A Campaign Plan For Conservative GOP Candidates

My Web Pages ^ | 24 - 04 - 2002 | MAKnight

[kanaell]

Can a true-blue all-round Conservative win in a Left-leaning state like Maryland? Judging from what happened to Bret Schundler last year in New Jersey, the conventional wisdom would suggest a strong "No". But ... I believe that Bret Schundler could have won that race in November.

"How?" is the $1,000,000 question a friend considering a run asked me. With the added benefit of hindsight from 2000 & 2001 observing the Bush, Santorum and Schundler campaigns I gave him the following suggestions. Criticisms, contributions and all other forms of opinion welcome ...

•       Go the whole nine yards on the issues, i.e. be an unapologetic and proud Conservative, whether it be on school choice, abortion, gun control, tort reform, compulsory unionism, bilingual education, property rights, welfare, taxation, etc. The media would scream foul and waste no time in "advising" you to lurch as far to the Left as possible i.e. become more "moderate".
        You can be the most conciliatory/ "moderate" of Republicans, but should you be running against a Leftist Democrat, the unions are still going to call you a threat to worker's rights, the NAACP and La Raza would still call you a racist, NOW and NARAL would still call you a threat to women, Sarah Brady and her cohorts are still going to call you a threat to children, the NEA and AFT would still call you a threat to public education and the Sierra Club would still call you a threat to the environment. And everything they say about you would be faithfully repeated by their ideological allies in the Press and news media.
        So if you're going to be labelled as an out and out Conservative, i.e. Bret Schundler / Bill Simon, you might as well let it all out and go to the mat to make your case to the voters ... and let the chips fall where they may. As a candidate, this means that you have to be completely unafraid of losing. Witness how successful the Press has been in making many Conservative Republicans seem almost ashamed or afraid of their principles / beliefs. How can you possibly win votes when its obvious you want to sweep your beliefs under the carpet, out of sight as if they were some dirty secret to be ashamed of? Stand up for them, defend them as loudly and as effectively as possible ... don't run from them.
        The fact is, not many Conservatives have proven themselves able to stand the continued assaults on them by the Press as it wields the "moderate"/ "extremist" club. Even Bret Schundler swerved Left on the Second Amendment and even on racial issues. The result? He only got 12% of the black vote. It's clear that waffling, pandering and obfuscation simply don't work.
        The Founding Fathers based this Republic on the notion that a well-informed populace is the only one capable of self-government. So, inform them. The media isn't going to do it. State your positions as a principled Conservative and stand by them to the very end. No-one has really tried this, yet. Be not afraid of any issue no matter how much the Press tries to make it your Achilles heel i.e. abortion.

•       Recognize that the Press is going to be sympathetic to the other side and they cannot help but let it show. For instance, negative campaigning. We all know that it works. The Democrats discovered this a long time ago and have never hesitated to use it, even (or should I say, especially) when it's all based on the most character assasinating lies. A Democrat could literally run an attack ad about you featuring swastikas, burning crosses, marching neo-Nazis and burning churches and equating you to everything those repulsive symbols signify, and the Media could conceivably remain completely silent. But the instant the Democrat candidate starts to hurt from your attacks, you would start hearing sanctimonious whines about "negative campaigning".
        Be the first Conservative ever to have a Media-Watch section on your website and in your campaign newsletters. It should be a stylistic amalgamation of OpinionJournal.com's "Best of the Web" feature, SmarterTimes.com and MRC.org ... any misrepresenting article (or newsitorials), editorial should be carefully dissected and every whopper, innuendous assertion or attempt at spin should be highlighted and responded to. Have all your interviews and press conferences tape-recorded and have the transcripts available on your website within the day. Scream and shout about every single misrepresentation of yourself or your positions that appears in any medium. The fact that you are a big-time office candidate makes it that much harder for the Press and News Media to ignore. Feature selected (the more intelligent) comments from your supporters (perhaps as "citizen guest critics") about certain articles as well. The aim here is to destroy the Left-Wing media's already shaky credibility so that they start haemorrhaging not only Conservative readers (which they already are) but Independent readers who count on them to tell the truth. Note; your stand here is not that there is some vast Left-Wing conspiracy in the media but that so many journalists are on the Left that the Fourth Estate has lost its objectivity.
        Find out and publish information about the partisan composition of the papers and stations i.e. how many anchors/journalists/producers/editors are pro-life/pro-vouchers, what percentage are Democrats/Republicans, what percentage are Leftists/Conservatives, the last time the paper endorsed a Republican, how the paper has historically treated a Democrat as opposed to a Republican in an identical situation, whether the publisher contributes to the DNC, etc. and publish all these facts on your campaign literature and web site. On issues that the Press side with the Left (practically everything) include them in it. i.e. "... just because the Democrats, their powerful Left-Wing groups and their Media friends support Partial Birth Abortion ..."
        In other words, so long as they display any bias against you, launch missiles at the media's credibility at every reasonable opportunity. Explicitly letting the people know that the Press keeps certain things hidden for ideological or Politically Correct reasons, i.e. the dangerous state of the public school system or the prevalence of Partial Birth Abortion, would do wonders to cure the Press's leftward tilt. Spiro Agnew was able to massively curb the overwhelming Left-Wing bias of the media in the late 60s with just one speech. The New York Times hired William Safire as a result of that. So hit them ... and hit them hard. The Press loves a candidate who claims to be fighting powerful interests ... see how they like it when they (Big Media) are the targets.

