Mon, Jul 07 2008
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Published January 28, 2008 11:23 pm - SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — When Bruce Davidson’s 13-year-old son, David, asked him to take him to Springfield on Monday to hear former Sen. John Edwards speak at the Teamsters Hall, he knew he had to find a way to get him there. Edwards cheered at rally w/ link to John Edwards' campaign web site By Wally Kennedy wkennedy@joplinglobe.com SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — When Bruce Davidson’s 13-year-old son, David, asked him to take him to Springfield on Monday to hear former Sen. John Edwards speak at the Teamsters Hall, he knew he had to find a way to get him there. Wanting to encourage his son’s interest in the democratic process, Davidson said, “There was no way I could say ‘no.’” Davidson recently moved his family to Branson from Wisconsin. Davidson said that when he was a young man, he had been inspired by a speech he heard Sen. Robert Kennedy give in 1968. After hearing Edwards, Davidson was asked to comment on what he had heard. He couldn’t. There were tears in his eyes. Regaining his composure, he said: “What impressed me the most about his speech was when he said he hadn’t taken a dime from a lobbyist. John McCain can’t say that.” His son said: “It was an excellent speech. He said everything that needed to be said.” The Davidsons were among several hundred people who waited for more than an hour in a standing-room-only hall to hear Edwards, the Democratic underdog in the race for the nomination, give a 15-minute speech that was punctuated by applause and standing ovations. Attending the rally were representatives of Teamsters Local No. 823 in Joplin. Jim McCall, president of the local, said: “The Teamsters have not picked anyone to back. We intend to survey the members and principal officers after the primaries. We do back Edwards as much as anybody. “The one thing we like is that he is totally for labor and working-class people. He got his education on a union income. He wants health care for everybody, good jobs, good wages and good benefits.” Edwards attracted a diverse crowd of all ages that included teachers, university students, laborers and veterans. One man, wearing a cowboy hat, stood up with a sign that read: “We know the state of the union. That’s why we are here.” Edwards was introduced by Joe Maxwell, former lieutenant governor of Missouri. Describing Edwards as the man who will stand up for working people, Maxwell said: “It’s our time to stand up to the corporations. It’s our time to stand up to the rich. It’s our time!” Entering the hall to the song “Our Country” by John Mellencamp, Edwards noted that President Bush would deliver the State of the Union address later Monday and that he most likely would talk about his plan to stimulate the economy. “But his plan will leave tens of millions of Americans out,” Edwards said. “It will leave out people who work for a living. We need a president who will stand up for you.” 
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