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Mobile Technology & Politics
 If you like politics and technology, then I've just got chocolate in your peanut butter. The liberal New Politics Institute has just released a very cool study on the use of "mobile" technology. ( You can download their PDF here.) This is not just some techie-babble stuff that will never be used in real campaigns. It's coming to your city -- especially to the younger voters in your city. The world is changing. For example, pretty soon, old-fashioned polling won't work the same way (because nobody will have a "home phone"). Think about it; you probably use your mobile to store pictures, email, and to talk. Some people already use them for GPS, music, surfing the internet, and videos, too. Trust me, it's coming to a campaign near you ...
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Proof: Insincerity Doesn't Sell ...
According to a new poll, Democrats are actually losing ground with religious voters. Or, as this quote from Slate demonstrates, you can't be a religious poseur: "One cringe-inducing "Praise Jeeeeezus!" from Howard Dean spoils the quiet faith of Democrats ..."
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Unforgettable
Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind. Rudyard Kipling
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Lexicon of Politics: Day 59
 Washington read n. skimming a book index for one's own name in order to read about oneself, esp. when done wiht no intention of reading the entire book or of buying it. 1991 Boston Globe (June 24): Former Kevin White deputy mayor Micho Spring pleased not guilty the other day to doing a "Washington read" of the new book, Boston Politics: The Creativity of Power, that is making the rounds among political insiders. Spring swore she did not simply go to the index of Boston Politics to find her own name, the way everyone does in Washington when a new political book comes out. oxford dictionary of american political slangSpeaking of reading...make sure you consult this list for conservative books, and this list for leadership books.
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MYGOP vs. Party Builder
The DNC has launched Party Builder, an online social organizing and fundraising tool. Of course, the GOP already has MyGOP.com. According to Hotline's "On Call" blog: In the simplest of political theories, each party's tool is reflective of their respectivie philosophies. Talk about competitive market: RNC users compete to get points, dollars and yes, the elusive "official" GOP ipod. With what is most like an intentional emphasis on competition, MyGOP users how much money they've raised (up to $200), voters they've and volunteers they've recruited. The DNC's Party Builder is all about building and communicating within a community.
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Reason 101 to be Fastidious ...
From the Cleveland Plain Dealer blog ... The pace of politics is hectic, which can lead to mistakes, which can really get you dowm. Ooops, make that "down." The National Republican Senatorial Committee just did, after learning from a Plain Dealer reporter that there was a typo in the NRSC's new attack ad on Sherrod Brown. The 30-second commercial, blasting Brown on taxes, has an announcer saying, "Sherrod Brown let us down." And those words come on the screen. But when repeated a second time, "down" was misspelled as "dowm."The firm responsible, National Media, has quickly fixed it, says NRSC spokesman Dan Ronayne. "The new, corrected version is already on the air."
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Unforgettable
The enemy is so much better at communicating.Defense Sec. Donald Rumsfeld, on terrorists who "manipulate" the media, AP, 8/30 
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What about reply devices?
Question: Matt,
What is the effectiveness, in raising funds, for a mass mailing that contains an enclosed envelope for contributions?
What percentage of envelopes are returned?
My guess is one on one request is worth the extra personal time of the candidate. And personal request makes the majority of the funds received.
I honestly do not know yet since this is my first campaign.