•       You have to make it a point to negate the effects of terms like "moderate", "Right-Wing", "Liberal", etc. by pointing out the double standards and inaccuracies behind them. This is intimately related to your Media-Watch campaign. For decades the Left, not least with help from the Press, has been left a clear field in which to fashion what "compassion", "moderation", "extremism", "liberal", etc. mean. And it has been so successful that Conservatives actually use this terminology.
        Publicly ask, from the onset of your campaign and continuously throughout it, (especially after the Press begins the drumbeat about you not being "moderate" enough for the state), who sat down, under whose authority, to decide that being pro-abortion, anti-school choice, pro-Gun Control, etc. was "moderate" while being pro-life, pro-school choice, pro-Second Amendment, etc. was "extreme"? How come traditional Democrat positions on these issues (and more) are called "moderate" by the Press and News Media while traditional Republican positions on these same issues are all "extreme" or "Right-Wing"? Publicly call it what it is; pure unadulterated Left-Wing elitism.
        Also, as David Horowitz has been saying for a really long time, avoid calling Democrats "liberals". In many dictionaries, even political dictionaries, a liberal is defined in terms of the Classical Liberalism of John Locke, Adam Smith, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, etc. These men were tireless proponents of free markets, rugged individualism, independence, limited government, property rights, equal treatment under the law, the right to self defense, national unity and political democracy. The modern "liberal" is against all of these things.
        The word "Liberal" comes from "Liberty", not "Government Control". Refer to your opponents as "Leftists"/ "Left-Wing" and stick with it doggedly no matter how much the media protests. Furthermore, do not allow your Democrat opponent the "moderate" label ... don't let him take it for himself and neither should you let the Press give it to him. The media anointed "moderate" candidate has a huge advantage with the center, i.e. Independents, because "moderation" is seen by most as far better than being "ideological" or an "extremist", especially in politics. Unfortunately, since the media definition of "moderate" seems to be equal to Democrat, a Republican (by definition, the "immoderate") running to the "moderate center", particularly in a Left-leaning state, is forced to alienate his base. You have to do it a different way ... and bring the "center" to you.

•       Cultivate as huge a grassroots volunteer/activist base and network as possible, whether it be via the Internet (i.e. the Schundler E-Army), Talk Radio, media ads, etc. Exhort your base, from the very beginning, to engage their creativity i.e. ads, leaflets, posters, flyers, neighborhood notices, public access TV, call-in shows, letters to the editor, etc. to get the message out and promote the campaign.
        There should be a heavy involvement of ordinary grassroots Conservatives in roles ranging from get-out-the-vote activists, publicity agents, letter writing campaigners, ad makers, etc. from the very beginning to the very end of your campaign. Once unleashed, your grassroots would have great deal of fun with it; imagine signs on front lawns, saying "Gun Control: Keeping Your Homes Safe For Burglars, Murderers & Rapists", "Self-Defense Is A Hate Crime - Violent Criminals For Gun Control", etc. So make your activists as much a part of the decision making process of your campaign as possible. In other words, give them a personal investment in your success.
        Finally, remember that low-level expectations beget low-level results ... so you should make it clear that you expect much of your grassroots troops and that they have every right to expect as much of you as a candidate and as an elected official. And so long as you keep faith with them, they won't disappoint you.
        Another support network you should be quick to utilize are the myriad of Conservative foundations and organizations from all over the country, i.e. the Heritage Foundation, CATO Institute, American Legislative Exchange Council, Galen Institute, Hoover Institution, Mackinac Policy Center, Club for Growth, Federalist Society, Project 21, BAMPAC, Manhattan Institute, etc. Apart from helping you in forming your ground troop activist base, these organizations can provide you with extensive intellectual ammunition. For every policy proposal you present, you should invest the time to ensure that you have the facts, figures, stats, studies and reasoning backing your positions all accessible to the public (i.e. on your web site, guest editorials, articles, letters to the editor, etc.) and ready to launch at your opponents and their Press friends. The aforementioned Conservative organizations have almost all the information you'd need in spades.
        You can be certain that the media would make sure to label them all "Right-Wing" and "Conservative" … but that's really not a problem. Just make it clear to the editors in your state that you expect to see the Brookings Institute, NAACP, NOW, ACLU, etc. labeled as "Leftist" and "Left-Wing", not the usual cop-out of "non-partisan" when their reports are produced by/for your Democrat opponent. As Rick Shaftan said about the Schundler campaign's haunting by the "extreme Right" label; " … there's nothing wrong with being a Right-Wing extremist so long as your opponent is a Left-Wing extremist."

