John Edwards' 'love child.'

[Unsane]

Been gone a while. What is the DU consensus on this? I first read the story several months ago and thought it was complete tripe; but the recent re-ignition has made be wonder whether there is some validity. If true, I assume he's done with politics; and it says a hell of a lot about his character.

[grantcart]

1. the consensus here is that it is all lies and national enquirer is out to get him

There are some liberal bloggers that have broken ranks http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lee-stranahan/say-it-aint-so-john-why-p_b_115165.html


It seems that it would be easy to disprove and I wish John would do that and get it out of the way.

[JoFerret]

3. They ran (almost) the same story in 1992

complete with pictures. That time it was Bill Clinton.

[Heidi]

2. I believe the mother of the child and the attorney for the father of the child.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200712190010

ETA: Both the mother and father of the child are on record saying John Edwards isn't the father of the child.

[marshall]

64. I wonder if more men will come forward claiming to be the father?

I wonder if the woman herself knows who the father is?

[dontforgetpoland]

4. Why would anyone read a story from the National Enquirer and believe it is true?

Do the same people who read this believes in Batboy?

[Heidi]

7. Welcome to DU!

Sorry for the late welcome, but glad you're here! :hi:

[book_worm]

24. That's the National Examiner not Enquirer, but I get your point.

[MonkeyFunk]

46. Actually, it's the Weekly World News

The Enquirer broke the Monica Lewinsky story.

[Blarch]

70. Actually. Matt Drudge broke the Lewinsky story...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Drudge

[JI7]

5. how many times are people going to post this asking if it's true ?

i have to wonder about the motives of those who keep asking about this.

[tsuki]

15. At least 3-4 times a day. And personally, I don't wonder about

their motives.

[endarkenment]

17. so either they are deliberately propagating bullshit

or are massively naive and being used by the Bullshit Machine to propagate this crap.

[tsuki]

20. You win. nt

[Andy823]

47. I agree with you.

If it's true it will come out sooner or later and then it can be discussed. As long as it's simply tabloid BS, it should not be a topic of discussion. It's simply trash until there is proof.

[Patiod]

63. Some of us haven't been around for a while

I was going to ask, but decided to search first and see what else has been posted here.

I used to be a DU regular, but my work/travel schedule has kept me away.

[gateley]

6. They re-ignited the Obama gay sex/coke thing, too, so that's not

an indication that there's fire behind the smoke.

I think it's BS. :shrug:

[geek tragedy]

21. He's not the nominee or an office-holder, so it's

really between him and his family.

[demokatgurrl]

60. I think Obama does coke with Edward's love child

and then they get together and have orgies with Larry Craig.

[MrSlayer]

75. Nice one.

:applause:

[politicoFOsho]

8. I think it's true

but maybe I'm just projecting my own sluttiness onto John Edwards. Did you hear about the Cindy McCain Sex Scandal? It's hilarious, and I believe it as well. http://www.newscarnival.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=12&Itemid=166

[Stevepol]

9. You sound like my Republican nephew.

Don't confuse him with facts. He already knows what's true.

Here it seems to me you have about as thorough a proof of the falsehood of the story as possible. The woman denies it, the man who is the real father denies it. Where's the evidence? In a case like this, you can always dig up somebody to smear a national politician. Jerry Falwell dug up some guy who had perjured himself numerous times before to claim that Clinton was involved in the murder of somebody, that he was involved in drugs, etc. etc.

I guess anything is possible, so maybe the woman will change her story, maybe the man will change his story, maybe their lawyer will suddenly recant after being faced with new evidence. Maybe green cheese will actually be discovered on the Moon.

I don't think the chances are very high.

[MaineDem]

28. Thank you kindly.

I'll pass on going to the link.

Welcome to DU, by the way.

[Undercurrent]

10. All I can say is

that I will never again go to the mat to defend a politician against adultery charges again like I did with Bill Clinton. I defended him with all my might only to be left with a handful of lies. I lost "friends" over that, and some of my family was mad at me for a long time.

