Political Divide -- Democrats' Risky Strategy: Trumpeting the Wealth Gap; Candidates Blame Republicans For Economic Inequality, Woes of the Middle Class; Tactic Could Alienate Voters
WENTWORTH, N.C. -- Many Democratic politicians, shrugging off lessons of recent political history, see this as the year when the widening gap between the rich and the rest of America will help win them votes.</br></br>As a group of his constituents munched on pot roast and buttered green beans in a school cafeteria here, Rep. Brad Miller -- a two-term Democrat seeking re-election in a district spanning rural, suburban and urban communities -- launched into what he believes is a winning pitch.</br></br>"People who are doing well are doing very well," he said into a handheld microphone, his tie loosened as he walked among the tables. "The rich are doing just fine. But wages aren't budging for the majority of Americans."</br></br>The congressman's words resonate here. Although some voters are prosperous suburbanites, others in this district along the Virginia border have lost textile-mill jobs. They've been forced into lower- paying positions with fewer benefits and scant prospect for raises. Pamela Tucker, a mental-health worker from nearby Reidsville, says she can barely keep up. "Things are worse. The taxes, the price of health care, gas," she says. "People don't have the means."</br></br>Other Democrats -- including Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow in a tough re-election fight and Claire McCaskill in her challenge to Missouri incumbent Republican Sen. Jim Talent -- are sounding similar themes: The U.S. economy is growing, but the poor and especially the middle class aren't benefiting. The rich are. And President George W. Bush and a Republican Congress are to blame, they argue.