•       Remember though, that it's not only Conservatives that are in the GOP. Not all Republicans are solidly on the Right. But in a overwhelmingly Left-leaning state, you need a united party behind you and thus you need to get even those who are not so solidly on the Right behind you and screaming your name. You want them manning the trenches pushing your candidacy as well, because your success is directly related to their success.
        And what you should consider to do that, is an appeal to pure Republican pride ... go all out to destroy all the deeply entrenched wrong premises the Democrats, the Left, and their media friends have been propagating for years; that the GOP is anti-Civil Rights, that the GOP is anti-black, that the GOP is anti-woman, that the GOP is anti-poor, that the GOP is anti-environment, that the GOP is not "inclusive", etc. The sad part is that so many Republicans seem to honestly believe these things. Far too many Republicans, especially the so-called "moderates" who give the impression that Republicanism is something not worthy of taking pride in, even worse, a thing to be ashamed of, as if it were "depraved" or "radioactive", to quote Steve Malanga in the City Journal.
        So stand up, from the very beginning of your campaign, whenever you're addressing your fellow Republicans and tell them some much needed home truths that the RNC has apparently not chosen to emphasize as much as it is obviously needed. The Republican Party was founded on Civil Rights. We're responsible for the passage of the 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th Amendments, not to mention the 23rd. The majority of us are pro-life yet we have elected and nominated Governors and Senators who are pro-choice all over the country. How many pro-life politicians have the Democrats nominated or elected in the past few years? Who has shown more "inclusiveness" or respect for the other side on the issue of abortion?
        Say it out loud, the people complaining about the party not being "inclusive enough" or "moderate enough" in the media are not friends of the GOP and they should be given no credibility by any Republican. What they really want is for Republicans to abandon their basic principles; whether it be low taxes, our dedication to a color blind society, our dedication to all the articles in the Constitution, our belief in the free-market, our belief in limited government, our belief that good science should guide environmental policy, our belief in strong national defenses and our insistence on individual rights and responsibility.
        These are not "immoderate" views, these are views held by the vast majority of Americans. No Republican should ever countenance the view that his or her party is "out of step" with the people. The Republican party is inclusive, in the true sense of the word; in that it isn't supportive of the ideological agenda that the media, with their own agenda, put forward as the motivating issues for each "oppressed" faction in society.
        Say it loud; "We're the Party of Lincoln, they're the Party of Clinton, and damn if that ain't enough reason to hold our heads up high".

•       Abortion has proven to be a major Achilles heel for Conservatives, i.e. Bret Schundler in New Jersey. A reason could be that pro-life candidates run away from it after the Media makes it seem like the mark of Cain. But witness the fact that the leader of the House Pro-Life Caucus is a Congressman from "moderate" New Jersey. Chris Smith has never hidden his pro-life views and has found himself re-elected time and time again. How about the fact that Rick Santorum won his Senate race in Pennsylvania even as Al Gore won his state in 2000?
        What this shows is that being pro-life is not really a weak-point, even among women. Quite simply, there is nothing wrong, "extreme" or freakish about being pro-life … so be among the first Republicans to not give the impression that your pro-life beliefs are somehow morally equivalent to endorsing slavery. Let go of the assumption that to be pro-life anywhere is to stamp the mark of Cain on your forehead.
        When the Press does polls on abortion, it classically asks people whether they agree that abortion should be "legal", or "illegal in all cases"? This virtually guarantees the answer they want. Most people, including quite a few Conservatives, think that there should be exceptions for the mother's health, fertility and life. The lack of a real choice in the range of answers to the question artificially inflates the numbers of the supporters of the notion that "abortion should be legal in all cases for any reason whatsoever". The fact is, a vast majority of people who call themselves pro-choice do not believe that abortion should be an unrestricted right.
        This means quite simply, even though the media always creates the impression that the womb raider crowd have universal support on all issues, they've got huge weak-points. So, in other words, focus on touting your belief in establishing reasonable restrictions on abortion that even the vast majority of self-described pro-choice people support. Partial Birth Abortion is just one of them with almost 90+% of the entire United States opposed, men and women, pro-life and pro-choice. Parental Notification has the support of practically 90+% of American parents in every state, men and women, pro-life and pro-choice. 80% of Americans, men and women, oppose the public funding of abortions.
        So turn the entire abortion issue into a referendum on Partial Birth Abortion, public abortion funding, and Parental Notification. Invest some cash into turning the entire "moderate" argument around. How can anyone who believes that there is nothing wrong with what is a hair's breath from infanticide and who believes that there is nothing wrong with a thirteen year old girl having sex, getting pregnant and then having an abortion, all without her parents' knowledge, call you an "extremist"? To turn the abortion issue into a really painful one for your opponent and his NARAL, NOW and Press supporters, you should also add the Born Alive Infants Act to the list of items on your "referendum". Who's the "extremist" now?

