It does in the Democratic party. My family has been heavily involved in doing it for at least 140 years in both rural and metropolitan areas of ohio.
Even the Republican party is more organized in Ohio than it has been at any time since Ray Bliss was in control. In our last election Rove saw to it that in effect the national party controlled all advertising down to the state Representative level here in Ohio. They controlled it by paying for it. Bush raised millions and Rowe set the rules for getting it. At the state representative level for the first time since 1928 my state rep is a Republican. Republicans had precinct workers going door to door and local calls just as I described for all Republican candidates in 2002. It was organized state wide. They did not waste resources on areas they could not win.
It just takes a strong national and state organization to lay down the law on how candidates are to behave. A party starts exercising control of candidates at their first run for office. Candidates are not allowed to play by their own rules period even when they are low level candiates.
Your point that it can't be done in small comunities completely ignores the power and discipline exercised by the Teachers Union in Iowa. Tell the NEA that they can't effect candiate cooperation and force candidates to play by party rules. They do it in every state in the nation.
Making the point that you and campaigns you have worked with failed only makes the case that parties and candidates fail. You are not making a case that it can't be done. You are making the case that it can be done. Americas defeat in Viet Nam does not prove that we lose all wars. ... Nor that people can't be motivated in Iowa. As I mentioned the Democrats do it with the Iowa Teachers every election.
There were some important lessons learned in the last election. Bob Smith and a lot of other Republicans learned that it is not nice to screw with the White House. The implementation of national discipline is also underway in California. Simon got zilch from the national and lots o money sourses were dried up. Any others dumb enough to revolt against the white house will find out the consequences.
I am anxious to see if Schwarzenegger does go on the ballot in California. Pat Buchanan predicts he will. Bush and Rowe want the Democrats to have to live with the mess they made. The runigades want the Repubicans to thake the blame for the democrats actions.
In 1968 the Democrats were dying from the Viet Nam War when Nixon came in to take all the blame for rats. I wonder if Schwarzenegger is willing to play that role for Democrats too.
In the years I did turnarounds there were always people from the existing organization telling me how it was different at this station. I had to understand this was not like the place I had just turned around. There were problems I could not solve because they could not be solved.
In every case I found the ones who had tried and failed were mot persuasive enogh, determined enough and ultimately not mean enough. to make the station go from losing money to making money. I never failed to effect a turn around.
And dont tell me volunteers are impossible to get. If Yaser Arafatt can get people to strap bombs to their bellies and blow them selves up for the muslim movement, I can get people to haul other people to the polls to vote on election day.
Precinct workers have to get some perks. At the local level there is still enough patronage to let the precinct workers have power over patronage. People who try to get people to do things for no compensation will fail. If the compenstation is good you will have to fight off applicanst for precinct worker.
Nuts andbolds organizing of politicl races is a do alble thing. All ti takes is a good suply of carrots and whips.
First of all, in the last gubernatorial election McIntosh ran a terrible campaign. THREE offices, constant time eaten up in trips and locating people, lack of message (except for property taxes), poor event management, lack of security, etc. etc. He lost, even though Bush won Indiana by a large margin.
Now comes this election cycle. The new head of the Indiana GOP was McIntosh's fianancial guy, who was also a Pioneer for Bush. The last State Chairman "retired" after the election. So that means Bush's GOP guy is running the state GOP.
Mitch Daniels wants to run for governor. He is Bush's choice. But Bush doesn't SAY so exactly. What has happened so far?
The state GOP guy held a little meeting with the big-buck donors where they could meet Mitch. The guy who ran for liuetenant governor with McIntosh, Murray Clark, has abandoned his own gubernatorial campaign and is going to chair Mitch's campaign, and he has alread announced that he won't take the Lt. gov. position on the ticket.
That leaves three people opposing Daniels...McIntosh, a southern Indiana mayor, and a conservative activist. My bet is that the mayor will be asked to be on the ticket as lt. gov., pulling votes from southern Indiana. That will leave the far right of the party divided between McIntosh and the activist. Neither will win.
I think I see the White House in this, and I think it is a good thing. Lately the Indiana party has been divided about equally between old-timers who think it is nothing but a job, and conservative activists who do not understand how to get the middle to vote for them.
It will be interesting to see if my prediction comes true.