Misplaced Patriot

The Republicans have already started to attack John Edwards for being a trial lawyer. It seems to me that there is a very easy answer to this attack: trial lawyers are the people's lawyers. Insurance companies have lots of lawyers. Trial lawyers are necessary because corporations and individuals do not take responsibility for themselves. That failure of responsibility has corroded even the Catholic Church. Without trial lawyers, there is no way to hold the powerful responsible. It is telling that the tort reform lobby regularly peddles urban legends, rather than real cases. Real cases of abuse by trial lawyers are very rare. Absurd cases where the plaintiff wins are even rarer.