•       Since you cannot count on the Press to tell the truth about yourself, or even just relay your policy proposals without undermining them by reporting as gospel DNC talking points about them at the same time, you're going to have to inform the public yourself. While there is nothing like the power of the broadcast media, you're going to have to go that extra mile to do the job. So you have to do an endrun around the Press and let the people themselves decide your electability. Much as I do not like using him as an example for a Conservative, Paul Wellstone was able to topple the GOP incumbent in 1990 by getting up close and personal with the people on his bus tour around Minnesota.
        The personal touch is not something to be underestimated. I personally know of more than one hardcore Democrat who was so bowled over by a Conservative's charm that he/she won't hear a bad word said against him. These Conservatives include many of the Left's bogeymen, i.e. Dick Armey, Tom DeLay, Jesse Helms, Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, etc.
        While using a campaign bus and holding Town Hall meetings in the towns and counties around the state is not an original or even novel idea, a little creativity can make a major difference. The following is an idea from a friend that I found worth considering; she called it the "Citizens' Conference Tour."
        Acquire (i.e. rent) a number of semi-trucks. Paint / decorate each semi-truck as appropriate, i.e. make each a mobile billboard. Each truck should contain; (i) two sets of projector screens and computer projectors, (ii) two computers (i.e. laptops), (iii) a mobile phone system with more than one line, at least one of which has conference calling capabilities, (iv) a portable lectern, (v) a digital camera/ camcorder with tripod, (vi) a simple public address system, (vii) loudspeakers and microphones to be connected to the phones, (viii) a huge easy-to-set-up tent.
        Send each truck on a tour of a different part of the state. At a specific time (in the evenings after sundown) on certain days, the trucks simultaneously stop at pre-planned towns/ neighborhoods. By that time, your grassroots troops (and yourself) would have prepared the ground, i.e. gone around the neighborhoods, posted notices, contacted the local paper, knocked on doors, phoned and e-mailed around to get as many people to come to the meeting as possible. When and where the trucks stop, if there are no indoor venues (i.e. local school auditorium) available, and depending on the weather, the tents are set up. Either way, the lecterns, the projectors, screens, computers, the PA and phone system, are set up at the venue with chairs acquired from local sources (i.e. hired).
        This is how it works; you will be at one truck location, from where you'll address an audience. The phone systems, when activated and in a conference call with each other, allow you to address and interact with the audiences at the other truck locations at the same time. A digital camcorder is connected to a computer (and a projector), that is connected to the internet at your location and snapshots/ stills of you and your co-speakers (or your audience) are taken periodically (every few minutes) and immediately exported as image files (i.e. jpegs) to a secure web page. The computers at the other truck locations, also connected to the internet and projectors, would download the image files from this secure web page and project the images full size unto their respective projection screens.
        Why still images instead of streaming video? The answer is that, so far, the current affordable level of technology is not advanced enough to send video information that would be in perfect synch with the audio and not jerky. Therefore the use of streaming video would be a great deal more disconcerting for the audience (like an old Kung Fu movie) than the still images would be.
        After you present your speech to your audience[s], you will be able to answer questions from what you can rightfully say are all the "corners" of the state. Using five trucks and visiting two / three stops per week for nine months can have you addressing 450 groups of people from all over the state on any number of subjects.
        Basically, take your show on the road. The Press, with their constant use of the admittedly ominous sounding "Right-Wing", "arch-Conservative", "not moderate enough" adjectives and their endless parroting of Leftist character assassinating accusations against Conservative Republican candidates are going to make you sound like Hitler's number one student if only you remain silent.
        You have to counter that by letting the people see you, letting the people talk to you, letting the people see how and why your policies would work. In other words, don't just give a speech, give a presentation. Use hard facts, figures and history to back you up. Use multimedia if you have to so you can get your point across, i.e. get your facts and figures into graphs, histograms and other visualizations, even computer animations if you can. Doing things like actually reading out the questions that compose the typical teachers' certification exam and stating the failure rate usually does wonders for getting people's attentions when the topic is education, I've discovered. Actually displaying the questions on screen could be spellbinding. If you're implementing the Citizens' Conference concept, a little planning and synchronization using mobile phones, for example, could have all truck sites showing the same thing within seconds of each other.
        Either way, audience participation here is key ... this means not patronizing your audience, not being afraid to take sides on controversial issues and being willing to look them in the eye and argue your point with them to show that you're right. Get supporting experts (or witnesses) i.e. Milton Friedman, Bill Bennett, Jack Kemp, Thomas Sowell, Rudy Guiliani, Robert Woodson, Kaleem Caire, John Lott, Jill Stanek, etc. to occasionally stand with you and speak when you present your policy proposals on issues like taxes, abortion, education, gun control, crime, welfare, race, etc … and together, make your case to the voters.
        Basically, you're not there to feel people's pain, you're there to win them over by showing you can help ease their pain. Indeed, make it explicitly clear that the other major reason for your Citizens' Conferences, apart from your distrust of the News Media, is that you're tired of superficial Media framed Politically Correct "television/soundbite politics". Of course, you also have to be a bit realistic … it may be prudent to arrange a few local supporters to ask you a few (two/three maximum) "good" questions; other than that, make the selection of questioners openly random.

