[lbo-talk] Americans pissed, sez Greenberg

[Seth Ackerman]

Doug Henwood wrote:

><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>