Today there was scant mention of a recent news item that spoke volumes to the classic American Left mantra of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ hypocrisy. Socialism as we see in much of Europe is for the rich. They are often the loudest proponents of such ideology because such policies will have little in the way of impact on their lives and impeded competitive drive for others to achieve. The playing field will have less potential opponents and the rich can retire to their estates, resting well.

The Democrat Party has flirted with the basic ideology of socialism since the 1950s. Oh they won’t boldly proclaim their thoughts in such blunt terms but the reader can be assured that they mean such things when the words ‘income redistribution’ is spoken.

Former North Carolina Senator and ambulance chasing trial lawyer John Edwards, who also failed at becoming the Vice President in 2004, is currently campaigning for the Democrat Party Presidential nomination. Poll numbers indicate that he bounces around Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Former Senator Edwards is probably best remembered for stating that as Vice President he would fund stem cell research so that people ‘like Christopher Reeve would walk again’. As many remember Reeve, best known for his roles in the Superman movies, was quadriplegic following an equestrian riding accident and later died.

Edwards has been making campaign pitches, which is perfectly fine. His message is all too familiar. In short Edwards clearly sees a divide between rich and poor. In fact most Democrats rarely mention the middle class. His pitches have included items such as different schools broken down for the poor and rich. He favors socialized medicine, also known as universal healthcare yet he has never lived in a country that provides such service so he doesn’t have experience in handling what is typically an inefficient system. He supports public education, which is an embarrassment to our country and robs parents’ of choice when items such as vouchers are eschewed. Like all good socially conscience Democrats and Left Wingers, a descriptive they apply to themselves, he wants everything equal for all members of our society. This may roast and toast the cockles of the reader’s heart but Edwards and others won’t tell you how they plan to do it. The answer is simply income redistribution also known as a heavy personal tax burden for the citizenry. This is the same old whine said by this side since the 1960s with President Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society, a failed social program that was intended to wipe out poverty. The same percentage of people living below the poverty line has not changed in 30 plus years yet the dollar amount applied to the definition of the poverty line has continued to fluctuate upwards.

Just like the ultra rich Edwards will not be affected by his own idealism. In other words it’s good enough for you but hey I made my greenbacks years ago, they are safely tucked away. The reader should remember that Edwards made millions by suing companies and doctors, shutting them out of business. During a 1985 medical malpractice lawsuit filed against an obstetrician and hospital involving the birth of a child that resulted in her developing cerebral palsy; Edwards said the following during his closing summary, “I have to tell you right now – I didn't plan to talk about this – right now I feel her [Jennifer], I feel her presence [Jennifer's] inside me and she's talking to you." How many medical staff lost their jobs as a result of this settlement, which totaled $5.75 million? Several more high-profile cases and by some estimates Edward’s net worth soared to $60 million. One can only imagine what Edward ‘feels’ about others in our society.

Your author feels comfortable assuming that Edwards also favors affordable housing for everyone. However when it comes to his own taste this does not apply and the bigger the better with a gross display of wealth is in order. Today the Carolina Observer ran a piece describing a recent home purchase made by the Edwards family. Let your author rephrase the term home, it is akin to an estate. In Raleigh the Edwards family has just inked the real estate contract to purchase a personal dwelling that has a total square footage of 28,200 with the actual house consuming half the amount and sitting on 102 acres west of Chapel Hill. One room will actually be known as ‘John’s Lounge’. The county’s local property assessor John Smith estimates the annual tax bill at $6 million.

The reader should be thinking about the cushy ultra-rich lifestyle Edwards enjoys while they listen to his campaign promises. If the tax burden becomes so great will Edwards sell his estate, providing he can find a buyer and help flip the price tag? Of course not, would you? Somehow though Edwards and others on the Left feel you the reader should pay for it. What they should tell you is how they won’t and only ensuring their supporters places such as the Edwards’ estate will be a pipedream that is no longer achievable.