Best Regards,
James Answer:James, I would always include a reply envelope. The real debate is over whether or not to use a stamped reply envelope. My advice is to include a stamped envelope when you are mailing your house file (people who have already donated to YOU in the past). Even the best mailings average around a 3 percent response rate - but including a self-addressed reply envelope will increase your response. Hope that helps! Matt
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Failure to Concede Can Backfire
It seems to me that once an election is over, it is impossible to change the outcome. But that doesn't seem to deter candidates from trying ...In Nevada, anti-tax Assemblywoman Sharron Angle is threatening to challenge the results of her narrow defeat in a Republican Congressional Primary. According to news reports, her goal is to get a revote (in fairness, there were reportedly plenty of irregularities). The AP quotes Angle as saying: "Out of respect for the will of the people and their right to vote, I am obligated to contest the outcome of this election and request a special election." But is she? Donors and supporters put their time, sweat, and tears into a political campaign, so a candidate owes it to them to campaign hard. But the problem is that elections are almost never overthrown, and "re-votes" almost never happen. Unfortunately, what does happen, is that the candidate who contests an election often comes out looking like a sore loser. That's what I'm afraid of ... In 1994, Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ellen Sauerbrey contested her bitter, narrow defeat until three days before her opponent was inaugurated. Do I believe the election was stolen from her? Yes. But did contesting the election help? Well, according to a Washington Post poll, many voters held it against her when she ran again in '98: "One-third of likely voters polled by The Washington Post recently said they thought Sauerbrey did not conduct herself well in the 1994 election, and even some of her supporters say her failure to concede earlier represented a lapse that has burdened this year's campaign." Of course, Sen. John Thune (R-SD) is the other example. In 2002, he lost a close election to Sen. Tim Johnson ( there were many improprieties). Thune didn't challenge the results, and went on to defeat Sen. Tom Daschle, just two years later (reputation intact). The problem is that elections are rarely retroactively overthrown. If voter fraud (or an irregularity) happens, the only way to stop it is to catch it while it is happening. You must immediately have your lawyer file an injunction -- go before a judge -- and have the authorities take over the administration of the election. But, as Washington State gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi (who clearly had an election stolen from him) found out, once an election is over ... it's over. I have no reason to doubt Angle's assertions -- that irregularities did occur. But I would rather see her live to fight another day, than go down tilting at windmills. Please note: I am not challenging the right to concede an election, but based on history, I am merely challenging the political wisdom of doing so. My worry is that by challenging the election results -- especially in a Primary -- Angle may be setting herself up to be labeled a sore loser, man.
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Lexicon of Politics: Day 58
barnstormer n. Orig. Theat. one who tours small rural towns to give performances; ( hence) a politician making a rapid tour delivering campaign speeches, typically in rural areas. Now S.E. 1990 Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minn.) (June 1) 1B: [Krushchev] proved to be a very good politician, the barnstormer type. Many people said then that if he had run for governor of Iowa, he could have been elected easily. He had that common touch. oxford dictionary of american political slang
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When in Doubt ... Get it Out!
There is a maxim in politics that if something bad is going to be said about you, anyway -- it's best if you "break" the story, yourself. The logic behind it is: 1. You get to frame the story in a way that favors you. 2. You can pick a friendly reporter to break the story to. 3. You earn some points with the public for "coming clean." As The Fix reports, the new trend (if this works), may be to come clean via your campaign blog ...
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Unforgettable
A good leader can't get too far ahead of his followers. FDR
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Lexicon of Politics: Day 57
 WM^2 n. [acronym for white, married, working mothers] White, married, working mothers, regarded as a desireable class of vote. Also WMX2, WM squared, WMWM. 2000 Orlando Sentinel (Fla.) (Oct. 20) G3: Women like me -- the "WM2" audience of white, working , married mothers -- are guess what, undecided.
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Unforgettable
The intelligent conservative combines a disposition to preserve with an ability to reform. Russell Kirk, The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Conservatism
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Lexicon of Politics: Day 56
twinkie adj. appealing but lacking substance. 1991 (AP) (June 17): Democratic presidential hopeful Paul Tsongas told the nation's mayors on Monday that leaders of his own party are advocating "Twinkie economics" by appealing to popular tastes without offering substance. 
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Three PR Lessons From Katrina
With the one-year anniversary of Katrina approaching, I thought it would be instructive to analyze how the disaster might have been handled better (from a PR perspective). First, a coupe of quick notes ... ... My purpose is not to criticize President Bush, but rather, for us to learn from the past. ... What follows are observations about the political implications of dealing with disaster. 1. Get in Front: In the immediate aftermath of Katrina, President Bush flew over New Orleans on Air Force One, but did not stop. This was a mistake. Great leaders understand the importance of getting in front. General George Patton constantly told his officers to "get in front." As depicted in the movie, Patton, he once summoned an officer to the map and said, "Cross the river at this point." The colonel responded: "We have no idea how deep the river is at that spot, so we'll probably have to build a bridge." Patton restated: "We will cross the river at the place where I made the mark, every tank and every man on foot will make it across. I am certain that the banks are solid. The river is wide, but shallow." The colonel asked, "How can you be so sure?" General Patton replied, "Take a look at my pants! That's how shallow the water is. I walked across the entire river without drawing any enemy fire." The point is that, in times of crisis, leaders must demonstrate the courage of putting themselves on the front-lines. Had President Bush simply gone to New Orleans immediately, that single act might have silenced many of his critics. He should have ignored his advisors and gone to the site. He should have waded in the rubble; he should have gotten dirty; he should have walked into the most impoverished areas and stood in the middle of a crowd and said "fellow Americans, we're in this together." 