PBS' "TO THE CONTRARY"
HOST:
BONNIE ERBE
GUESTS:
ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D-DC)
KELLYANNE CONWAY
PATRICIA SOSA
LESLIE SANCHEZ
SUNDAY, AUGUST 1, 2004
PLEASE CREDIT ANY QUOTES OR EXCERPTS FROM THIS PBS PROGRAM TO
"PBS' TO THE CONTRARY."
TRANSCRIPT BY: FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE
1919 M STREET NORTHWEST
WASHINGTON, DC 20036
FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE IS A PRIVATE FIRM AND IS NOT AFFILIATED
WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
COPYRIGHT 2004 BY FEDERAL NEWS SERVICE, INC., WASHINGTON, DC,
20036, USA. NO PORTION OF THIS TRANSCRIPT MAY BE COPIED, SOLD, OR
RETRANSMITTED WITHOUT THE WRITTEN AUTHORITY OF FEDERAL NEWS
SERVICE, INC.
TO RECEIVE STATE, WHITE HOUSE, DEFENSE, BACKGROUND AND OTHER
BRIEFINGS AND SPEECHES BY WIRE SOON AFTER THEY END, PLEASE CALL
CORTES RANDELL AT 202-347-1400.
COPYRIGHT IS NOT CLAIMED AS TO ANY PART OF THE ORIGINAL WORK
PREPARED BY A UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OFFICER OR EMPLOYEE AS
A PART OF THAT PERSON'S OFFICIAL DUTIES.
------------------------.STX
MS. ERBE: Now that the Democrats have wrapped up their Bean Town Bonanza
and are taking their message to the heartland, will single women respond?
DELEGATE NORTON: Teresa helped solidify our lead with single women.
Kerry's strength will help bring married women home, too.
MS. CONWAY: With so much talk of war, wives, and family values, the
Democrats offer little to unmarried women that would engage them to vote.
MS. SOSA: Reporting for duty, reporting for duty to work on issues that women
care education, healthcare, Iraq, the Democratic Party made a strong case for women to
follow.
MS. SANCHEZ: Kerry and the Democrats spent four days showing the cake but
not the calories. Now it's time for the truth.
(Musical break.)
MS. ERBE: Hello, I'm Bonnie Erbe. Welcome to To The Contrary, a discussion
of news and social trends from a variety of women's perspectives. This week prominent
female Democrats hit the campaign trail for the Kerry-Edwards presidential ticket. Then,
the Republican response. To The Contrary takes a closer look at how the Republican
Party is working to attract women voters. But, first, the Democrats move forward.
A united Democratic Party led by John Kerry and John Edwards is delivering its
message nationwide following the conclusion of the Democratic Convention in Boston.
Also, fanning out to the battleground states are the 42 Democratic women of the U.S.
House of Representatives. Their mission, to convince women particularly, and single
women, to come out and vote for John Kerry.
REP. MILLENDER McDONALD: It's women, 22 million, who did not vote in
the last election. We're coming after them. We have 18 to 30 year olds who are joining
us on the campaign trail. What we're trying to convey here is that women have power
now like never before in this historic election to put the president of the United States in,
and so with that we will be heading for those battleground states to make sure we make a
difference.
MS. ERBE: And what will they tell women about the Kerry-Edwards ticket?
REP. JACKSON LEE: Their record shows they're sensitive to childcare and
Social Security, small businesses. Now we have to convince those women who have
more than enough to do keeping their daily lives in order, being widows, being divorcees,
or being single parents, that a vote for this ticket, but a vote for themselves, is really
going to make a better life for them and their children.
SEN. LANDRIEU: Well, it's the right ticket for all of Americans, but particularly
for women who care about security. I mean, not just security aboard, but security at
home, and economic security. He was a great prosecutor from Massachusetts. He
prosecuted domestic violence cases. He prosecuted child abuse cases. I mean, he
understands where the rubber hits the road in terms of having law enforcement protect
everyone, and be there for everyone, including women and children.
MS. ERBE: All week, women took to the podium with special salutes to the
women Senators and U.S. House Members. Women's rights groups sponsored back-toback rallies, fundraisers, and strategy sessions with the goal of defeating President Bush
in November. Their message: W may stand for war or wealth, but not for women.
FORMER GOV. RICHARDS: This Bush administration, this Ashcroft
administration has slammed the door on women's forward movement in this country.
And I think the women know it, I think they understand it.
SEN. FEINSTEIN: I think the values of John Kerry are much closer to women. I
think that will make a huge difference, whether it's assault weapons or nuclear weapons,
whether it's fiscal stability or fiscal irresponsibility, whether it's working to keep jobs in
the country or letting them be outsourced, these are issues that women care about very
deeply.
