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How Democrats Can Win the Economic Debate by Making Small Business the Center of Their Agenda
Our latest national survey for Democracy Corps revealed that Democrats trail Republicans on the economy by 3 points. This is up slightly from a month ago -- but down significantly from the 16-point lead Democrats held around this time last year. There are many reasons for this decline --including growing concerns about spending. But one key factor is the perception that Democratic policies are not geared to help small businesses -- and actually stand in the way of small businesses’ ability to drive our economy forward. The House’s passage late last week of a bill to increase lending to small businesses may be the first step in changing these perceptions. But more is needed. Small businesses are among America’s most popular entities -- particularly among independent voters. In a survey we conducted in April of independent voters independent voters in six battleground House districts, 88 percent gave small businesses a favorable rating against just 2 percent who rated them unfavorably. This 44-to-1 favorable to unfavorable ratio is the highest we have ever seen in our polling on any topic. Indeed, voters view small businesses as a symbol of what makes this country great: everyday Americans succeeding via hard work, ingenuity and entrepreneurship. We have seen in our focus groups and surveys for over a year now that voters view small business - not government -- as the main engine of economic growth and job creation. Moreover, several of our recent surveys have shown that opinions about Democrats’ affect on small businesses are a significant driver of the congressional vote. Yet many voters now believe that the Democratic government’s economic policies have done too little to assist them. A recent Pew survey found that 69 percent of voters think that small businesses get less attention from the federal government than they should. Even more important, there is an emerging sense among voters that Democrats are wedded to an economic philosophy that views government as the best entity to create jobs. A growing number of voters not only disagree with this philosophy, they actively believe it hinders small businesses’ success. Tellingly, in almost every survey we have fielded recently, voters have preferred the traditionally Republican economic viewpoint that the best way to create jobs is to cut spending and taxes so that “businesses can prosper and the private sector can start creating jobs,” to the traditionally Democratic view that the best way to create jobs is to invest and develop new industries. Our recent national survey found voters siding with the Republican view by a 52 percent to 42 percent margin. Independents agreed by more than two-to-one - 63 percent to 29 percent. Not surprisingly then, another recent survey we did for Democracy Corps found that Republicans led Democrats by a 48 percent to 38 percent on which party would do a better job “helping small businesses succeed.” Among independents, that gap widens to 29 points. But Republicans don’t have the edge because they are seen as caring about small businesses. Voters still strongly perceive the Republican Party as the party of big corporations, the wealthy and Wall Street. Indeed, in a recent Fox News survey, nearly two-thirds of voters said the Republicans are the party that is closer to big business and Wall Street. Rather, Democrats trail because their commitment to helping small businesses succeed is not coming through in a clear, sharp fashion. In fact, small businesses are a natural fit for the Democratic economic frame. The party has a long record of looking out for the middle class and regular people, while taking on powerful corporate interests. With the right approach, our polling has found that Democrats can effectively incorporate support for small businesses into their overall economic message. In our survey of independents from swing districts, the more Republican job-creation view described above won by seven points. But when framed in a different way, a Democratic message that government can “lay a foundation” to help entrepreneurs and small businesses create jobs beats the Republican message of cutting taxes and easing regulations by six points. Moreover, in the same survey, 72 percent of independents said a Democratic message centered on the need to “spur innovation and create jobs” by helping entrepreneurs and small businesses with access to credit and reduced taxes and red tape was a convincing reason to support the Democratic incumbent, ranking it at the top of seven economic messages tested. Based on our results, we believe that Democrats can build a winning economic message with a sequenced, three-pronged approach. First, connect with voters on job creation through a strong small business lens. Second, reassure voters on fiscal accountability and reform. Third, build a core choice for voters to consider in November. Here is how:
With this three-part message, Democrats can effectively counter the strong Republican message that cutting spending and taxes is the best way to improve the economy. Al Quinlan is president of Greenberg, Quinlan Rosner Research. Drew Lieberman and Andrew Baumann are both senior associates at Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research. This article originally appeared on Politico.com on June 22, 2010. |
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