•       Go everywhere, into areas where the GOP is strong, of course, so you can meet, unite and rally your base. But just as importantly, throw fear aside and go into areas where the Democrats are at their strongest. There is hardly anything more tragic than the fact that Republicans simply refuse to fight in so many places all over the nation, giving them up as lost causes. The Democrats, on the other hand, never give up ... nowhere is off-limits, not even a state as safe and ruggedly Republican as Wyoming. Small though it may be, it still possesses two all-important Senate seats ... and we all know, after Jim Jeffords' act of treachery, just how consequential one seat can be.
        So concede the Democrats not one street, not one community, not one vote. Go into the Hispanic community, go into the black community, go into the inner city, go into the white ethnic union neighborhoods. Go in and fight for their votes as a proud and principled Conservative pushing Conservative ideas. Note that this doesn't mean that you should just go in without researching the area and knowing what issues you should primarily address for each community. Do it all, knock on doors, call on the phone, distribute flyers, visit homes, churches, schools and hospitals, talk to ordinary people on the street, mail campaign literature, tapes and videos, hold citizens'/neighborhood conferences, etc.
        Go in and talk to the people. Talk about the bilingual education monster that has wrecked the lives of millions of American children. Talk about national unity and the dangers of today's politically correct hyphenated Americanism. Talk about how children are being punished by racial preferences because of the color of their skin. Talk about why racial preferences are wrong on a moral basis and why they can never deliver results. Talk about school choice and about how it will give poor children a way out of the disastrous public school system while forcing it to improve. Talk about tax cuts and show how and why they create jobs and prosperity. Talk about Enterprise Zones and private/corporate tax credit schemes (to fund school choice, revitalization, job training, employment, etc. programs), and explain how they as free-market based policies, will revitalize the inner-city far better than big government solutions. Talk about Partial Birth Abortion and Parental Notification laws and the Democrats' opposition to them. Talk about the big government bureaucracy and regulations that actively place obstacles in the path of those who want to start their own businesses and be independent. Talk about how and why a Right to Work law curbs only the power of the union boss and empowers workers. Talk about how tough crime prevention and prosecution policies could have saved so many of the 45,000 black men and women that were killed in their own neighborhoods between 1994 and 1999 and fostered the growth of business. Talk about and explain why a welfare program that is accountability/responsibility-centered and family preservation-oriented is the best proven way of helping the poor achieve independence and success.
        Some of these fellow citizens of yours may have heard these arguments once or twice before and were not convinced ... but you'll be surprised to know of the magnitude of those who have never ever heard them before. For many it would be the first time a Republican had aggressively campaigned in their neighborhood in years. It's time that changed. Fight as if you have nothing to lose, because the fact of the matter is, you have nothing to lose. Fighting means you might lose ... not fighting means you definitely will lose.