GOV. GRANHOLM: I think it's pocketbook issues. There are 43 million
Americans without healthcare. Often these are single women. The most growth rate in
jobs has been in waitresses, janitorial, temp services, and we've lost all these high-paying
jobs. They know very well that sometimes they've had to work two jobs to make ends
meet for the single job that they lost.
MS. ERBE: The five female Democratic Governors are united in their push for a
president that they see as friendly to their issues.
GOV. NAPOLITANO: Where I sit as a governor, we're dealing every day with
balancing a budget, paying for education, paying for childcare, we're trying to find ways
to invest in our future. I think we'll find a better team and a better partner in Washington
with Kerry and Edwards in the White House.
GOV. BLANCO: So many women are hampered by the lack of health insurance,
and education opportunities, and I think those two issues should ring very strongly with
single women. Job opportunities are critical, and we've seen such a strong downturn in
the last few years, and there's no special emphasis in helping women in any direction
coming from the federal government.
GOV. MINNER: We've seen some changes in Washington that's frightening,
reduced funding for education, and a lot of other things. Kerry-Edwards will put that
money back and make sure that not only our children get a good education, but that they
protect our environment, they make sure there are good jobs there waiting for those
children when they get out of school.
MS. ERBE: And one important weapon in the Democrats' arsenal to target the
women's vote is Senator John Kerry's wife Teresa Heinz Kerry. But recent polls show
she is not as well known as First Lady Laura Bush, nor is she as well liked by the
American public. A Washington Post-ABC News poll found Heinz Kerry's favorable
ratings, 27 percent; and unfavorable ratings at 26 percent; with 47 percent having no
opinion. First Lady Laura Bush has a 66 percent favorable rating. Heinz Kerry has been
both praised and criticized for speaking her mind.
MS. HEINZ KERRY (From video): And my only hope is that one day soon
women who have all earned the right to their opinions instead of being called opinionated
will be called smart and well-informed, just like men.
REP. WATSON: She is unique. She is authentic. She is her own person. She
has her own opinions. I found her to be very substantive.
REP. SOLIS: She came out to my district and spoke to our children in East Los
Angeles and stole their hearts, and she stole mine a long time ago just because of her
work for so many years on environment, and on healthcare.
REP. DeGETTE: Both Teresa and Elizabeth Edwards are enormous positives
because women will see them as real women, not just as adjuncts to their husbands.
REP. HERSETH: Teresa Heinz Kerry as well as Elizabeth Edwards are going to
do a great job of appealing to women voters of all ages. I think that she's a tremendous
asset given her life experience, her world perspectives.
MS. ERBE: I noticed, Congressman Norton, at this convention it seemed like the
Democrats, I must say, were more on message than I've seen them in a long time or
possibly ever seen them, including when I would ask the question of several members of
Congress, Teresa Heinz Kerry is she a draw for women voters, they would say Elizabeth
and Teresa. Responding not to the question that I asked, but to something that obviously
people had talked about and decided was a theme. So, are the Democrats more on
message this time, and how is that going to work with women voters?
DELEGATE NORTON: Well, I'm off message when you have to put Elizabeth
with Teresa in order to have Teresa's appeal, because I think she has tremendous appeal,
albeit perhaps to some women more than others. For that matter, Laura Bush, you know,
will have more appeal to homemakers than to single women. I mean, that's the way the
world is. The message, though, from this ticket is, look, we've got both of these are
women of substance. Edwards' wife was a lawyer. People admire the fact that she went
back home, had two children after she lost a son. Teresa Heinz has essentially run a
mammoth foundation. She will appeal to younger women, to single women looking for a
very different kind of role model. And it is certainly true that Elizabeth Edwards is more
likely to have a more Laura Bush appeal. I don't see that we're anything but ahead of the
game to have them both.
MS. CONWAY: It's nearly impossible to find one thing that Teresa Heinz Kerry
has in common with the average American. She's a woman who was born in
Mozambique, not Missoula, Montana; she hangs out at the Waldorf, not Wal-Mart. I
mean, this is not a woman whose days look like the average woman's. I don't think
anybody can deny that. And it is quite remarkable that the Democratic Party has -MS. ERBE: But, in fairness, Kellyanne, I mean, you can say exactly the same
about Laura Bush, and for that matter Barbara Bush.
MS. CONWAY: They weren't raised that way.
MS. ERBE: Growing up wealthy.
MS. CONWAY: Laura Welsh was not raised wealthy.
