Democracy Corps Memo

At an October 7 rally, the president repeated a familiar line:

Have you ever noticed when you drive, you want to go forward, what do you do? You put the car in “D.” If you want to go backwards, you put it in “R.” (Laughter.) That's not a coincidence. (Applause.) That's not a coincidence. Not a coincidence.

James Carville and Stanley Greenberg report on focus group results:

The weakest messages assert we should "go forward, not back." Voters are not moved by Democratic messages that say ‘go forward, not back,’ mention President Bush, com-pare then and now, or even that hint the economy is “showing signs of progress.” No matter how dramatically these messages set out the record of Republican obstruction-ism, their work for the wealthiest and Goldman Sachs, the millions of jobs lost and De-mocrats’ support for jobs, small business and new industries – these messages falter before the Republican attack.

The messages get lower scores and lose voters. After hearing this battle of Republican and Democratic messages, 8 percent shift their vote to support the Republican, while only 5 percent move to the Democrats. We lose ground. These messages are helping the Republicans. [emphasis added]