2. A Leader Must SHOW He Cares: Believe it or not, when rapper Kanye West famously said, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people," he actually reflected the perception of 72 percent of blacks (according to a Gallup poll). Although his statement certainly wasn't true, in politics, perception is reality. Throughout history, we've seen examples of leaders scoring political points by merely demonstrating they "care." We've also seen plenty of good leaders hurt politically, simply because they did not show that they care. FDR didn't "end" the Great Depression, but at a time when Americans needed hope, he provided hope. His predecessor, Herbert Hoover was a very good man, but he allowed the perception that he was out-of-touch to take hold. Today, most Americans have a distortedly negative view of him. Bill Clinton was a master at empathy. When he said, "I feel your pain," he may have been pandering, but he won over many undecided voters. In his terrific book, "A Whole New Mind," author Dan Pink says empathy is one of the six senses that will be vital for future leaders to possess. As the saying goes, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." 3. Avoid Negative Momentum: Leadership author John Maxwell says momentum is one of the most powerful forces in the world. To illustrate, he says that a moving train could easily smash through a brick wall, yet a small concrete block could keep a stopped train from ever getting started. This concept is also true in sports. When a football team starts losing momentum, the coach calls a time-out. In the real world, political leaders can't call a time-out, so the best thing to do is to avoid negative momentum, in the first place. Famed football coach Vince Lombardi said, "Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing." He was right. And the same principle works in politics; once negative momentum takes hold (as was the case with Katrina); it takes a long time to turn it around). In our modern media age, it's hard to change momentum. As was the case with Katrina, once the media decides what the storyline is, it's almost impossible to change it. Had President Bush gone to New Orleans immediately -- and expressed emotion -- he would have had momentum on his side. By hesitating, he was always fighting an uphill battle. ... Hopefully, you won't ever have to experience a tragedy like Katrina. But it's important to note that even local political leaders often have to confront disaster situations. If you're a public servant, the odds are that you may one day have to face some sort of disaster.
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Camp for Boring Politicians?
I've mentioned this before, but it was in Sunday's Post, so I thought I would mention it, again: Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) has started campaign training camps ... The camps trained 50 activists who have since been dispatched to help on local, state and federal campaigns. The distribution of these staffers -- 25 to Iowa, 15 to New Hampshire, six to Indiana, three to Nevada and one to South Carolina -- give Bayh eyes and ears in the four early presidential primary and caucus proving grounds, as well as in his home state. From a mechanics perspective, no candidate on the Democratic side has done a better job than Bayh. But as past campaigns have shown (Remember former Texas senator Phil Gramm's collapse in the early stages of the 1996 GOP nomination fight?), process without personality is meaningless.
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... And the News
Our conservative friends, John Gizzi, Chuck Muth, and Richard Viguerie, are all quoted in this FOX NEWS article about presidential hopefuls ...
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Unforgettable
I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life. Miles Davis
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Know Thy Enemy File ...
Starting Monday, the liberal New Organizating Institute will host their August 2006 Internet Campaign Training: The Internet gurus from the Lamont, Kerry, Dean, Clark, and Edwards campaigns as well as MoveOn, the DNC, AFL-CIO, and top fundraising and direct marketing consultants will show you how to conduct a successful email fundraising campaign, organize volunteers online, outreach to bloggers, coordinate your field and online work, and make smart choices about political technology.
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Lexicon of Politics: Day 55
panda-hugger n. specialist in American-Chinese relations said to be too accommodating to Chinese perspectives. 2000 Political Transcripts (June 21): The China field...members don't like to disagree with each other in public. We like to all pretend like we all pretty much think the same way...This really cheats outsiders from a rigorous debate where people would say, "You're a panda hugger," and somebody else would say, "Well, you're a McCarthyite." oxford dictionary of american political slang 
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... And the News
 Spouses play key role in election campaigns"Wives have played important roles in their husbands' political careers dating back to the early days of the Republic. But their importance in a campaign-related context has ratcheted up significantly as attention on politics across the board has increased itself in the 24/7 cable and Internet news era."
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Campaign Casting Continues for McCain
Now that's a lot of alliteration. In a similarly repititious manner, John McCain is stacking his campaign cast like nobody's business... This from Mike Allen over at TIME: "Former Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick is planning to join the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain next year, overseeing development of domestic and foreign policy, Republican officials tell TIME. Zoellick, who will be working in New York and around the world for Goldman Sachs starting Sept. 11, told TIME that McCain contacted him as he was leaving the State Department this summer, and said he is delighted to advise the prospective campaign. "I have great respect for John McCain's character, sense of honor and record and have worked with him on a host of foreign policy and economic issues, and think he would make a great President who would fit the times and challenges," Zoellick said... ...It's a big get," the GOP official said. Zoellick was Deputy Secretary of State under Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from February 2005 until July. In September, he joins Goldman Sachs as a managing director and vice chairman. He left government after he was not selected to succeed John Snow as Treasury Secretary. During the administration of President George H.W. Bush, Zoellick was Under Secretary of State for Economic and Agricultural Affairs and later White House Deputy Chief of Staff, and he held several Treasury Department positions under Reagan..."