If Edwards did it, let the chips fall where they will. It won't be pretty. If it's a bogus charge then I sure hope the "media" will move on, and stop hounding the poor guy.

[Lisa0825]

18. That's exactly how I feel.

I don't know if it is true, but I won't take a stand to defend it. Sad but true.

[Raine]

65. Me too...

I was fooled by Clinton but I won't be fooled again into defending the indefensible. :yoiks: :argh:

[Inspired]

11. The consensus is that we are curious why people post this garbage on the DU.

You are talking about a story that is in the National Enquirer for Christ's sake. John Edwards is a Democrat who is campaigning now to eliminate poverty in the United States. That should be applauded.

[RedShoes]

12. I think John Edwards' crotch is none of my damb business (although I'd like it to be) ;)

because he is HOOOOOOOOOT and I had the pleasure of telling him (and a few other politicos) that he is my boyfriend. :+

Unlike so many others, I can say safely I have been steadfast: unless there is hypocrisy behind it (i.e. naughty boy bathroom stall toe tapper who will not support gay rights, the fucking halfwit) a candidate's crotch and what happens between consenting adults is really none of my business.

[TexasObserver]

13. Likely? No. Possible? Always.

The problem is the merger of MSM and the tabloid stuff. Rupert Murdoch has succeeded in bringing down real news.

[MannyGoldstein]

14. As Disturbing As The Enquirer Is...

..they are consistently on the mark with this kind of stuff. Jesse Jackson's "love child", OxyRush's drug problems, and so forth.

[tsuki]

16. Carol Burnett's drinking problem. nt

[Inspired]

19. Didn't they also say Obama and Oprah had a 'thing'? And there was this Obama/cocaine story.

Yeah, they are right about things like this.

:sarcasm:

[Virginia Dare]

56. They were all over the Bush marital troubles too..

that one was probably true though.

[DesertRat]

22. My feeling

Where there's smoke there's fire.

If it's completely untrue, then JE should sue the hell of the Enquirer.

[karynnj]

29. Not true - the standard for a public figure is very very high

If Edwards sued, he could prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is not the father and that there was no evidence of an affair and lose the case. He also has to prove it damaged him - which would mean proving people believed it and that cost him something. In addition, they have to prove malice - that the paper knew it was untrue and they printed it to harm him.

The fact is these tabloids have printed outrageous stories about Bush, both Clintons and many many other famous people. Few have ever sued successfully. The proverb you cite is a large part of the problem - many people believe it even though when there is a motive (either to sell tabloids or political) there will be lots of "smoke" printed where no fire existed. (Look at 2004, Kerry's service record was found by NIXON to be spotless. There was no "fire" there, yet there sure was a lot of "smoke". Note, they could have honestly made his very honorable protesting on issue.)

Here, if there really is a story, it will come out - but so far, there are mostly claims by a disreputable tabloid and Sean Hannity, a man willing to repeat any negative tabloid article on a Democrat. The timing makes it very unlikely. A baby born in December is usually conceived in March - right when the Edwards were dealing with more tests that ultimately found that she had stage 4 cancer. This in addition to JRE having no such reputation ever.

[Unsane]

45. Agreed

[book_worm]

23. It means he probably won't be VP

[MaineDem]

25. There are other threads on this.

No offense meant but you could go back and read them. Why start another thread on this? Why "re-ignite" it here?

[Efilroft Sul]

26. Last week, even Glenn Beck expressed extreme skepticism over this story.

Couldn't help it. I was in the car traveling and only one station came in clear. Lo and behold I got the Beckster and he was giving the speech that John Edwards should be giving right now. I believe it was couched as Edwards' closing argument in a defamation of character/libel lawsuit. If anyone else out there heard the show, please clarify or correct what I was able to hear.

I doubt this entire love child story.

[Stuckinthebush]

27. I'm betting it is true

Sad to say, but I think we have more truth than fiction here.

I hope I'm proven wrong. Elizabeth Edwards is too good of a person to have to deal with shit like that. Let's hope it is not true.

