care and other issues (taxes, etc.) rather than making generalized platitudes, as with other candidates, in his recent speeches and policy platforms.

North Jersey may be fertile Hillary territory, but other parts of the state may find Edwards' candor and positions more palatable than hers; certainly, Codey's endorsement, while not earthshattering, doesn't hurt Edwards' chances in the state.

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by: Martin @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 00:24:21 AM UTC

NJ is irrelevant to Edwards (1.00 / 2)

If the following is true, then...

Tangentially, he thinks New Jersey is largely irrelevant to the primary process, even if we move up to Feb 5 (he said that to a room of county chairs). By the time we're up, the winner will have been decided.
by: jmelli @ Tue Feb 27, 2007 at 15:59:33 PM EST

...Edwards is not making a play for support from NJ's voters, and instead, is treating our state like the ATM that it has always been.  And I guess that Dick Codey, who shares Edwards opposition to marriage equality (not that there is a legitimate candidate in the Democratic field) who is an enthusiastic supporter of marriage equality, has no qualms about being Edwards' ATM card.  Good for him.  Narrow minds think alike.

Edwards is also dead wrong if he thinks that Iowa alone is going to determine the outcome of the Presidential primary process.  If he wins Iowa and South Carolina, it will definitely give him a tremendous amount of momentum going into February 5, but he is still going to have to do a lot of work to make the most of that momentum to come out of Super Tuesday as the undisputed winner.

I hope for Clinton's and Obama's sakes that Edwards does decide to cede New Jersey to them.  If either splits or sweeps Nevada and New Hampshire, New Jersey is definitely going to be one of the battleground state for them that could eliminate one or the other.

It would serve Dick Codey right to back a candidate who wins Iowa and then doesn't even bother to campaign here, contributing to a Super Tuesday collapse.  I would get a good laugh out of that.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 00:49:37 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

two points (0.00 / 0)

I think Edwards is right and everyone knows it. To clarify, he said there is an 80% chance the winner of Iowa will win the whole thing. NJ will likely be irrelevant. If the other candidates wouldn't privately admit the same thing, I'd have serious doubts about them.

Dick Codey now says he supports marriage equality. The "narrow minds" comment was inappropriate.

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by: Juan Melli @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 01:08:27 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I certainly agree. (0.00 / 0)

The problem with our legislature's decision to move the primary to February is that it simply causes the presidential season to begin to creep into 2007, which should really be avoided (I hope the current status quo is an anomalous, and not a harbinger of how our presidential election season is going to go from here on in).

I'm just not certain how to fix the Democratic primary system, though I did like the point-system that I saw on MyDD a while back (I don't remember if it originated there or was merely expanded upon there).

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by: sucopsucoh @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 01:17:25 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

100% chance to win the nod ... (0.00 / 0)

Every candidate who won Iowa and New Hampshire has gone on to be the party's nominee.

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by: JRB @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 01:50:57 AM UTC

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who did it before Kerry? (0.00 / 0)

He was particularly well positioned to win New Hampshire after Iowa, being from Massachusetts, but I don't expect John Edwards to be able to capitalize on the momentum from Iowa in the same way that Kerry did in 2004 unless he is also able to win the Nevada caucus, which will be held between the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary.  The South Carolina primary is a week after the New Hampshire primary.

The only way that Super Tuesday (February 5) could become irrelevant is if John Edwards sweeps the first four states, which I believe is highly unlikely.  In fact, it is going to be very hard for someone to win both Nevada and New Hampshire, because many New Hampshire political leaders have said that heavy campaigning in Nevada is going to be looked at unfavorably by the voters in New Hampshire.

Whether you believe that kind of talk or not, I think that Edwards is going to win Iowa and South Carolina, Clinton, Obama, or Richardson are going to win Nevada, and Clinton or Obama will win New Hampshire, making the results on Super Tuesday very relevant.

It is also possible, although not likely, that Edwards could win Iowa and then lose Nevada, New Hampshire, AND South Carolina to Obama, but that would require a major turnout effort amongst African-American voters in South Carolina and a near monopoly of them for Obama, which will be tough to get with Hillary Clinton still in the race.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 02:47:29 AM UTC

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NV (0.00 / 0)

Unions are the Democratic party in Nevada and Edwards has strong support among them. He has a real shot there.

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by: Juan Melli @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 03:04:24 AM UTC

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I don't buy it (0.00 / 0)

He's the Senate President.  If he supported marriage equality, he would have been able to wrangle the votes to make it happen. 

The only thing that I have read is that he expects marriage equality to be passed in six or seven years.  That is not support in my book.

If Dick Codey wants to prove me wrong (not that I think he cares what I think), he can pass marriage equality during a lame duck session later this year.

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by: Bertin Lefkovic @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 02:12:43 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

ok (4.00 / 2)

whatever

"We don't see this at all as an end point," Jason Butkowski, a spokesman for Codey, told Gay City News on Tuesday, referring to the imminent enactment of the civil union bill. "We want to try out civil unions and look at the pros and cons for gay and lesbian couples. The senator has said all along that he personally supports marriage, but doesn't think there is sufficient support at this time. In no way is this an end point."

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by: Juan Melli @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 02:23:50 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Good to see (0.00 / 0)

Edwards is the most electable progressive candidate in the race.

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by: 12mileseastofTrenton @ Thu Mar 01, 2007 at 13:58:22 PM UTC