I just saw this story online this morning about Johnathon Edwards’ younger brother. linkypoo
Certainly it’s sad to see the problems that Wesley Blake Edwards is having. And it’s kinda nice to see that Johnathon Edwards has enough family caring to buy a house for them. But, I have trouble accepting that the Senator was as ignorant about his brother’s problems as he is trying to present himself. It may be that the Daily News is making more of the Senator’s statement than it could support, but… really, you don’t buy a house for your brother, and bring him back home unless he needs some major cleaning up after.
Again, I’m not criticizing Edwards for his actions. What he’s done with his brother’s family is admirable. I just have a bad taste in my mouth from the tone o the statement.
Yes, that’s the only direct quote from the statement, DMC. However two paragraphs above that in the same article:
I admit freely (as I tried to make clear in the OP) that this could just be the Daily News being confrontational. Espeically since they didn’t, in my mind, provide any direct quote to support this view. But if that statement of the News regarding the Senator’s comments about his knowledge of the legal troubles is accurate, I find it a little hard to believe. That was the sole thing I was trying to say.
It is the case in lots of families that brothers split apart and go their separate ways when the older one reaches adulthood, especially if there is a gap in their ages. There is plenty to bash Edwards over without crap like this.
I can’t find any text of Edwards’s complete statement (assuming that he said anything more than what’s in the article). They say he “implies” that he didn’t know about the troubles, but I suspect that that WAS his complete statement, and that the “implication” is his saying “I am, of course, troubled by this news.” I’m sure that many of the details ARE news to Edwards – why should he know that his brother hasn’t been paying his tickets? Why should he even know he’s been getting them? And assuming he does, who’s to say that’s what he meant by news? Perhaps he meant “I am troubled to hear that you media vultures have gotten your claws into my brother.”
John Edwards would hardly be the first candidate for high office with an embarrassing brother. It’s actually somewahat of a tradition for Democrats. Jack Kennedy had Teddy, Jimmy Carter had Billy, Bill Clinton had Roger. It;s not just Dems either. GWB has a rather unfortunate sibling with an extensive criminal history named Neil who is virtually never mentioned in the media.
If idiotic bullshit like this is the worst thing the Republican attack operation can root out of Edwards’s life, then this election may go more smoothly than I had expected.
There are twelve years separating the two. They almost belong to different generations. It’s not like we’re talking about twin brothers who are joined at the hip. I think it’s entirely possible that the bigger brother had no idea how much shit his little brother had gotten into.
And it came with an intentionally misleading thread title. I am sick to death of stupid political threads in the Pit. Yes, you have a right to post them here. I choose not to read them when I can tell what they are from the title. If you’re posting political crap, have the balls to use a truthful descriptive thread title.
I agree. And I don’t know why OtakuLoki finds this hard to believe.
I mean, why would Edwards know about his brother’s bad driving? Is it not possible that he and is brother are not that close? That his brother might be embarrassed or tight-lipped about his driving woes? What? Do you think that the police report to Edwards about his kin’s transgressions? Transgressions in another state, no less?
spooje, the article in my OP mentions that 5 years ago Senator Edwards bought a house for his brother, and moved his brother’s family from out west back to North Carolina.
I may be jumping to conclusions here, but this is not the actions of a man who is ignorant of his brother’s troubles. This is the action of man (I want to repeat is doing a good turn for his brother.) who has decided to take an active role is helping his brother keep his life under control. Based on the slim details in the article, most of the unresolved problems dug up by the Daily News, date to before when Senator Edwards brought his brother back to North Carolina. I say most, becuase it is evident that the brother did something to lose his liscence in North Carolina, as well. I can believe that Senator Edwards didn’t know of these specific transgressions, but given the history reported in this article, it sure seems to me that Senator Edwards is very well aware of his brother’s tendency to have problems with finances and driving. Saying he was unaware of the problem when he’s been helping to keep his brother’s family housed seems a bit hard for me to believe.
Again, I am NOT faulting Senator Edwards for anything he’s done with regards to his brother. Nor am I trying to say that Senator Edwards is in any way accountable for his brother’s actions. On the contrary, as I pointed out in my OP Senator Edwards’ actions taking responsibility for his brother’s fiscal well-being are laudable. Just don’t lie to me about whether you knew he had problems when the record seems pretty clear, to me, at least, that’s what the Senator is doing.
Edwards is a wealthy man, by anyone’s standards. The fact that he purchased a home for his brother does NOT mean that his brother shared any details about his life with him.
Note that the article does not say why he bought a home for his brother. It could have been plain goodwill for a family member. It could have been at the urging of another family member. Is their mother still alive? Maybe he made a promise to take care of his brother?
But buying him anything doesn’t mean that the brother will spill his guts. This source you have cited found out because they went out of their way to find out, not because it was common knowledge.
Seriously, have you ever kept anything secret from family members? Even family members who have been good to you? I have.
Now we’re getting into my assumptions, spooje. Those alternative reasons are possible, however, using Occam’s Razor it seems to me, if you’re simply buying a house for a family member to share the wealth, you’d do it where the family member was at the time you bought the house, not having them move halfway across the country to come to their new house. If you’re bringing them back home to the same CITY you live in, there seems to me to be some reason to suspect that it’s because you wish to keep a closer eye on that person. Can you tell me, honestly, you believe that Senator Edwards brought his brother’s family back home just because of goodwill?
Hiding problems from family members, having traffic fines going unpaid, moving fairly often, and repeat DWI’s all are possible indications of a mental illness. When I combined that with the fact that the Senator bought the house for his brother, it seems to me that the simplest explaination was that the Senator recognized his brother had a problem and used his financial resources to try to provide a safety net for his brother’s family. With that conclusion on my part, I find it hard to believe that Senator Edwards is NOT aware his brother has a history of driving problems.
Yup. Of course I’ve already admitted in other posts I have a problem with mental illness, myself. I know many of the patterns of behavior for the sufferer and his family.
As I said in my just previous post, I have no doubts that the Senator didn’t know about the specific infractions dug up by the Daily News. I only object to the implication that the Senator doesn’t know his brother has a history of similar problems, since the history described in that article makes it very likely that the Senator does know, and has been helping his brother for at least the past five years.
You and I can go back and forth about whether your assumptions or mine are correct. We don’t have enough information, either of us, to make a definitive ruling. But, spooje, can you tell me that my conclusions are completely unreasonable given the history?
No, they are not unreasonable. I agree that it’s possible that he did know and lied about it. I just see no reason to assume that is the case, given that his statement is plausible.
Or maybe I just come from a family that’s good at keeping secrets from each other.
Those alternative reasons are possible, however, using Occam’s Razor it seems to me, if you’re simply buying a house for a family member to share the wealth, you’d do it where the family member was at the time you bought the house, not having them move halfway across the country to come to their new house. If you’re bringing them back home to the same CITY you live in, there seems to me to be some reason to suspect that it’s because you wish to keep a closer eye on that person. Can you tell me, honestly, you believe that Senator Edwards brought his brother’s family back home just because of goodwill?