Democracy Corps
April, 2010

Focus Group Report

Friday, April 16th, 2010

Report on Democracy Corps focus groups conducted with independents and weak partisans in Bala Cynwyd Pennsylvania and Denver Colorado.

February, 2010

State of the Union Clip: Voters Applaud Obama’s Call for Bold Action Now

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Voters in our focus groups respond positively to President Obama’s call for bold action now to overcome the challenges that America faces and bring more jobs to the United States.

State of the Union Clip: No Tax Breaks for Companies Shipping Jobs Overseas

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Watch as Democrats and independents in our focus groups hit 99 on the zero to one hundred scale when President Obama promises to end the tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.

State of the Union Clip: Strong Support for Freeing Credit at Community Banks

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

Real time reactions from voters as President Obama outlines his plan to use some of the recovered bailout money from the largest banks to help smaller, community banks so they can start lending to small businesses again.

February, 2010

The Economy Growing at Two Different Speeds

Tuesday, February 2nd, 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.

State of the Union Clip: Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Real time reactions from 50 voters as President Obama speaks about Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in his State of the Union address.

January, 2010

Obama’s Speech Resonates with Swing Voters

Thursday, January 28th, 2010

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.

October, 2009

The Very Separate World of Conservative Republicans

Friday, October 16th, 2009

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.

September, 2009

Obama’s Speech Moves Swing Voters to Support Reform

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

With his speech before Congress and the nation tonight, Barack Obama was effective in cutting through the misinformation and partisan bickering over health care and reaching swing voters, many of whom entered the evening harboring real skepticism about his plan.

February, 2009

Obama Breaks Through Polarization

Wednesday, February 25th, 2009

In his speech to the nation tonight, Barack Obama managed to break through the partisan polarization of Washington and connect directly with American voters across the political spectrum according to dial and focus group research conducted during the speech. His speech inspired confidence in voters of all political stripes in his understanding of the challenges the country faces, as well as his agenda for the future.