Edwards not afraid to get his hands dirty

By J. Patrick Coolican (contact)

Thursday, April 13, 2006 | 7:12 a.m.

A couple of miners stood outside the Riviera, smoking cigarettes and lamenting that John Edwards isn't president, although they said they'll work for him if he runs in 2008.

"He's a common man like you and me," said Kenny Lively, who had just seen the 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee speak at the United Mine Workers of America convention going on this week. "He don't feel like he's above everybody."

Edwards, who now runs an anti-poverty center at the University of North Carolina, had just won numerous standing ovations from the miners - mostly white, working-class men from coal-rich states such as Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

The listeners were the kind Democrats have lost in recent elections, but Edwards captivated them with a fiery populism in remarks Tuesday that framed economic issues such as poverty, health care and labor rights in stark moral terms, a way of talking usually chided by Republicans as "class warfare."

"I don't know about you, but I've been worried about whether Exxon is making enough money," he said sarcastically, talking about subsidies for the oil industry. "At the same time we're taking away health care from children. It's immoral, and we should be screaming from the rooftops."

It was a different kind of Democratic rhetoric, once standard-issue, but now rare, as Democrats have chased after suburban and exurban voters and toned down their Robin Hood rhetoric.

Many Democrats think that trend has been a terrible mistake, allowing Republicans to make big inroads with working-class whites. Republicans, the argument runs, use social issues such as abortion and gay rights to create a wedge between Democrats and those voters, who had supported Democrats for decades because of their liberal economics.

That's specifically the thesis behind the influential 2004 book, "What's the Matter With Kansas?" in which author Thomas Frank marvels at relatively poor people voting for Republicans, who go on to cut taxes for the wealthy.

Jeff Blum, who runs USAction, a liberal group in Washington, said he has been thrilled by Edwards' rhetoric, for both its substance and moral tone.

"When were Democrats successful? The New Deal. The Great Society. The civil rights movement. Hopefully one party is going to talk about how every American should be part of this country, whether it's a new immigrant or a senior who wants to retire with dignity and a young kid who wants to do better than his parents.

"And for 35 years, Democrats have failed to talk the agenda of opportunity, prosperity and justice for every American."

To wit: Edwards called the minimum wage a "national embarrassment." On the notion that poor people are lazy: "It's a lie. And I know it's a lie, because I've seen it."

He used the same skills, if different words, to persuade juries when he was a trial lawyer winning millions of dollars for his clients in lawsuits against hospitals and corporations.

No doubt, Edwards is methodically building an organization for a 2008 presidential run. He said in an interview that he hasn't decided whether to run, and that much will depend on wife Elizabeth's health. She's a breast cancer survivor.

Nevertheless, he said he travels 10 or 11 days out of every 14. Last weekend he was in Iowa, which holds an early caucus. He recently helped put on a symposium on Russia for the Council on Foreign Relations. These are all indicators of a run at the presidency.

Edwards is an early contender, said Cary Covington, a professor or political science at the University of Iowa and an expert on presidential campaigns. Edwards finished second in the Iowa caucus in 2004, and Democrats and Republicans agree about his rhetorical gifts.

During his 2004 run, however, Edwards remained relatively free of attacks because of his underdog status, which in turn allowed him to run a positive campaign that won over voters, Covington said. That won't happen if he runs in 2008, and how he responds will largely determine his fate, Covington added. Look for attacks on his experience, as he served just one term in the Senate and has never been a governor.

His likely Democratic opponents include Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner.

Edwards' speech to the mine workers made clear that he hopes to distinguish himself from the other two with his economic populism and belief that poverty is a moral issue.

The Democratic Party should reject political posturing and risk-averse centrism, Edwards said, which could be seen as an implicit attack on his challengers. "How about we show some backbone and guts and stand up for working people?" he said to thunderous applause.

That language shows that Edwards is swiftly aligning himself with the party's grass roots and so-called netroots, the Internet activists who believe the party's Beltway establishment - with the exception of Howard Dean - too often shrinks from a fight.

The fact that he's out of office and out of Washington could help Edwards win over these activists, who include people such as Markos Moulitsas Zuniga, founder of a huge and influential liberal blog called DailyKos.

For their part, Republicans will be ready to attack the eventual Democratic nominee, as evidenced by a press release that Nevada Republicans sent out to coincide with the Edwards visit: "It's telling that Nevada Democrats are hosting a trial lawyer who advocates increasing taxes and bigger government."