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Politics : Don't Blame Me, I Voted For Kerry -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: zonkie who wrote (3258)	2/20/2004 8:37:44 AM
From: ChinuSFO	Respond to of 81568

The AFLCIO supports Kerry Edwards Sharpens His Criticism of Kerry By MIKE GLOVER Associated Press Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- John Edwards touted his blue-collar background and sharpened his criticism of Democratic front-runner John Kerry as the North Carolina senator's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination surged on criticism of U.S. trade policy and jobs lost abroad. "When it comes to bad trade agreements, I know what they do to people," Edwards said in a speech at Columbia University as he tried to build on a surprisingly strong second-place showing in the Wisconsin primary. "I have seen it with my own eyes what happens when the mill shuts down." Edwards, whose father worked at a mill, said he has a better understanding than Kerry of blue-collar issues. He told his college audience Thursday that his disagreements with Kerry extended well beyond NAFTA and include many trade agreements he has opposed. "Those trade deals were wrong," he said. "They cost us too many jobs and lowered our standards." Edwards focused on the economy and jobs while campaigning in Wisconsin, largely by making the case that trade pacts, like the North American Free Trade Agreement, have led to a flow of high-paying jobs to China and other low-wage countries. He believes the same theme will work in the 10 states holding "Super Tuesday" primaries March 2. He is targeting Georgia, Ohio and the industrial regions of upstate New York. While Kerry has been critical of the way free-trade deals have been carried out, the Massachusetts senator voted for them, setting the stage for the loss of jobs in the United States, Edwards said. "There is no question that our current trade policies are good for the profits of multinational corporations," he said. "They are good for some people in the financial sector here in New York City - not all, but some." Edwards said his second-place showing in Wisconsin has given him the steam to push through the 10-state primary on March 2, and beyond to tests in Texas and Florida on March 9. However, he has been forced to set aside precious campaign time to raise money, attending fund-raising events in New York and Florida on Thursday. Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO endorsed Kerry on Thursday, a signal that key segments of the party establishment think. Edwards insisted he is winning the battle for rank-and-file members who face the daily pressures of jobs losses. "If you look at what's happened in the early primaries, I have not had the endorsement of labor unions and I've done very well," he said. "I will continue to speak directly to union households and working people." Although Edwards said he had strong support in union households, exit polls conducted for The Associated Press showed that such voters tended to support Kerry by narrow margins in Iowa and Wisconsin and by substantial margins - from 20 to 40 percentage points - in Missouri and Delaware. The exit polls were conducted for the AP and television networks by Edison Media Research and Mitofsky International. customwire.ap.org