•       On no issue are Republicans quite as helpless and pathetic as on the issue of race. A simple, consistent fact is that Republicans are routinely tarred and feathered as racists by so-called "Civil Rights" organizations and "leaders" just in time for election day, election year after election year. Yet Republican candidates are apparently perennially unprepared to meet this challenge. There has not been a single competitive election in the past two or three decades in these United States in which the Republican has not had to counter hints or outright proclamations by the Left that he was/is a secret member of the Ku Klux Klan.
        To be completely honest, there is absolutely no way one can claim surprise when the Democrats' pet racial arsonists parachute into your campaign and start throwing accusations of racism around. They've done it time and time again and they'll continue to do it until the day Republicans decide to fight back. And it might as well start with you.
        As a black Conservative, nothing annoys me more than seeing a Conservative with not a racist bone in his body struggling to defend himself from racial character assassination strikes. Invariably, he tries to do this without questioning the motives or good will of his accusers, mostly for fear that it would "offend" a minority community to have any of it's self-appointed and media-anointed "leaders" criticized. Yet being silent in the face of these attacks only gives the weight of legitimacy to the accusations levelled against you; pleading and "reaching out" don't help because it looks as if you're apologizing for actually being a racist. A particularly sharp Catch-22 situation considering that you're being forced to undertake the impossible task of proving a negative; "I am not a racist …"
        So loudly, honestly, and clearly, denounce these so-called "leaders" as the racial arsonists and hate mongers they really are; people who have re-legitimized the use of the deliberate widening of racial divisions as electoral weapons. Cite Booker T. Washington; " There is a class of colored people who make a business of keeping the troubles, the wrongs and the hardships of the Negro race before the public. Having learned that they are able to make a living out of their troubles, they have grown into the settled habit of advertising their wrongs -- partly because they want sympathy and partly because it pays. Some of these people do not want the Negro to lose his grievances, because they do not want to lose their jobs." Be vicious, be brutal, be sharp, and do not hesitate to name names and tell it like it is.
        But that's not nearly enough. You also have to do something, from the very beginning of your campaign, that the GOP, as a whole, has consistently failed to do. Get involved in the race and ethnicity question. Publicly reject racial/ ethnic Identity Politics. Make it plain that you believe that there is no such thing as "acceptable"/ "good" racial discrimination, any form of racial discrimination is fundamentally wrong and fundamentally divisive. Adopt the principles, in letter and spirit, as advocated in Justice John Harlan's dissent in Plessy V Ferguson, as advocated by Martin Luther King in his "I Have a Dream" speech, and as stated by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, weave them together and present it to the public as your agenda on race. It's the view most people believe in, the original one that the Left and the Democrats rejected in favor of a racial spoils system of Civil Rights; plain and simple equality of opportunity and color-blind laws, with high expectations of everyone regardless of race, with no government sanctioned preferences or penalties on account of race or ethnicity … where all are treated as individuals and Americans above all, and not ever as members of groups.
        And finally, adopt the letter and spirit of the nation's motto and present it as your agenda on multiculturalism. "Out of the Many, One" … yours could be "Unity in Diversity". Your position should be that Americans' ethnic origins may be from all corners of the globe, all bringing with them the best of their cultures as well as their priceless individualities and contributing to the greatness that is America; therefore we may speak different languages, wear different clothes and worship differently in private and even in public. But as Americans, we must all share one common underlying culture that unites us; one shared by Americans of African, Australian, European, Asian, North and South American, origin … all Americans. It simply entails, an adherence to the letter and spirit of our Constitution, and our unqualified and unyielding love for, and loyalty to, our great nation and our fellow Americans without regard to our religious beliefs, and racial, ethnic or national origins. Clearly point out that the many people who claim to be "multicultural"/ "diversity" activists, deliberately or not, actually end up trapping "their people" in rage, separatism, poverty and ignorance while they earn prestige and perks as "Leaders" in mainstream society. Point out, again, that no nation has avoided bloodshed when there was no unity to complement its diversity i.e. Rwanda, Yugoslavia, Sri Lanka, etc. Then point out, once more, that the only way we can sustain this unity, and thus this nation, is by making certain that the government, and thus the law, treats us all the same, that our children are taught to communicate with one another in one language (the language of our Constitution and other founding documents), that our children are taught the same things in school. The maintenance of all other cultures, languages and traditions should be a strictly private affair. The government should be primarily concerned with the maintenance of this underlying, unifying, American culture, not the Italian, Maasai, Mexican etc. cultures (though our children should indeed be taught about them as much as possible) … but the great American culture that unites us into one indivisible nation. In other words, bring Teddy Roosevelt's famous admonitions on hyphenated-Americanism back to life.
        These are winning positions no matter how much the Press and their beloved anointed "community leaders" protest. Articulate them well, early in your campaign, and often … and you'll at least have the white and, very likely, the Asian vote. Chances are that you would also win the respect (and thus the votes) of the many Conservatives (and quite a few blue-collar ethnic whites) around the State who generally sit out elections (or vote the other way) … and that could be extremely helpful. NOTE: A smart move could also be making certain that you force your opponent to take a position on slavery reparations; if he doesn't endorse it, he alienates the black vote (very good), if he does, he alienates everyone else (excellent).
        However, understand that you do have to reach out, specifically, to minority communities. And note that it also has to be among the very first things you do and you have to do it consistently … but you cannot do it through the so-called "Civil Rights" organizations or the so-called "Civil Rights Leaders" that the Press loves and reveres. Having their support could help but they are bought and paid for and they will stab you in the back. Witness what happened to Dubya despite his addressing the NAACP.
        So you have no choice but to do it the hard way. You have to do what Conservatives have failed to do again and again … go into inner-city and minority neighborhoods and knock on doors, go to the local church - attend the service and ask the pastor to allow you address his congregation, go and campaign in support of local GOP candidates, go out and meet people and hold Citizens' Conferences on the streets, etc. Go in and build grassroots support and set them loose to speak and campaign for you. As articulated above, fight as hard as you can for every vote you can get. Concede the Democrats absolutely nothing.
        The fact is; a huge number of minority people know nothing about the GOP other than the monster stories told them by their so-called "Leaders". So, the fact is; only half of your job would be to advocate your policies; i.e. Enterprise Zones, school choice, crime prevention, etc. The other half of your job would be to educate and challenge. Understand that you should not go before minority communities with your head hung low because you're a Republican. If, as Bush did while addressing the NAACP, you admit that you were a racist, what, other than your word, assures that you're not a racist now? You have rehabilitate the image of the GOP in the minority community. As mentioned before, the GOP was founded on Civil Rights; the Civil Rights Amendments to the Constitution were our doing. Proportionally more Republicans voted for the Civil Rights Acts of the 1960s than Democrats. Furthermore, the first non-white people ever elected to political office were Republicans. So you have nothing to apologize for. You have to educate your audience about all this and more …
        … and then you have to challenge them. You have to point out the obvious; by and large, the GOP cannot be blamed for any problem in minority communities; since 99.9% of the officials elected by minority communities in the past three decades to serve in the U.S. Congress, state Legislature, Mayor's Office, City Council, School Board, etc. are Democrats, how can the GOP be blamed for anything at all? In all the years of voting loyally for Democrats, what has improved? Take the bull by the horns and address the real issues facing the minority communities of the nation; illegitimacy, illiteracy and crime. This shows that you're serious. Show no tolerance to anyone who starts blustering that these issues are a "black" (or whatever) "thing" and that you have no right to talk about it. Make it clear that it's not about race or being politically correct … it's about being a good neighbor and realizing that these problems transcend the racial barrier and affect everyone in your State and the nation as a whole; that the health of one community does definitely affect all communities.
        Note that you have only a 0.1% chance of winning the black vote … but you could, if you really fight for it, win somewhere around 25% ... and that would seriously hamper any Democrat's chances of victory against you. You have about a 25% chance of winning the Hispanic vote though. Either way, do not waste valuable resources or bank on getting anything more than 7.5% of the black vote and 10% of the Hispanic vote. Fight for their votes … but be smart about it and know when and how to cut your losses.

