Kerry to Reach Out to ‘People on the Right’

Counting on his liberal base to stick by him, Sen. John F. Kerry plans to aggressively court more conservative voters with a message that emphasizes traditional values of service, faith and family.

Following his pick last week of a running mate with potential appeal to rural communities, the presumed Democratic presidential nominee said he was not content to target the narrow band of swing voters that the two parties were expected to fight over in roughly 20 swing states.

“I’m going to talk to people on the right,” Kerry told The Times on Friday during a joint interview with his vice presidential pick, Sen. John Edwards. “I want to talk to conservatives.”

As for rank-and-file party members, Kerry said his record of strong support for environmental protection, gun control and abortion rights -- all core Democratic issues -- “speaks for itself about my priorities in policy terms.”

Indeed, Kerry seemed unconcerned about antagonizing his liberal supporters.

“I’m a hunter. I’m a gun owner. A lot of people on the left don’t like that, but that’s who I am,” he said.

The Massachusetts senator has already begun his effort to broaden his political reach. During a recent swing through the Midwest, where he tramped around farms and toted a shotgun on a trap-shooting range, Kerry said that he represented “conservative values,” and emphasized his personal opposition to abortion.

Last week, as he and Edwards made their joint debut, they spoke continually of their commitment to helping the middle class, which they said had been harmed by President Bush’s policies.

Kerry’s strategy is not without risks. By wooing moderates and conservatives, he could offend liberals in an election that could hinge on which side best galvanizes its base. And casting his values as conservative, despite his liberal voting record in the Senate, could reinforce Republican criticism that Kerry lacks convictions.

“It’s a frankly stunning assertion, given the fact that John Kerry is the most liberal member of the United States Senate, who picked for his running mate the fourth-most liberal member,” said Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for Bush’s campaign. Schmidt was referring to recent rating of lawmakers by the National Journal, a nonpartisan Washington magazine

Schmidt added: “This is another example of John Kerry proving he will say anything to anyone if he feels it will benefit him politically.”

But Kerry’s unflinching outreach to conservatives reflects another political reality: this year’s steadfast unity among Democrats determined to defeat Bush. That sentiment has created a dynamic that mirrors the one that Bush enjoyed in 2000, when many conservatives were mute as the then-Texas governor positioned himself as a moderate. Bush, however, never laid out his strategy as explicitly as Kerry did in the Times interview.

Kerry may have good reason to be confident in the loyalty of Democratic activists. Last week, abortion rights advocates kept their concerns to themselves when he told a Iowa newspaper that he believed life began at conception.

“Progressives are so angry and scared of George Bush, that if it worked for John Kerry to say, ‘I’m appealing to the Martian vote,’ that would be just fine,” said Eric Hauser, a political consultant for progressive causes.

Los Angeles City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa said he had heard no complaints from liberal constituency groups about the tenor of Kerry’s campaign.

“I represent that wing,” said Villaraigosa, a national co-chairman of Kerry’s campaign. “People recognize that our success in November hinges on our ability to reach out to a broad cross-section of America.”

Kerry seemed certain that liberals would support him, saying that voters who want better wages, protection for the environment and affordable healthcare would realize that “we’re the right ticket.”

In making his case to moderate and conservative voters, Kerry has been buoyed by the presence of Edwards, who was raised in a small Southern town and speaks in the region’s honeyed cadences. The North Carolina senator is “an extraordinary ambassador of the ticket to [rural] communities and can campaign there tirelessly,” said former Edwards advisor David Axelrod, who is now working on the Democratic Party’s advertising campaign.

Edwards was known for his populist message about “the two Americas” during the Democratic primaries, but since Kerry tapped him as his running mate Tuesday, the campaign had sought to highlight his photogenic family and rural roots. On Wednesday, the two made their first joint appearance outside the Pennsylvania estate of Kerry’s wife, flanked by their spouses and seven of their families’ children, ages 4 to 34.

A GOP media strategist who watched the event on a television with the sound off was struck by the ticket’s “very wholesome” image. “If America wants to turn the page, it’s a pretty attractive page to turn to,” the strategist said on condition of anonymity.

A poll by Newsweek magazine released Saturday indicated Edwards had given Kerry a boost nationwide. The survey, conducted Thursday and Friday, found the Kerry-Edwards ticket leading Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, 51% to 45%. A Newsweek poll in mid-May had Kerry ahead by 1 percentage point, 46% to 45%.

The new poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

In a three-way race with independent candidate Ralph Nader and his running mate, Peter Camejo, the new survey showed the Kerry-Edwards ticket backed by 47%, Bush-Cheney by 44%.

Kerry appears to have gained confidence from his selection of Edwards, especially after the new ticket was greeted by large, raucous crowds during a multistate tour last week. Although the two senators were never close on Capitol Hill, they have acted like old friends while campaigning, slapping each other on the back and frequently embracing on stage. Behind the scenes, they have huddled over speeches and tossed around a football.

“I think we help and energize and strengthen each other,” Edwards said in the interview.

During their 20-minute interview with The Times, as they flew on their campaign plane from West Virginia to Albuquerque, they sat side-by-side behind a small table, often jumping in to finish each other’s thoughts. Both had their shirt sleeves rolled up -- a style Kerry has adopted since Edwards came aboard.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment,” Kerry said, his stocking feet propped up on the table as he picked at a vegetable plate. “I’ve been looking forward to having someone to share the road with.”

Edwards said they both agreed that if they won in November, they wanted to emulate the relationship between President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, who had specific areas of responsibility as vice president.

“I expect this to be -- already has been -- a strong and evolving relationship,” Edwards said.

Touching his chest with his fist, he added: “The truth is, we trust each other at the deepest level.”

Still, when Edwards expressed hope moments later that they would campaign together frequently, Kerry interrupted.

“I want him to campaign a lot separately,” he said. “That’s the purpose of having a running mate -- you cover more states.”

The presidential hopeful said he planned to dispatch his running mate all over the country. But he said he thought Edwards would be a particular asset in rural areas. “There’s no question that people will more instantaneously, absolutely relate to one of their own,” Kerry said.

Democratic centrists, who expressed alarm about former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean during the party’s presidential primaries, are thrilled with the approach of the new ticket.

“This campaign is building on Clintonism,” Al From, head of the Democratic Leadership Council, said approvingly.

But while Kerry and Edwards stick diligently to talk of values, their appeal to conservatives could be upended by some of their most ardent supporters. During a star-studded fundraiser both candidates attended in New York on Thursday night, some entertainers made inflammatory remarks, denouncing the president as a thug and a killer.

Kerry, who praised the entertainers that night for not “playing it safe,” said Friday that some of the performers “went over the line.”

“I don’t agree with some of the phraseology or the words used, but I respect the anger and the frustration that a lot of people in the country feel,” he said, adding: “We’re running a positive campaign. That’s not our language.”