MS. ERBE: Not Bush level wealthy, but certainly not a Wal-Mart woman either.
MS. CONWAY: In any event, I think there's a reason that the polls show that the
First Lady has a 66 percent approval rating. That would include men and women, that
includes homemakers and women who work out of the home, that includes single,
unmarried, divorced, widowed women. That includes just about everyone who likes this
person and look at her as an asset because she has a very public role, but she has private
viewpoints. Teresa Heinz Kerry mentioned her husband twice, ladies, twice, and for her
to use her time in any way other than to speak about the man that we all would like to
know more about to be our elected official I thought was a real shame, because she
mentioned him twice, but she's talking about how she hopes women will be liberated to
express their opinions. This show is 13 years old for a reason, women have been
liberated to express their opinions for quite a while.
MS. SOSA: Kellyanne, I think the Democratic base, she was appealing really to
the base, obviously to the swing voters, too, but to the base, she appealed tremendously.
And when we talk about comparing Teresa Heinz Kerry with Laura Bush in terms of
approval, I mean, Laura Bush is the First Lady, of course more people are going to know
about Laura and are going to have an opinion about Laura Bush.
MS. CONWAY: But here's the thing, they like her.
MS. ERBE: Here's the question I have asked over and over again, certainly when
Hillary Clinton was First Lady, do Americans want an independent first lady, or do they
want a traditional, I would say, Ozzie and Harriet, 1950s style full-time homemaker first
lady?
MS. SOSA: Bonnie, let me tell you this. I think it's so funny when they compare
Teresa, and they say, oh, Teresa, she has the negatives that Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary
Clinton had. Well, they were first ladies of consequence, and women of consequence. I
want to be on that list. Barbara Bush, very nice, Laura, very nice, but are they women of
consequence the way Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Clinton are? I don't think so.
MS. SANCHEZ: The biggest issue, I think we know women don't want a copresidency. I think we saw that with Hillary Clinton. We were reminded by the failed
Hillary care, her universal health plan, trying to get the government which has the
compassion of the IRS to run people's healthcare system. I think we saw repeats of that,
by the way, in the tones of Kerry talking about healthcare, and the Democratic proposal
for helping families that want low cost, low hassle healthcare. But, in talking about that,
when you look at somebody like Laura Bush who has such a strong record on education,
who appeals to an average mom, I think very much what Kellyanne was saying, that is
something that people identify with. And that's what the issue is, it's not a -MS. ERBE: So, will this convention help? The Republican's goal is to get
evangelical voters to the polls, Karl Rove has said as much. The Democrats goal is to get
women, particularly single women. Will this convention help or hurt in that regard?
MS. SANCHEZ: I think it's a great bump for them to go out and talk about
women, and appeal to women, but in reality when they take that basket of goods to
middle class, swing women voters, there is nothing there to sell on the Democrat -DELEGATE NORTON: A single woman who looks at Teresa Heinz and sees
that this unorthodox first lady is drawn to know more about her, and to feel connected to
her in a way she won't feel connected to some mom first lady who isn't like her at all.
MS. CONWAY: Unless she writes them a check, Eleanor, she's going to have no
connection to those women. And, by the way, aren't you all concerned that two years ago
she was a Republican?
MS. ERBE: We are a nation of idol worshipers. Do single women voters have a
whole lot in common with Britney Spears or Madonna?
MS. CONWAY: No.
MS. ERBE: And yet they worship them.
MS. CONWAY: I think they're way too busy just making ends meet and worried
about a lot of different things. And let's be clear who single women are these days.
We've done a ton of research on this. Single women today are not just girls who are 21
or 22, and they're not just people who are destitute. These are women who are single by
choice, not through circumstances. Someone didn't leave them behind. They're saying,
you know what, I may defer or I may deny altogether marriage and motherhood. These
are women, in some cases, making six figure salaries, buying their own homes, putting
investments in portfolios, and so there's a lot that the Republican Party can do to reach
out to them. I think they're up for grabs in many ways.
But I want to say this about Elizabeth Edwards, she in my view is clearly the
greatest asset the Democratic Party has in reaching the largest swath of women. There is
so much about her that is real and accessible, not just her story and her background, but
her here and now presence just seems so honorable, and so understatedly dignified. I
would stick her out there as far as the eye can see, and as far as she'd go for the
Democratic Party. She's got the greatest connection, I think, with the Democrats.
MS. SOSA: Bonnie, going back to the position of the Democratic Party in terms
of the women's vote. We know the polls. You look at the polls, women leaning
Democrat. Swing voters, particularly female swing voters, you know, it's a tie, but
they're really not feeling very strongly about Bush, so they're up for grabs. And then we
have all these wonderful elected officials who are Democratic, many more than
Republicans, both in the Senate and in the House and the governors, and they're going to
get out there and they're going to campaign. They're going to appeal to the base, and
they're going to get people out there.
