Jake Tapper from ABC has a round-up on the latest flap here. The New York Times story on this is here.
A few moments ago, Edwards called into the Radio Iowa newsroom and I asked Edwards about the "internal email that seems to suggest that there is some coordination going on between your campaign and SEIU."
JRE: "Well, I’m proud to have the support of unions. The SEIU support, and the carpenters union and the steelworkers, I mean, they’re supporting me because they know I stand with organized labor, and I’m proud to have their support. There are some things that when a union supports you you can work with them on and some things that you can’t, and we have been absolutely in complete compliance with the law, both the letter and the spirit of the law. The things that we are not allowed to interact with them on we have not in any way and the things that we are permitted to we have."
Henderson:: "Your campaign has suggested I believe in response to the New York Times story that there have been false and misleading statements made about this email. What are the false and misleading statements?"
JRE: "What I know is we drew an absolute line on what the law requires and we have met and totally complied with the law in working with the unions on what’s permissible, and in the area of 527s and ads where we have no coordination with them whatsoever, uh, we have not. And I just have to add, I know Senator Obama has spoken about this, that I’m the only candidate in this race who’s never taken a dime from a Washington lobbyist or a special interest PAC, which separates me from Senator Obama, and I think I have walked this walk my entire life and my entire time in public life, and I’m proud of the fact that unions are supporting me."
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
That’s the right response. Edwards should be proud of his union support. The memo in question was an internal SEIU memo, I wish Obama would quit attacking the SEIU.