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The "Perfect Storm" for Gaffes
 From Gerald Ford's assertion that Poland wasn't under the domination of the Soviet Union -- to Jesse Jackson's "hymies" reference -- to Howard Dean's "I have a scream" speech -- political gaffes have always been around.But the recent round of gaffes seem different to me. It seems we've entered a new generation of gaffes. So what accounts for the change? I think we've entered a "perfect storm." Here are three big possibilities: 1. New Media: This isn't an original concept, but it is important to note that we now have three cable news networks -- and the internet. We've got to feed the beast. Things that would have been previously ignored are now considered news. Things that would have been barely mentioned in the past, are now major news stories ... 2. Technology: The internet, digital cameras, blogs, and now, YouTube, have conspired to make it easy -- and affordable -- to catch (and promote) gaffes. Venues that were once thought to be "safe" are now more public. Politicians will have to adjust to this. 3. Culture Gap: There is a growing gap between the consumers of news and the news-makers. For people under 35, surfing the net has replaced the coffee (or smoke) break at work. Emailing and surfing websites is a regular part of most people's regular work day. Politicians, who may have never had a desk job like this (or, if they did, it was before the internet), don't really grasp the audience. In addition, they don't get the viral effect or "stickiness" of the internet, such as when a joke or video gets forwarded to thousands of friends. Sure, they understand it intellectually, but they don't "get it." Additionally, there may be an age gap. Whether you consider the new standards appropriate -- or merely political correctness run amok -- it's fair to say that the standards of appropriate discourse have evolved. When you consider that most politicians are older, it makes sense that there would be a sensitivity lag. There you have it. Sure, there are other reasons (some more sinister). But these are the three new things that have combined to create a new world of gaffes.
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Lexicon of Politics: Day 54
xerocracy n. any underground populist movement which spreads its message by photocopies. 2000 Sierra (Sept.-Oct.): Avoiding both confrontation and conventional PR, they publicize largely through "xerocracy" with individuals passing out their own plyers, applying whatever spin they want.
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... And the News
 AP: Political Advertisers Stymied By Digital Video Recorders:"Since the invention of the remote control, political campaigns have had a tough time persuading viewers to sit and watch their television ads rather than switching to another channel. Now, the growing popularity of fast-forward, ad-skipping digital video recorders, including the technology's pioneer TiVo Inc., is forcing campaigns to rethink where and when they advertise. Viewer habits on using these DVRs are a critical part of any election strategy. "
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Lexicon of Politics: Day 53
 rat-kissing n. sabatage; (hence) the act of distrupting the opposition. Also rat-[explicit], and rat-[explicit]. 1928 Nason Sgt. Eadie 110 [ref. to 1918] This time to-morrow, Jake, I'll be with my own outfit and that's the only ray of sun in my black sky at present. All other troubles fase when I think of that. No more of this rat-kissing. oxford dictionary of american political slang[so, all the other examples are explicit. But they've been uttered or written by the likes of Woodward, Bernstein, and Gordon Liddy. )
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Know Thy Enemy File ...
The liberal DailyKos has some very good thoughts on the psychology of voter behavior. The post is titled: Understanding voter turnout. It deals a lot with the importance of "brand image," for example: ... "Flip-flopping" ... blurs in voters' minds the image of what the candidate -- and by extension the candidate's party -- stands for. "Staying on message" is a way of policing candidates' and officials' pronouncements so that the party "brand image" is not blurred by messages that are spread out over the political spectrum.
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Snakes on a Campaign ...