[otohara]

30. Yep

sadly I'm thinking the same thing.

[JoshDem]

31. I Also Think its True

I just thank God that he was not our nominee at this point.

[Name removed]

33. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Stuckinthebush]

35. Why? Because he believes the story is true?

I believe it is true too and I'm a die hard liberal who is an Edwards supporter.

[brentspeak]

36. And you believe the story is "true" based on what?

[Stuckinthebush]

40. Me?

Mainly because Edwards hasn't come out to strongly deny it. I'm leaning "true".

[Bluebear]

39. No, because he is a 40 post member who has only seemed to comment on this story.

[Stuckinthebush]

41. OK

Gotcha.

[CaptJasHook]

32. The truth of it would explain a few things.

Such as his unexplained drop out of the race days after declaring that he was in it to the convention. The timing is about right for him to have had to finally deal with the pregnancy.

It would also provide for his absolute silence for a period of time and reticence to be one the national stage with an endorsement.

If one of the other candidates also had this information and held it over his head, it would also explain his absence.

I don't think the point is that I give a shit about what a candidate does with his or her love life. The point is that, on a national stage, such activities have large political ramifications. Ergo, an aspiring national politician is a fool to engage in the perception of those activities. Especially after Bill's low-class dealings just a 10 years ago.

This lack of privacy, cloying media frenzy and public demand for moral purity is why no truly human, truly libertarian (not as in the party) candidate will become president in my life time. Too many Americans still want a combination King/Pope.

[democrattotheend]

62. That's a good point

I did not make that connection about his surprising announcement that he was dropping out. How old is the child in question? When is the affair said to have taken place?

[Nye Bevan]

34. I would like to believe that it's all a load of crap

but then I keep wondering why he doesn't just do a paternity test and release the results, which would kill the "story" once and for all?

[demo dutch]

37. Me too, however the enquirer has been known to brake stories that were true

[Edith Ann]

44. Paternity test

Why should the mother of this child submit it for a paternity test if JRE isn't the father and this Andrew Young is? If Andrew Young is the father, my bet is there already is a paternity test. If I were his wife I'd demand one before I spent my money on someone else's baby. Also, given she was somewhat of a Hollywood party girl if I were the father, I'd demand a paternity test to prove whose baby it was at birth, before it got too old and I was stuck with it as the father of record. I'd also demand tests for STD's. They had to be drunk or stupid to have unprotected sex. I know I know, she got pregers on purpose. It's not that easy for a 40 + year old woman whose never been pregnant to get pregnant. She could have worked that for years and never had results without IN VITRO. How unlucky for whoever.

Someone could go to North Carolina's vital statistics website and look up the father of record. If it is Andrew Young enough said. If it isn't available, weeellll. It would be interesting to know what this Andrew Young looks like. Maybe he's of another race. If this was a one night stand and not a love thing and he's never done it before, that maybe why his wife forgave him and stayed married to him. Although, I hope she gave him hell and made him grovel.

I don't know why John Edwards doesn't respond. Maybe for the first time in his life he doesn't know what to say. How do you absolutely defend yourself in these cases?

If this is true, JRE and his mistress will never live happily ever after. There are 3 children who will make them miserable. This will never result in a marriage and if it does it won't last long and it will cost him a lot of money to get out of it.

Is this the same man who stood in the well of the Senate and criticized Bill Clinton for hurting his "precious daughter"? If he did it, he got both of his and maybe a 3rd one.

[PresidentObama]

38. Why are you pushing this? Thanks for questioning Edwards character. Trash, just trash.

[Political Heretic]

42. The consensus is who cares?

He's not going to be a VP nominee. He's not the presidential nominee. I have zero interest in this distraction.

I say that as a person who supported Edwards' run for President as my first choice.

[Patiod]

66. I agree, but if the story is out there, I like to know about it

I don't want to be afraid to ask about it here at DU for fear of being labeled a freeper or troll.

Because my rightwing friends will be trumpeting it, sure as shootin', and it's nice to read a level-headed discussion here and be able to say "oh, I heard that the father is some guy named Young, and the woman involved doesn't claim JE as the father - but then again, my information isn't from the National Enquirer, idiot."