•       Be the candidate that the ordinary voter would be happy to invite home to dinner with his/her family, even if he disagrees with you on everything. Every appearance you make is an advertisement for yourself and this is particularly important. Be an optimist, be someone who is as known for his smile and his ability to laugh as he is for his name and party. Even when smacking down a reporter doing his bit to help the Democrats win, do it with a smile and keep your cool a la Donald Rumsfeld.
        It takes a certain amount of skill and personal charm to do all this ... but remember, the media has invested near decades pushing the hackneyed caricature of Republicans and Conservatives as either mean-spirited evil people or complete idiots, and they would be looking for anything they can to back up those premises. So you have to be patient and polite ... you have to be personable and you have to be casual (avoid suits whenever possible) enough to be able to connect with people. You have to show that you're smart, yet down to Earth ... you should speak in plain simple terms whenever possible and leave the incomprehensible jargon for Leftist College professors, pundits and their clueless chattering class admirers. Show that you've given much thought to what you believe in and your policies, and that your belief in them is passionate and sincere. You have to show that you respect other people's opinions and furthermore, that you respect the intelligence of the electorate to come to the right conclusion and to make the right decision given the proper, i.e. correct and true, information. After all, this is what this nation is founded on.
        And much as it may seem a concession to the Oprahfication of American society, you also have to show your human i.e. "fun" side. Bill Clinton was able to win the hearts of millions of voters with his sax playing on the Tonight Show in 1992. Joe Lieberman singing "My Way" on the Late Show furthermore did a lot for the Gore-Lieberman campaign in the final days Election 2002. Once again, these guys are not exactly the ideal people to use as examples for Conservatives but one thing you can't say is that these guys are not extremely good politicians.
        If you have a talent, an interest or passion for something that says something about you, let it out. If it's a sport, let's say basketball, sponsor a pick-up game and invite the ordinary man/woman on the street to play with you at campaign stops before your speech. If it's a talent, like singing, take the first reasonable opportunity that would allow you to sing i.e. a karaoke. If it's something like painting, do something creative like sponsoring a painting outing for little kids at a campaign stop that would end before you make your speeches. It may be corny but the thing about it, is that it works and it would have the added benefit that the Left-Wing Press would find it a great deal harder to demonize you.
        And finally, discipline. Allow no distractions from what you have to say. Understand that a certain level of unscriptability and the ability to think on your feet is necessary, especially on your "Citizens' Conference" tour, so always be prepared and study widely. But a lack of focus, a la Bret Schundler, can be deadly. Tie everything in to your topic of the day. On those occasions where you have to interact with the Press, stay on message and don't allow yourself to be drawn away to some media darling issue of the moment.

