><http://www.democracycorps.com/reports/analyses/
>Democracy_Corps_October_30_2007_Memo.pdf>
>
>RE: FINDING THEIR VOICE AS THE AGENTS OF CHANGE
>
>The state of the country and the Democrats on[e] year before 2008
>election
>
>
>
It's hard to square David Brooks' line with this stuff:
<quote>
In the focus groups, we handed people a page of positive facts about
the economy – and
we nearly had to rescue the moderator from the disbelieving and
angry participants. In fact,
before this exercise, we asked people to write down two important
things happening with the
economy and none of the 40 participants said anything positive, with
their negative notations
centered on the high “cost of living.” It is hard to underestimate
the power of a Democratic
message that simply recognizes the economic realities that are very
real for these voters. Indeed,
the very invisibility of their issues is for them evidence that this
economy works for the big
economic actors, not for average Americans: “this applies to a
bigger business and the wealthy”;
“it’s about big business, not the little guy”; “CEOs at the top of
corporations worrying more
about themselves instead of their companies”; “yes, thank you”; “It
is not for the average
family”; “this is probably true but not for us.”
...
These swing voters – about half non-college and half college
graduates – nearly attacked
the moderator because many are on the edge: “Over half of Americans
are what? Two paydays
away from living on the street”; “absolutely”; “that’s me.” Nobody
except the super-rich has
seen salary increases in years; not if you are in a “straight
regular job”; “people don’t make any
raises,” and if you are lucky, your spouse gets 2 percent in some
years. Some are working 2nd
and 3rd jobs because they “can’t make ends meet”; “I’ve never known
so many people to have
two jobs or more than I have lately.” Still, “they are cutting back
on everything.” They are
struggling to fill up the gas tank twice a week; and they fear a
visit to the hospital will wipe them
out. They are watching their own companies, even the large ones,
reduce and freeze hiring.
They talk about Wal-Mart almost wistfully – not with resentment or
anger – as a place
where a lot of people losing out on good jobs “have to put food on
the table. They have to pay
the electric bill.” And one woman interrupted the moderator trying
to move on, “I hope I don’t
get to the point where I’m that desperate where I have to go work at
Wal-Mart.”
<quote>