New Analysis From Lake Research Partners Shows 2008 Could Be Watershed Election

Rising Anxiety Over the Loss Of The American Dream Shaping Views and Potential Voting Behaviors of Swing Voters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, December 11, 2007

CONTACT:
Greg Denier
Noreen Nielsen
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rising anxiety over the loss of the American Dream for future generations is shaping the views and potential voting behaviors of swing voters that could make 2008 a watershed election, according to a new memo released today by Change to Win. The analysis, conducted by Lake Research Partners found that the cornerstones of the American Dream – a good job with wages that can support a family, affordable health care, the opportunity for the next generation to succeed, and a secure and dignified retirement -- are weighing heavily in determining the votes of swing voters and could produce a dramatic change in the 2008 election that has not been seen since 1980.

The majority of swing voters see the American Dream as being harder to achieve today than in the past. Only 16 percent thinking the next generation will be better off and 48 percent thinking the next generation will be worse off. An overwhelming majority of voters – nearly 60 percent -- feel that the economy has gotten pretty seriously off on the wrong track. And over 90 percent of swing voters would like to see a change from the policies of the past seven years. Yet many do not believe that their concerns are being addressed or that any of the candidates have a plan to restore the American Dream.

“Overwhelmingly, Americans believe that the American Dream is in jeopardy,” said Lake Research Partners president Celinda Lake on a news conference call with reporters. “There is a potential for a broad base change due to a dramatic paradigm shift toward the basic set of values anchored in the fundamentals of the American Dream, a good job, affordable health care and retirement security. The candidate that succeeds in offering leadership on the American Dream agenda has the potential to not only win the support of these swing voters, but could make 2008 a watershed election.”

Comprising nearly one-third of the electorate, swing voters are younger, whiter and slightly more male than the voting population as a whole, and have not committed to a party or candidate. Over 80 percent think government has a responsibility to restore the American Dream and help people who work hard to achieve it – signifying a dramatic shift in public attitudes from the prevailing sentiment expressed by Ronald Reagan in 1980, which was that “government is not the solution, government is the problem.”

More than two-thirds of swing voters choose economic security as more important to them than economic opportunity which has brought an increase in demand for government action and union support.

“Voters recognize the critical role of unions in helping workers achieve the American Dream in the 21st century,” said Change to Win chair Anna Burger. “They want positive government action on health care, pensions and corporate accountability and they see unions as a powerful mean to living wages, affordable health care, opportunity, and a decent retirement. This election will determine the chance working families have to achieve the American Dream.”

The shift toward economic security is largely a result of swing voters seeing greedy corporate behavior as the greatest threat to the American Dream. Swing voters strongly believe that corporations and CEOs have more influence than working people, do not share the profits with workers, that multinational corporations use their power to drive down wages, and that government has not done enough to rein in greedy and unethical corporate conduct. Further, unions are enjoying growing support among swing voters and are seen as a means to achieving the American Dream.

Change to Win has been conducting survey and focus group research on the impact of the American Dream for the past two years. The research has found that the American Dream is the universal expression of the hopes and aspirations of Americans – regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, or immigration status. The American Dream is a value system that is centered on respect for and recognition of work with wages that can support a family, affordable health care, a secure retirement and opportunity for a better future.

** Note: An electronic copy of the 2008 Swing Voters and the American Dream Memo, and other supplemental materials are available at: www.changetowin.org/americandream. **