It's a lot like Thom Hartmann having conservatives on his show, and letting them say their piece. He then explains why they're wrong (or why he agrees with them - say in the case of people who want to fine employers of illegal immigrants, for example). Knowing what the nuts are out there spouting (in moderation or couse) and what the truth is makes me more confident to speak up in the proverbial "water cooler wars".

And, if it WERE true, I'd like to be able to come here and talk to some other former Edwards supporters and express my disappointment (I was a hardcore Edwards supporter up until he dropped out).

[DefenseLawyer]

43. Until Elvis and Lobster Boy take paternity tests

I can't fully accept the normally solid National Enquirer reporting as true.

[LowerManhattanite]

48. It's an ugly, scurrilous rumor with no proof to speak of...

...and the traffickers in it need to be dealt with severely—as should those dead-enders who are spitefully using it to lash out at the presumptive nominee by trafficking in long-debunked rumors about him.

End of story. :(

[WA98070]

49. What this proves is the right wing is terrified he might be the VP!!!

[AtomicKitten]

50. It's a GOP-driven attack. Nothing more, nothing less.

[pnwmom]

51. If the sleeze rag was there, where are the photos? Where are the names of the

supposed witnesses?

This isn't a story until there is SOME real evidence. At the moment, there isn't any.

[Edith Ann]

55. New Enquirer 7-28-08

I looked through the new Enquirer. No mention of JRE. No pictures. No nothing. He still needs to address this because he wants to be in public life even if it is as an activist. If people don't believe him they won't support him or give money to his causes. I wish I knew how to defend this. We've all been accused of something one way or another and for myself I always felt a little guilty even if I wasn't. I was also put in a position of explaining. The more you talk without thinking the more they seem to use what you say against you.

[pnwmom]

68. He has addressed this. He has said that he is not involved in an affair

with Hunter. And Andrew Young says he is the father of her baby, not Edwards.

Why should Edwards have to address every single permutation of this story that occurs?

The way you defend this is by pointing out the lack of evidence. If all these news people were there, where are the photos? Where are the named witnesses? At this point I don't think this has any more credibility than the typical abducted-by-aliens story.

[npincus]

76. hmmmm.... no pics?

curious... reporters and photogs staked out the hotel, why no pics?

[MrSlayer]

52. I can see it happening.

Edwards is a good looking guy who has tons of money and has held power. Chicks throw themselves at guys like that all the time. I would be shocked if it wasn't true. Politicians, rock stars, movie stars, CEOs, they all do it.

[Unsane]

54. agree

[Edith Ann]

57. Just say No

Men can say No. I know a lot of men think too much with their little heads, but they do have the option to say no. John Edwards isn't the best looking thing to come down the road but he has his good points, one of which was loyalty to his wife. With out that he loses a lot of his appeal. Also, what about his daughters? What is he teaching them about men if he cheats on his wife and their mother? What is he teaching his son, Jack about women? He would have disrespected his son Wade's life if he cheated on his mother?

[MrSlayer]

74. Of course you can say no.

But it's really hard sometimes to do so. Chris Rock explains it perfectly in this clip. Start at 1:45 or listen to the whole thing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmLSvtpmT3M&feature=related

Would it change your mind if his wife is too sick to make love to him and she said he could do it?

[Edith Ann]

77. No it wouldn't change my mind.

This isn't Bill Clinton, the fat band boy who never got the girl in high school. This is supposedly a faithful husband who "never made me feel less than I am". That may not be an exact quote but you get my drift. How's that working out for her now. This is a woman, who at 48 and 50 took injections of high doses of hormone to carry a child for him not once but twice. This may be the root cause of her breast cancer and I believe he could make some sacrifice. Like stay faithful until she's gone. It surprised me that doctors would get her pregnant without regular mammograms. By her own words see had neglected them.

