Who they are:

Priorities Action Fund is a non-profit 501(c)4 organization dedicated to educating the public about the inequities of our current federal budget. We aim to redirect 15% of the Pentagon's discretionary budget away from obsolete Cold War weapons towards education, healthcare, job training, alternative energy development, world hunger, deficit reduction. This 15% cut, or $60 billion dollars, on obsolete weapons systems and the further proliferation of nuclear weapons does not include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and in no way impacts homeland security or our defense. We have the money; let's spend it on sensible priorities!

By eliminating wasteful expenditures, America could make investments that build strong communities for a better future.

Caucus for Priorities is a grassroots project of Priorities Action Fund, working in Iowa to encourage Iowans to sign a pledge that they will attend their caucus and caucus for a candidate who supports the Corporation's budget reprioritization goal.

The message - its about what America's priorites are and what they should be:

We spend more on the Pentagon than the rest of the world combined spends on defense.

Yet:

• Only about two-thirds of children eligible for Head Start can be admitted to the program.

• The United States now ranks 44th in the world in infant mortality, behind all the nations of Western Europe and the industrialized Far East, behind the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia, and behind communist Cuba.

• Although schools throughout the country are eliminating programs in music, foreign language and physical education, federal spending on education has fallen to less than 10% of the proposed 2005 Pentagon outlays.

• Sixty-one million Americans are without health care coverage during some period of any given year; half that number are uninsured for the entire year.  Many of these are children.

• The Bush administration projects that the deficit for 2004 will reach $521 billion; Brookings estimates the total 2005-2009 deficit at 2.3 trillion.

• The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that trust fund programs, including Social Security and Medicare, will be in deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years and the entire federal budget deficit will total $2.75 trillion.

Before you read on, check out the video Edwards sent to the group detailing what his priorities are:

Iowans for Sensible Priorities - A Message from John Edwards

And here's the text. I particularly liked this part:

As president, I will order a top-to-bottom review of military spending. For every dime we spend, every contract, every weapons system, we'll ask these questions: Is it necessary? Does it work? Does it make us safer against today's threats...or is it designed for a threat we faced 20 years ago? And is it in the best interests of American taxpayers? If the answer is no, it will be cut - or outright eliminated.

And just to throw it in for those who like to read here's a few more details from the campaign issues page on cutting military waste, including our contracting system.

Here's a bit from the press release:

"Caucus for Priorities proudly endorses John Edwards for president," said Priorities Action Fund Founder Ben Cohen. "For months, our members have attended his town hall meetings across Iowa and found him to be a leader who listens - and always gives the straight answers Americans deserve from their president. As Commander-in-Chief, he'll do whatever it takes to keep us safe - but he'll also make sure Americans have health care, strong schools, and the opportunity to get ahead. He'll eliminate billions in wasteful Pentagon spending, and put our budget back in line with our values."

Edwards responded in agreement:

"Caucus for Priorities does such important work bringing awareness to the issue of waste in our military budget and the backward budget priorities in Washington that so often leave the interests of regular families behind," Edwards said. "I am honored to accept this endorsement today, and determined to be a voice for all those who believe we can defend our country without continuing to neglect the needs of our citizens.

"The question is: will we continue to give multi-billion dollar contracts to Halliburton and Blackwater while ignoring the 47 million Americans who have no health care coverage, or the 37 million Americans who live in poverty? I believe we need to fundamentally change the broken system and backward priorities of Washington. As president, I'll end the war, stop the waste and abuse, and invest in our most important priorities."

ABC also has a great article up on the endorsement, Edwards Picked Over Obama as 'The Un-Hillary' with a lot of the details.

Why Edwards?

He impressed the group on Oct. 26 when he demonstrated during an Iowa town-hall meeting that he would not back down in the face of Republican attacks. The day before, during an interview with a conservative talk-show host, Giuliani said that Democratic support for lower Pentagon spending showed a lack of concern for what Giuliani calls "the terrorists' war on us."

"Edwards gave an excellent answer," said Huppert. "He said we have to stop buying into their frame which equates spending money on the Pentagon with keeping us safe. He also said we can't have a Democratic candidate who cowers and runs away from this issue."

"For whatever reason," she said, "John Edwards has decided he is going to take this on and he has staked out the position quite convincingly of being the un-Hillary."

Ben Cohen further noted:

"We have lots of friends in this race but only one champion," wrote Ben Cohen, creator of Priorities Action Fund and the founder of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. "Without question, John Edwards is the most committed and best prepared to bring about the kind of real change Washington desperately needs. John Edwards is uniquely qualified to take on Washington lobbyists and defense contractors and break the stranglehold they have on the nation's pocketbook and reins of power."

Why wasn't Senator Clinton chosen? Its painfully simple and to anyone who's watched the debates, its not a real surprise:

Although Clinton filled out the group's detailed policy questionnaire, she was not among the final two candidates under consideration for the endorsement.

"She didn't answer any questions 'yes' or 'no,'" said Huppert. "She has a refusal to commit to anything."

Ouch, no equivocation in that answer. And snubbing them by not getting their questionaire in on time probably didn't help. How about Obama?

The decision to endorse Edwards over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama came down to "courage versus caution," according to the group's executive director.

"There's a rhetoric gap with Obama," executive director Peggy Huppert told ABC News. "He told me personally: 'Trust me. Ideologically, I'm with you.' But people have told him to be afraid of being pushed too far to the left. He doesn't bring up [cuts in Pentagon spending] on his own. He doesn't incorporate it into his speeches. He skirts around it. He talks around the edges. He never gets to the heart of it in strong, bold language."

How will their endorsement help Edwards?
Well in a nutshell, 10,000 people in a 100,000 person caucus is a big deal:

Its endorsement was coveted by the Democratic presidential hopefuls, all of who filled out the group's questionnaire, because it has found 10,000 Iowans who have signed a nonbinding pledge to caucus on behalf of the candidate endorsed by the organization.

and while they can't share their membership list the group or force anyone to vote for Edwards, they will have an impact:

"we hope to shore up support for Edwards and to be a tipping point for people who are still undecided.... the group plans to communicate with its pledgers by phone and possibly by mail about the decision to endorse Edwards."

If you can spare it, why not help them get their message out?

Progressive change on the move
There's a progressive movement to change how things are done in Washington and the first test is in Iowa. Edwards has his priorities straight:

This is our time now. It falls to us to redeem our democracy, reclaim our government and relight the promise of America for our children.

Let us blaze a new path together, grounded in the values from which America was forged, still reaching toward the greatness of our ideals. We can do it. We can cast aside the bankrupt ways of Washington and replace them with the timeless values of the American people. We can liberate our government from the shackles of corporate money that bind it to corporate will, and restore the voices of our people to its halls.

This is the cause of my life. This is the cause of our time. Join me. Together, we cannot fail.

What are your priorities? Won't you join him?