Elizabeth Edwards Has A Neighbor That Lives In The Other America
She has never met `rabid Republican,’ but wouldn’t be nice if she did meet him. Her neighbor, Monty Johnson, lives on the property across the street from this house that the Edwards just built:
The home that Johnson lives in has been in his family since before the depression in the 1920’s. Now I can’t see Johnsons house, but according to the Elizabeth, Johnson is a “rabid, rabid Republican” who refuses to clean up his “slummy” property just to spite her family, whose lavish 28,000-square-foot estate is nearby on 102 wooded acres.
Johnson, 55, acknowledges his Republican roots. But he takes offense to the suggestion he has purposefully left his property, including an old garage he leases for use as a car shop, in dilapidated condition.
Johnson said he has lived his entire life on the property, which he said his family purchased before the Great Depression. He said he’s spent a lot of money to try and fix up the 42-acre tract.
“I have to budget. I have to live within my means,” Johnson said. “I don’t have millions of dollars to fix the place.”
Johnson, who has posted a “Go Rudy Giuliani 2008″ sign on a fence just 100 feet from the entrance to the Edwards’ driveway, has criticized Edwards for the scale of their nearby home. The property and home, which includes an indoor basketball court, an indoor handball court and an indoor pool, is valued at $5.3 million.
From the comments at Hot Air:
Funny how her husband wants to appease radical muslims, and radical countries that want to destroy us, but won’t get to know his neighbor because he is a republican:a rabid, rabid republican.
Others blogging:
April 9, 2007 - 09:48 AM on April 9th, 2007
Send in the Secret Service
April 9, 2007 - 10:15 AM on April 9th, 2007
Elizabeth Edwards Vs. “Rabid, Rabid Republican”
Are these real people? Talk about two Americas (emphasis mine):Elizabeth Edwards says she is scared of the rabid, rabid Republican who owns property across the street from her Orange County home — and she doesn’t want her kids going near
April 9, 2007 - 10:44 AM on April 9th, 2007
Nothing more divisive in a Presidential campaign than to advertise Two Americas especially when the candidate can boast he lives in the upper class of America. Anything that would cost a hard working, middle class American more money is a good thing to these spoiled people.
April 9, 2007 - 10:54 AM on April 9th, 2007
I think it’s particularly telling when you read this article that the Edwards have passed judgement on someone they haven’t even bothered to meet yet. Gee, that does sound like a liberal. Close your mind, close your heart, make them eat dirt. uh huh.
April 9, 2007 - 03:18 PM on April 9th, 2007
Well Johnson can just go beome a lawyer and start suing folks. Then when he’s rich, he’ll have plenty of money to clear cut trees and make his property into another Taj Mahal. Then he can start looking down his nose at real people who work for a living. After all, he’ll be a member of “Upper” America.
April 9, 2007 - 09:47 PM on April 9th, 2007
My how prejudiced Liz Edwards is. My how tolerant she is. When are the Democrat hypocrites going to hold their own to the standards they hold everyone else to??
April 9, 2007 - 10:58 PM on April 9th, 2007
Um, she doesn’t care for her neighbor and doesn’t want her kids around him because of the gun(s) he apparently confronted a road survey workers with one.
When she said this:
“…when he doesn’t like somebody, the first thing he does is pull a gun out. It scares the business out of me.”
That frames her others comments from what her mindset is.
BTW, this guy isn’t living in the ‘Other America’. Edwards paid $1,316,500 for his 102 acres of land next door, so Johnson has land equity of over 1/2 million for his 42 acres, not including any structures on the land.
April 10, 2007 - 02:22 AM on April 10th, 2007
Equity doesn’t translate into cash until you sell.
April 10, 2007 - 07:16 AM on April 10th, 2007
Thanks Robert for pointing that out. This guy inherited the land and therefore doesn’t have anything but the value. Good for him too that with land prices such that they are he could get ahead if he so chose. As for Ms. Edwards I don’t give a crap about a gun scaring the business out of her. She MADE NO EFFORT TO BE NEIGHBORLY. That’s the bottom line. Logic dictates that the man would be in jail if he actually shot everyone who came to his door.
April 10, 2007 - 07:50 AM on April 10th, 2007
The ever tolerant Tofu esposes his personal stupidity and prejudices once again.