I've been saying all along that the internet is a terrific tool for political campaigns -- but that the media has over-hyped it. Reporters love to talk about blogs, primarily because it's an interesting story. But the question remains: Do they deliver? The debate over the efficacy of blogging has now moved from Washington to Hollywood. The movie, Snakes on a Plane -- which received a ton of internet promotion -- has taken center-stage. Except, instead of asking if blogs deliver votes, the question is: Do they put bottoms in the seats? In terms of last weekend's ticket sales, SoaP came in first-place. It's hard to imagine a movie called Snakes on a Plane coming in first-place without the blogosphere, so how can they complain that it didn't do better? That's like saying your candidate won the election, but only got 51 percent of the vote ... The bottom line is that, without blogs, this movie would have never been made. Promotion is good, but at the end of the day, a movie has to be worthy of the hype. The same is true on a political campaign. If it weren't for blogs, nobody would have even heard of Howard Dean. Blogs got Dean in the race, but he couldn't live up to the hype. SoaP's problem isn't that they utilized blogs to promote it -- that was smart. Their problem was that they had "Ronald Reagan promotional effort," but are stuck with a "Howard Dean movie". That's not the fault of blogs. We've yet to see what happens when we marry a great candidate -- with a top-notch traditional campaign team -- and a cutting-edge internet eCampaign. When we do, watch out!At the end of the day, America needs to churn out more real leaders -- and Hollywood needs to put out more movies worth hyping. Now that would be a good story.
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Unforgettable
The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.
President Theodore Roosevelt
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Lexicon of Politics: Day 52
 lunch lid n. a meal-time moratorium on news from the White House. 1993 Washington Times (June 11) C1: Miss Myers issued a clarification during the so-called "lunch lid," when news conferences and statements are suspended so White House reporters can eat their sandwiches in peace.
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Online organizing best practices guides
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Campaign Tips Infiltrated ...
I got a note from the liberal Republican organization, GOPProgress. It seems, they took issue with my recent depiction of them as, well, "liberals." But this was the most interesting part of the note: "... After all, you did help Liz pull off a good result on her last campaign by emailing her lots of useful campaign tips--- even if you do now seem to think (misguidedly) that she's a godless pinko communist who should run off and join the donkeys. " So apparently, Liz receives my weekly campaign tips. One can only hope she used these tips to beat a Democrat -- not a conservative. ... If you're a conservative, sign up here!
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A familiar rolodex
 Matt beat me to this, but as he said, once again, John McCain is A-1 New York Times. The story: holy cow the favorite for the GOP nomination is building a team with a lot of Bushee vets. The McCain rolodex might not be as impressive as George H.W's famous two, but the diversity of his staff and advisers is impressive if not almost too diverse and impressive. Some of the people mentioned in the Times article are former deputy secretary of state Richard Armitage, chief NYSE executive John Thain and George H.W.'s ad director Sig Rogich, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., NRA lobbyist James Jay Baker, harvard political economist Niall Ferguson (fantastic book, by the way), and Clinton's drug czar Barry McCaffery. The article lists his economic and foreign policy advisors. The FOPO advisers are especially interesting, drawing on George H.W.'s NSA Brent Scowcroft (realist) and prominent neoconservatives like William Kristol. "Among the more prominent members of the Bush team who said they expected to play a role in Mr. McCain's candidacy, if he chooses to run, are Mark McKinnon, a Texas political media consultant who has worked for Mr. Bush for years; Terry Nelson, political director of the Bush 2004 re-election campaign; Nicolle Wallace, that campaign's communications director; Wayne L. Berman, a Washington lobbyist, friend of Mr. Bush's and prolific fund-raiser; and F. Philip Handy, chairman of Jeb Bush'[s two races for governor in Florida and a major supporter of the president." Now, McCain's been in politics for around 24 years, plus two decades in the military. That's a lot of contacts to manage. Networking is key: "He has the most active cellphone known to the phone company," said John Weaver, his chief strategist.
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McCain Mines Top Talent
In 2000, this story would have been hard to imagine ...Today's New York Times details the amazing talent that John McCain has lined up for his presidential run.The sub-plot is that operatives with Bush/Cheney campaign experience are a hot-commodity for every GOP hopeful. And McCain has assiduously courted -- and won-over -- some of Bush's top talent. While this is certainly a major coup, there is always the famous lament that every operative always wants to run the last campaign. The point is that sometimes the outsiders are the ones who are the innovators, while the insiders paint-by-numbers. Still, it's hard to argue with experience and success. To put it in perspective, by wooing the best Bush operatives, McCain's team is the equivalent of the New York Yankees. Talent and experience do matter. The lesson of 2000 was that you need to get out in front early, line up the money and the talent, and never look back. It seems that McCain learned that lesson, well. Simply put, Senator McCain's early effort is nothing but impressive. Barring some sort of stumble, it becomes hard to imagine how anybody catches up. On the other hand, it's hard to be on top for two years. Being the under-dog has its benefits; when you're on top, everyone is gunning for you. And so, it seems, the strategy of the McCain camp can best be summarized in the immortal words of Satchel Paige, "Don't look back, something may be gaining on you."
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