MS. SANCHEZ: But what are they selling? That's the issue, what are they
selling?
MS. SOSA: A wonderful program on healthcare, job creation, restoring the
integrity of the United States in the world. People take those things very seriously.
MS. SANCHEZ: Well, let's talk about -DELEGATE NORTON: What's the product of George W. Bush for Women?
Name the product.
MS. ERBE: Let's talk about, in the next segment, because we're got to move on.
Behind the headlines, the president's campaign slogan, W is for Women in 2000 earned
him an unprecedented 43 percent of the women's vote. To The Contrary asked Ann
Wagner of the Republican National Committee what the president has been doing to woo
even more women in 2004.
MS. WAGNER: So, we think we've come a long way, baby, in terms of the
gender gap, so to speak, and it's because of this president, truly. Women trust him.
They're appreciative of the policies that he's put forward, whether it's issues of safety and
security, and protecting them in this war on terror; whether it's healthcare or education,
childcare tax credits, an end to the marriage penalty.
MS. ERBE: Republican National Committee initiatives such as Winning Women
have been instrumental in gaining women's support for President Bush. Winning Women
has several components, including grassroots media training for women, voter
registration, and education. Winning Women also sports a Web site with updates on
GOP women-oriented initiatives, and legislative issues the group says women care about.
MS. WAGNER: Women are talking about the war, they're talking about the war
on terror, they're talking about safety and security, they're talking about jobs. And the
growth that they've seen in things like their children's educational savings accounts,
things of this nature are issues that are very important.
MS. ERBE: Still, some claim President Bush's decision to go into Iraq has hurt
his standing among women voters who are more traditionally anti-war. Wagner
disagrees.
MS. WAGNER: I think it's something that we have to be continually vigilant
about in reminding men and women about what's at stake here, remembering September
11, remembering that it's important that we fight this war in Baghdad and Kandahar, not
in the streets of Boston or Baldwin, Missouri, where I live, how important it is to the
safety and security of our families, and our future. This president has shown great
resolve, great leadership, and courage in that very, very tough and difficult issue.
MS. ERBE: President Bush also disagrees with liberal women's groups in his
openly pro life/anti-abortion stance. Wagner says this is a non-starter.
MS. WAGNER: I honestly don't see that in the top ten key issues that women
care deeply about, that affect their lives on a daily basis. Those who feel passionately
about it feel passionately about it. Our president has stated his position, and what's
wonderful about a man like George W. Bush is he doesn't waffle. He's not all over on
multiple sides of the issue as a John Kerry is, for instance.
MS. ERBE: Winning Women also sponsors leadership training for Republican
women in political office, and for those aspiring to run.
MS. WAGNER: If you look at the women in our administration, cabinet and
senior staff level, whether it's domestic affairs, foreign affairs, cabinet level posts, there is
a large, large number of women who are represented. Women make up 52 percent of the
electorate out there, and it is time that we begin to make up a larger percentage of those
elected officials out there.
MS. ERBE: So, Kellyanne, how is the Republican effort doing in terms of
women and particularly single women voters?
MS. CONWAY: It's a very earnest effort. You interviewed co-chairman
Wagner, and also running out of the campaign is W Stands for Women which is headed
up by Kathy Gillespie, and they are doing many things that perhaps are overt that you
may have seen, but they are doing many more things that are behind the scenes in the
grassroots where it counts. For example, we were all asked, all of us involved with the
effort, to identify women across the country in swing states and otherwise, in all the
states, frankly, who might be interested or might be disengaged from the process
altogether, and to encourage them to host coffee klatches, or come and spend two hours
on a Saturday morning learning a little bit more about the issues. That's the way, in my
view, you still win a campaign, because we live in a top down media driven society, but
it's should be a bottom-up kind of party, grassroots effort, at the base. And I'll say this
about the president, many women have converted a whole panoply of issues into this
larger theme of security. And in all of the polls, particularly the attributes testing, not
approval ratings, which are flimsy compared to attributes, this president is still seen as
decisive, trustworthy, honest, and with a good vision particularly in the war on terror
which is broader, and involves women more at home than the war in Iraq.
DELEGATE NORTON: You know, Bonnie, what the Republicans are trying to
do with women is exactly what they're trying to do with Blacks and Hispanics, bite into
what is essentially our base. It's smart. If you can at least drive down the numbers that
come out for us, you're ahead of the game. What I do admire, I must tell you, about what
the Republicans are doing is what you just discussed, this grassroots approach. They
have on the ground a very professional operation.
