In the latest depressing demonstration of how many in the nation have lost faith in the economy a remarkable 70 percent of middle class voters do not believe that the next generation will do as good as they have, moving the American Dream out of reach for millions.
A comprehensive poll on the middle class done for the moderate Republican Ripon Society, found that so many are so depressed that it’s going to take candidates far more than an Obama-styled call for “hope and change” to stir them at the voting booths.
“Clearly, simple sloganeering like ‘Hope and Change’ is not going to meet the smell test with voters this political season. The current political environment has voters thinking the federal government is an ineffective mess that is causing more harm than good. However, they still want this government to be doing more, more that works, and works for them,” said the memo from pollsters Ed Goeas and Brian Nienaber of the Tarrance Group.
Middle class voters are key to the election, said Goeas, because most Americans either are, or think they are members of the group.
The Ripon Society publishes the Ripon Forum.
They have always made up the bulk of those who believe in the American Dream of owning a car and home and being well-employed. But Goeas, in presenting his results to Ripon members and Hill staffers Thursday, said the dream is shattered, maybe forever.
“The American Dream is getting further, further, further from our reach,” he told the group.
In his memo, Goeas mentioned the fading American Dream five times, but the conclusion was that middle class voters are worried that the economy has put it out of reach for their kids who will be stuck with the bill of inefficient government and social welfare.
“The middle class also has deeply held feelings that the next generation will not do as well as their generation (70 percent), moving the American Dream further from their reach. Seventy-five percent believe that with the current federal government solutions, the rich get the benefits, the poor get the programs, and the middle class get the bill,” said the memo.
“In other words, the American electorate truly questions whether the American Dream, a better life for our children and grandchildren, is still within reach,” he added.
Goeas said that concern gives Republicans an opening in the upcoming election, especially among voters who don’t like President Obama and feel the nation is headed in the wrong direction. He and Nienaber wrote:
#tbt – “The GOP has been most successful when it has taken on the cause of the oppressed” – https://t.co/bq2w4zZtVv pic.twitter.com/ScIaSjzIVz
— The Ripon Society (@RiponSociety) January 21, 2016
“For the middle class in this election, the frustration runs deeper, as will the measurement they use in deciding where to cast their vote. They feel the country is, and has been, moving in the wrong direction. They are extremely negative about the current president and his policies, but are equally cynical about the ability of the federal government to effectively implement solutions that work, and truly question whether those solutions are aimed at making their lives better. To top it off, those solutions may be moving the American Dream further and further from their reach. There is a path for Republicans in the upcoming election, but it is not as simple as a few choice issue positions or creative slogans. It is about painting a full picture of where we want to take this country to build a better future, and more specifically build a stronger economic future for the middle class.”
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