Elizabeth Edwards didn't give ol' Johnnie permission to do this. If she had she wouldn't have picked a woman she wouldn't have wanted to raise her children. Can you see this Lisa Druck person raising a Wade or Cate Edwards? Do you think she would want her to raise Emma Claire and Jack. Hell, he probably doesn't want her raising his children. She appears to be a flake. Someone with a history of sexual indiscretions with famous men.

That brings up unprotected sex. How stupid was that. I hope he DNA'ed that baby before he started paying her. According to one blog, he's paying 15,000 a month. As I stated before it will cost him a lot of money.

This is what I see going on and I have had girl friends who were mistresses of Dr's mostly. If this happened, the sexual part may have stopped once she got pregnant. Probably scarred hell out of him and Elizabeth may know. Around last OCT. she seemed to be a bit off and Cate started traveling with him. People, if they noticed at all, probably thought she didn't feel good. I also saw her on the Colbert show and her spark wasn't there. I think this was after the hotel incident. Now Ms Reille is doing a Jennifer Flowers on him because she doesn't see Elizabeth dying soon and she wants him now. She probably wasn't happy with that renewal of vowels thing either. Then there is his old stand by about Elizabeth being the love of his life. She probably got tired of hearing that as well. My friends always thought they were going to walk into the wife's life and take over. That Never Works. Children have a tendency to be difficult and after the man realizes what he has given up for whatever, he will start acting out. Most of the time there is no marriage and when there is it doesn't last long.

Now the end. I also read on a blog that the other woman is shopping around MSM for an interview (remember Jennifer Flowers.) We will have to wait and see if Elizabeth gets sued for interfering in Reille's happiness the way Mrs Clinton was sued by Jennifer Flowers. The man with her at the hotel was a friend who is a psychic. He may also be her new lover and they maybe shaking down JRE. My best guess, if the Senator was there, Ms Hunter and her friend set him up. They used a high profile hotel and they called the Enquirer. He probably wouldn't be aware of the significance of the hotel to the press in Hollywood. Now is "gettin' a little" worth all the damage it can cause? Elizabeth is made a fool of by her "faithful husband of 30 years", the kids are learning all the wrong things about relationships, his parents are hurt and he hurt Wade's mother.

[fujiyama]

53. Doesn't matter too much to me personally

I definitely hope it's not true. I see no evidence for it beyond a story in a tabloid. Unless Edwards actually comes out and admits it or there's some photographic evidence...I'm thinking this is nonsense. Those rags just make stuff up. I wouldn't take anything they write at face value. They have about as much credibility as Fox News.

[lame54]

58. Here ya go...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=3695655&mesg_id=3695655

[demokatgurrl]

59. Well since it was in the Enquirer, it MUST be true, right?

I find it interesting that that's the ONLY place (other than free-form discussion boards like this one) it's been published.

[Lilith Velkor]

61. He should have hooked up with me instead!

:grr:

[asdjrocky]

67. Yes. I've heard something.

I've heard there are certain asswipes at DU that just can't let go of this bullshit story and keep posting innocent "questions" about it every other day.

Can you believe someone would do that to a man with a family who's single purpose is to fight poverty? I know, it's kind of hard to believe.

[Milo_Bloom]

69. I am sure it is true and I am sure I don't care.

I have no interest in personal issues like this.

There are a million reasons to not trust John Edwards.. his personal life is not one of them.

[JANdad]

71. I don't need a million

How about five (founded in truth)?


betcha can't do it...

[Milo_Bloom]

72. No problem.

Voted for the war and co-sponsored the bill.
Voted for the initial Bankrupcy Bill.
Voted to reduce legal liability for nuclear power plants.
Voted for China Trade agreements that have given away manufacturing.
Earned money working for a hedge fund neck deep in predatory lending.

Wow, got to 5 without even having to go to the Patriot Act, H-1B visas, NCLB or any of his other hypocritical positions and votes.

[InvisibleTouch]

73. Oh, come now. The REAL story...

...is the gay alien lover from another solar system that he meets every morning at a high-profile coffee shop.

(/sarcasm, in case anyone needs it)