According to Tofu, you have no rights if you are rich and you scare a Democrat.
Mrs. Edwards had better get her priorities together. She has enough on her hands with her cancer than to be the old battleaxe next door.
April 10, 2007 - 07:57 AM on April 10th, 2007
6- And here I thought it was the left that was screaming we had to talk to our enemies. I thought dialogue brought peace.
The Edwards, they’ll sell out the country to Islamic militants but won’t stand up to the nutroots or to a Republican
April 10, 2007 - 08:51 AM on April 10th, 2007
8-BonBon, I couldn’t believe that Tofu left a gap that wide in his argument.
10-Excellent point! Dialogue and “diplomacy” are apparently only valuable in politics, even if it means selling out the country. That’s just one more reason why I call them “Democrites“.
April 10, 2007 - 09:13 AM on April 10th, 2007
The value of his land is not determined by that of the Edwards either…yes, the home that the Edwards built adds value to the neighborhood, but one can’t compare the 2 properties because we have no idea what one property has that the other hasn’t…
April 10, 2007 - 09:26 AM on April 10th, 2007
12. Water:razz: Maybe the Edwards property doesn’t have water and that’s their hangup.lmao.
Good points but I might add one thing to that. If the Edwards came in and built this huge property it might have added value to the others in the neighborhood but ultimately it could raise the property taxes as well. Maybe this guy was a little pissed off at that. So you see the Edwards could have actually done more harm than good.
April 10, 2007 - 10:00 AM on April 10th, 2007
Where was the National Resources Defense Council, the Sierra Club, etc. when Edwards clear cut that large area of the forest to build his mansion? Were any endangered species threatened? Were any sensitive ecosystems disrupted? Any riparian habitat compromised? What about the loss of forest?
Oh…I forgot…he’s a Democrite…Never mind…
April 11, 2007 - 10:46 PM on April 11th, 2007
7- The land is equity and calculates into his net worth. He can tap that equity at any time by selling all or part, or even taking out a loan if he doesn’t wish to sell. What’s the median net worth of an American in their 50s? I think Mr. Johnson is doing well above par.
8- BB, I had an uncle, now deceased, who kept guns in his house. He would host picnics for family reunions every so often and there were always 2 family members who would not come with their children because of the guns. There is nothing complicated about a mother being fearful of someone who confronts strangers while toting a gun.
April 12, 2007 - 12:11 AM on April 12th, 2007
You’re right San Fran, there is nothing complicated about a woman being fearful of her children around someone with firearms. It’s really quite simple. She’s ignorant about guns and that ignorance is fueling her fears.
Were you aware that the NRA provides either free of charge or at very low cost firearms safety training to youth groups under the Eddie Eagle program? It teaches children to not touch firearms without an adult present, immediately leave the vicinity of an unattended firearm, and to immediately inform the nearest adult about the firearm. The NRA also provides a number of other training programs for Men, Women and children to insure that firearms are handled safely and that future generations can continue to enjoy the assorted shooting sports, many of which are actually Olympic events. Events that we have been continually slipping in our rankings in for the past few decades. Events that have become nearly dominated by the Swiss who have state sponsored shooting competitions for participants as young as 5 years old. BTW Switzerland has virtually no crime, and few if any accidental shootings.
The best way to prevent kids from having accidents is to train them to be safe, not try and prevent them from coming into contact with an unknown object. I say unknown versus unsafe because most firearms sold in this country are inherently safe when handled properly. While you may be able to prevent them from coming into contact with it 99% of the time, wouldn’t it be better to insure that they will have the knowledge on how to be safe that 1% when you fail? It only takes one accident to ruin someone’s life. You wouldn’t hand them the keys to the car without teaching them how to drive first would you?
April 12, 2007 - 07:46 AM on April 12th, 2007
Twisted Tofu,
It is your attitude about people having money that you can take for what you consider better purposes that pisses people off at you. It does not matter what the guy’s land is worth. He is not selling. Maybe you can liken it money in the bank, but even so, it is not liquid assets to be spread about.
You are quite hypocriticals in not saying that the Edwards’ land be sold or sold in part and their money redistributed to “needy-greedy” Democrats like yourself.