John Edwards

John Edwards

21st Century Democrats support

21st Century Democrats is a Political Action Committee that has stood for Progressive causes for over 20 years. Founded in 1986 by Institute for Policy Studies affiliate, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin, Democratic Socialists of America affiliates, former Texas Agriculture Secretary Jim Hightower, and former Illinois Congressman Lane Evans. Its three main goals are to help elect progressive candidates, train young people about grassroots organizing, and lastly, to continue to support our elected officials after Election Day "through our comprehensive progressive network".

Long time Board chair was Democratic Socialists of America member Jim Scheibel, a former Mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota.

The mission of 21st Century Democrats is to build a "farm team" of progressive populists who will be the future leaders of the Democratic Party.

In each election cycle, we endorse a diverse array of candidates who exemplify our values and show unusual promise to advance our progressive goals. We invest in some of the most competitive races as well as in some of the most challenging – those in which the candidates are outstanding but the traditional Democratic supporters are most reticent. We back candidates in primaries as well as general election races, and we focus the bulk of our resources on electing challengers and protecting vulnerable incumbents.

Edwards was endorsed by 21st Century Democrats in the 1999 election cycle, during his Virginia State house run.

Help on Iranian visas

In October of 2002 Iranian American Political Action Committee met with Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the then Chairmen of the Senate Judiciary Sub-committee on Immigration, to discuss the immediate impact of the implementation of the Section 306 of the Enhanced Border Security & Visa Enter Reform Act. Section 306 of the law contemplates a ban on the issuance of all non-immigrant visas to residents or nationals of the seven countries that appear on the Department of State's list of state sponsors of international terrorism - including Iran...IAPAC spoke to Senator Schumer about the unfairness and short sightedness of the legislation and presented to him specific recommendations drafted by the Iranian American Bar Association on how Section 306 should be interpreted. Senator Schumer agreed to hold and chair a meeting with the Department of Justice, the Department of State and the Central Intelligence Agency to discuss the regulations that will be applied regarding the implementation of Section 306.

IAPAC also requested the following Senators to attend the meeting - Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), Sen. John Edwards (D-NC), Sen. Thomas Carper (D-DE), Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX), Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE), Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-CT) and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN). All sent representatives to the meeting and were in agreement with our proposals. The first meeting was held in November of 2002 and the second meeting was held in March of 2003.

In addition, IAPAC asked for and received a press release from Senator Schumer regarding visa policy for non-immigrants. Senator Schumer summed up his concerns by stating that "we do not want our non-immigrant visa policy to impose an undue hardship on American citizens, including Iranian Americans, many of whom have made and continue to make outstanding contributions to the economic and social life of our country."

American Rights at Work

In 2008 John Edwards served on the board of directors of American Rights at Work.

Cesar Chavez National Holiday campaign

In 2009, U.S. Senator John Edwards was listed as an Endorser of the Communist Party USA initiated Cesar E. Chavez National Holiday organization

References

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