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Wisconsin
delegates to the Democratic convention seem as enthusiastic about
John Kerry's running mate as they are about the candidate himself.
 Dairy
State Democrats and political observers say Senator John Edwards'
effort to promote the cause of the working class during his own
run for the party's nomination has built a strong following in
the state. His optimistic, but populist theme of breaking down
the wall between what he calls the "two Americas," one
for the wealthy and well-connected and another for the poor and
politically disenfranchised, makes him a strong addition to the
Kerry ticket.
Don
Kettl, a former University of Wisconsin political scientist, says
Edwards' strong showing in the Democratic primary is evidence
he has struck a chord with voters.
"John
Edwards was coming on incredibly strong at the end of the Wisconsin
primary and given another couple days he might very well have
won it and frustrated Kerry's effort at that point to put a punctuation
mark at the end of his campaign," Kettl said. "That
speech he gave about the two Americans resonated incredibly well."
The
speech won the support of people like steel worker Keith Wilhelm,
Wisconsin's AFL-CIO representative at the convention.
"To
tell you the truth in the primary I was an Edwards supporter,"
Wilhelm said. "He had the right message for me -- jobs and
the two Americas."
And
Wilhelm was not alone. According to a February poll of Wisconsin
Democratic primary voters, Edwards rated better than Kerry on
the issue of jobs and the economy, garnering the support of 47
percent of voters, compared with 37 percent for Kerry.
Democrats
hope that the Kerry campaign will use Edwards and his message
to great effect in Wisconsin and other swing states affected by
sluggish job markets and slow economic growth. The campaign dispatched
Edwards to Milwaukee the week before the convention where he delivered
a version of his now well-worn stump speech about the struggle
of working people to make ends meet.
"We
say no forever to any American working full-time and living in
poverty," Edwards told a crowd of supporters at a rally in
Milwaukee.
The
Kerry campaign also seems to have completely embraced the Edwards'
"two Americas" theme. Campaign aides and advisers have
adopted the phrase when talking about Kerry's economic plan. The
Democratic nominee has also melded the idea with his own job and
trade themes, like labeling companies that outsource jobs to overseas
seas labor markets "Benedict Arnolds."
And state party activists in Boston say they are pleased with
the new unified message. Wilhelm simultaneously praised Edwards
for his vow to help working Americans hold on to jobs and find
affordable healthcare and Kerry for vowing to reform U.S. trade
policy in order to keep more jobs at home.
Jason
Rae, a 17-year old Democratic National Committee member from Wisconsin,
said that both men will seek to help ordinary Americans, something
he believes the Bush campaign won't do.
 "I
don't think current administration is reaching out the average
American -- the middle class -- they're more focused on the richest
one percent," Rae said Monday. "And I think Kerry is
going to -- with Edwards on the ticket -- reach out to the lower
and middle class and do whatever they need to do to help the average
American instead of just the richest."
President
Bush's campaign has responded to the potential Kerry/Edwards theme
by labeling the "two Americas" idea as "class warfare"
and the Democratic ticket as far-left and outside the mainstream
of American values.
Republican
Party of Wisconsin Chairman Rick Graber points out that the Democrats'
economy and jobs theme may be neutralized by the fact that the
economy is rebounding in Wisconsin, which Graber says is due to
president's tax cuts.
"John
Kerry is ignoring the fact the economy in Wisconsin is improving,"
Graber said. "What we're seeing is the president's policy
of tax cuts is putting money in the hands of small businesses."
But
it is how the Kerry/Edwards economic message plays among the narrow
8 - 10 percent of Dairy State voters who have not made up their
mind that will likely decide the winner of this state's 10 electoral
votes.
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By Jason Manning, Online NewsHour
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