MS. ERBE: And do you all?
DELEGATE NORTON: They got it from us, this is our playbook, and they've
taken it, poured money into it, and poured organization into it. I want you to know, we
are saying to the Democratic Party, to the Kerry people, you'd better watch, they've stolen
our funder, and you'd better get on the ground at least as much as they're on the ground.
For us, it's much more difficult, because we've got to do more than invite people to come
someplace. We've got to go GO TV, we've got to go into people's homes, into people's
neighborhoods, take cabs, take vans, and bring them out. Their base, even their
grassroots base, is a little better off, and the approach they're using is going to be very
effective. Democrats be forewarned.
MS. ERBE: Two things I want to ask you about. There was a very interesting
front page piece in the Wall Street Journal about the top 20 percent, the top fifth of
voters, wealth-wise contributing more and more to the Democrats. And this is a trend,
Mondale got like 28 percent, contributions came from 28 percent, up until Gore,
obviously they don't have data yet and they won't until after the elections, but Gore got
like 44 percent up from 41 percent of Clinton's. And in Boston, you could see the
Democratic money was everywhere. So, even among wealthier white women who were
the only segment of women who went for the president last time, are the Democrats
making headway?
MS. SANCHEZ: I think you're talking about -- I mean, who are you talking
about, in the Northeast, you mean, more affluent women, just because the cost of living, a
variety of different reasons that I think you see that in the Northeast. And I would say to
there, I don't think that speaks necessarily to the Midwest, or some of the Southwest areas
that we're talking about. But it's interesting to see, there's challenges on both sides,
Republican and Democrat. I think we do agree women are looking at, in their own
personal interest, economic issues, and how that directly affects them. And when the
Democrats go out there to talk about a message for John Kerry, which John Kerry are
they going to be promoting? Are they going to be talking about one that believes in
intelligence gathering, making sure we have a strong intelligence community, or the one
that cut $7-1/2 billion while he was on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Are they
going to talk about one that believes in and wraps himself in the flag and patriotism, or
the one that didn't believe in sending the troops the $87 billion for body armor and
healthcare benefits, and things that they were going to need. And we can go down,
education, healthcare, all those things. It's a difficult task.
MS. SOSA: Good point, but let me switch the conversation a little bit. And one
of the comments that have come out of the Democratic Convention is how united the
party was. And let me tell you, that translates beyond the convention. Actually there are
grassroots efforts, sort of exactly what the Congresswoman is talking about, to really be
effective in the base, getting voters out, because in 2002, the Republicans did a better job.
I mean, Cleland is an example of that. We lost Georgia because we couldn't deliver the
base in Georgia. And he should not have lost that election. We're not going to let that
happen anymore. And the reality is, we are ahead in the polls.
The negatives of Bush, the reason why he has approval rates in the 40s is because
women do not like Bush. They're just not supporting him.
MS. CONWAY: That's a very interesting polling analysis. Let me just explain
something about the polls. It's actually not even productive for either party right now, or
either campaign, to look at national polls. If you look at the statewide polls, particularly
in the 18 swing states, that's where you find the richness of the data. I'm not sure that
smart pollsters are even doing national polls anymore.
MS. ERBE: But, let me, according to Rasmussen's Web site this very week, if
you did the battleground states, the state by state, and added up the electoral college,
Kerry won.
MS. CONWAY: Right. My point is only that we're talking about national
approval ratings, and we confuse causation with coincidence, it must mean women don't
like Bush. That's not what the question asked, it's not what the demographics say.
You've got to look at these statewide polls, because that's where it comes down to. The
electoral college is tough, but I will say this, when John Kerry stands up last night and
says, I'm for a middle tax cuts, those of us who can get past our giddiness and our
laughter, that is meant to appeal to a lot of these women. However, he's voted to increase
taxes dozens and dozens of times at billions and billions of dollars. It's going to be very
difficult when he doesn't have a one-way megaphone with America's women to defend
those records.
DELEGATE NORTON: And that's what they're depending upon. They're
depending upon the negative campaigning to overcome what the strength you saw in
Kerry's speech at the convention.
MS. ERBE: And hold your thought until we come back from credits. That's it for
this edition of To The Contrary. Next week, recruiting women for careers in business.
Whether or your views are in agreement or to the contrary, please join us next time. And
we want to hear from you, write to us at ToTheContrary@PBS.org, or visit our PBS
Online Web site at PBS.org, and listen to my reports on work life issues on NPR's
Morning Edition.
(End of program.)