FEATURED CONTENT | | February 2, 2010
Voter reaction to the president’s economic discussion in the State of the Union shows that Democrats have a lot to learn about their economic narrative in the coming year. Voters responded very positively to the president’s turn to jobs as priority number one for the next year, but they responded differently to politicians talking about progress and success. With the economy growing at its fastest pace in six years and wages growing at their slowest in the past quarter-century, there is a growing gap that makes the communication about the economy harder, not easier.
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With President Obama set to deliver his State of the Union address tonight, new surveys conducted for Democracy Corps and the Center for American Progress and National Public Radio as well as Democracy Corps focus group reveal a political mood that very well may be the low-point for Democrats this cycle. With more than six-in-ten voters saying that things in this country are off on the wrong track the anti-Washington sentiment is swiftly turning anti-Democratic. Though a difficult time this research does point to several key actions Democrats can take to ensure that the midterm elections occur in an environment more favorable to Democrats.
With unemployment now above 10 percent and still rising, a new survey by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and Democracy Corps reveals a country more pessimistic than at any point since the earliest days of the Obama presidency. An increasing number of voters think the country is on the wrong track, and after months of slow but steady improvement, pessimism on the economy is again on the rise. Voters’ frustration with the economy, bailouts for elites, bonuses and spending, and the seeming partisan gridlock is fueling an increasingly anti-incumbent mood that is impacting everyone in Washington. But as the party in power, Democrats are suffering disproportionately.
With GDP growth having finally returned, but unemployment still rising slowly toward 10 percent, the economy is at a sensitive juncture as an issue for the 2010 elections. Almost half of voters in the 60 most competitive Democratic and Republican congressional districts now rate their personal finances positively and half believe the economic recovery plan passed by Congress and signed by the president will have a positive impact. Yet, only 16 percent have a positive view of the current economy and only a third think the economy is “starting” to improve. Independents are particularly pessimistic on economic issues, with important consequences for the midterm elections.
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Voter reaction to the president’s economic discussion in the State of the Union shows that Democrats have a lot to learn about their economic narrative in the coming year. Voters responded very positively to the president’s turn to jobs as priority number one for the next year, but they responded differently to politicians talking about progress and success. With the economy growing at its fastest pace in six years and wages growing at their slowest in the past quarter-century, there is a growing gap that makes the communication about the economy harder, not easier.
In his first State of the Union address tonight, Barack Obama demonstrated a clear understanding of the problems facing the country and outlined a path forward that swing voters want to see their members of Congress follow. Especially in his understanding of the economic challenges we face, his aggressive stance on financial reform and bringing accountability to Wall Street, and his commitment to fighting for solutions to the country’s problems, the president dispelled many doubts that had clouded attitudes toward him and rallied swing voters to his agenda for change. The challenge remains whether he can convince a visibly recalcitrant and divided Congress to act.
The self-identifying conservative Republicans who make up the base of the Republican Party stand a world apart from the rest of America, according to focus groups conducted by Democracy Corps. These base Republican voters dislike Barack Obama to be sure – which is not very surprising as base Democrats had few positive things to say about George Bush – but these voters identify themselves as part of a ‘mocked’ minority with a set of shared beliefs and knowledge, and commitment to oppose Obama that sets them apart from the majority in the country.
Click here to see Democracy Corps Senior Adviser Karl Agne discussing the report on MSNBC Morning Meeting on October 19.
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