•       On Achilles heel issues such as Abortion and Gun Control, it is important to remember that these issues have human faces on the non-Media supported side that people hardly ever see ... and it's high time these faces are seen by the public.
        Introduce the state to pro-life people ... at a Citizen's Conference, have seven (or more) women with you on the stage. These women should be from all walks of life, housewives, business owners, college and non-college educated, young and old, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, agnostic, etc. Get a Wiccan (even a Democrat) if possible. The one thing they should all have in common is that they're pro-life.
        Start by pointing out that there is a huge mass of brilliant, public service oriented people in the state, who are pro-life for religious as well as non-religious reasons, some of whom are even Democrats, who are contributing greatly to the welfare of the state. Introduce the women flanking you as examples of them. Are they all now unfit for high public office? Do they now all have the "wrong values"? Point out the "bigotry" (use the word) that seems to have infected the public debate about the issue; pro-life people are consistently portrayed as "extremists" and "misogynists" by many politicians all over the country and in the mainstream Press. At best they are portrayed as people who cannot be trusted with public office because of their beliefs, at worst, ideologically equivalent to the Taliban. Point out the fact that there is a huge and significant percentage of women who are not pro-abortion (like the women beside you) but who are consistently ignored by the media for Left-Wing feminist groups like NOW, who somehow get to define what is "pro-woman" and "anti-woman". Point out the media's facilitating of this by their consistent trumpeting, unchallenged, of the Left-Wing feminists'' ridiculous assertion that being pro-life is equal to being anti-woman and anti-children, as if women were some monolithic group of clones who all agreed with them. Then, publicly challenge the Press and your Democrat opponent to "open their minds" and to be respectful of other people's beliefs. Pound this message out repeatedly.
        Do the same for gun control … at another Citizens' Conference and numerous ones after it, introduce the state to ordinary gun owners and survivors of attacks from your state and all over the country who lived because they were armed. Focus on making a small majority of them women (and make sure to include a few minorities). Have them each tell their stories. Then having them standing beside you on the stage, castigate your opponent and the Press again for basically saying that these people should have no right to defend themselves. Focus, like a laser, on trust and safety issues, i.e.;
        Here's a simple fact; my view, and my opponent's view, of the citizen's right to bear arms, written into our Constitution by our founding fathers, is simply about trust. The trust we have for our fellow citizens. My opponent, his/her Left-Wing special interest group supporters and their allies in the media do not trust the average citizen. I do. Unlike them, I believe that the hardworking, responsible, law-abiding citizens of [insert State name], can and should be trusted to bear arms responsibly. Unlike them, I do not believe that the average law-abiding citizen would suddenly become a cold-blooded killer or rampaging vigilante just because he or she is armed.
        On the contrary, the hardworking, law-abiding, responsible people of this state, like the hardworking responsible people of many pro-Second Amendment states all over this nation, would use their arms responsibly, only when defending themselves and their loved ones or on the target range. I believe that the law abiding citizens of [insert State name] love their children and will keep their arms out of their children's reach. I trust the law-abiding citizen … my opponent, his Left-Wing special interest supporters and the media quite obviously do not.
        My opponents think these fine people are "extremists" who were wrong to defend themselves from the violent criminals who would have harmed them and their loved ones. I happen to think they're heroes. These people prove that disarming the criminal, not the hardworking and responsible law-abiding citizen is the only way forward. Ill-considered Gun Control laws only disarm the law-abiding citizen, because criminals do not obey the law. That's why they're criminals. My opponent and his supporters know this. Yet they insist on forcing the law-abiding citizen to remain defenceless against violent criminals who will continue to have guns no matter how many gun control laws are on the books.
        In other words, put a human face on all your policy proposals, whether it be cutting taxes, downsizing bureaucracy, easing anti-market regulations, advocating school choice, pushing for pro-active policing, better welfare reformation, workers' rights, etc. Get ordinary people who have benefited from these things from all over the state and the entire country itself if necessary, as living "witnesses" to help kill the predictable charges from your opponent(s) and their Media friends that your policies are "inhumane"/ "sexist" / "racist"/ "out-of-step" / etc.

•       As David Horowitz has always stated, symbols are all too important. Identify every single group from which Democrats traditionally get their support and immediately work to establish a prominent fifth column in them; women, minorities, union workers, teachers, state employees, University students and even other Democrats if you can handle it. The one thing that cannot be said is that among the men and women who simply voted for Bret Schundler in New Jersey last year, or even among the members of the Schundler E-Army, there were not people from these aforementioned groups.
        They may be only a tiny percentage, numbering only a few hundreds/ thousands (the more the merrier), but that is more than enough. Jim McGreevey had the advantage of being seen as the man with the universal support of the teachers, the police, the firemen, blue and white collar workers, the "experts", etc. all claiming that Bret Schundler wanted to destroy the state and make their jobs impossible. Add to all that the new innovation apparently being taken nationwide by the DNC; having a group of so-called Republicans declaring themselves "moderate" and endorsing the Democrat. This is not something the average voter ignores. Imagine what an ad by a group called "Teachers for Academic Excellence" refuting the Teachers' Unions' lies and endorsing Bret Schundler could have done for the Schundler campaign. Ads by "Women for Schundler" could have chipped off some of the female support for McGreevey. An ad by the "United Citizens of New Jersey" (a clearly multiracial group), touting Bret's record in Jersey City could have chipped off a little more minority support and probably soon would have had the media in a panic. How about ads by a group called "Democrats for Schundler"? Or even better (and more ironic), "Moderates For Schundler"?.
        The basic objective is to undermine the unity (and authority) of your opponent's supporters (and the Press) at every possible turn. A group of teachers standing behind you as you talk about using School Choice to smash the cruel monopoly system destroying children's lives in large part will deny your opponent the lustre of being seen as the teachers' choice. Getting a group of government workers (state and municipal; this could be quite difficult but doable) standing behind you as you talk about increasing government efficiency and cutting useless bureaucracy gives them the shine of conscience stricken whistle-blowers and you taking on powerful parasitic special interest groups that feed on the people's taxes. This is, of course, only if you sell and frame your argument well and at the same time, force the media to play fair.

Hoping that it helps anyone thinking of running for office some day, particularly in a Democrat dominated state.

[kanaell]

I wonder if anyone here eligible and willing to give it, getting elected, a shot?

I remember Victor Morales in 1998 winning the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in Texas. The guy was just a public school teacher but he somehow managed to do it.

Surely a fine principled Conservative Freeper here, somewhere in the blue states can do the same? i.e. win the nomination for the GOP?

[leprechaun9]

An essential requirement for a successful campaign is NOT TO FILL THE CAMPAIGN STRATEGY POSITIONS WITH RINO'S

This was a major failing of Bret's campaign. 'One on One' he was excellent, but trying to discuss issues with his inner circle was as responsive as talking to a wall!

[Kenny Bunk]

I have run against RINO and Independent Democrat alike,(for JP and Judge of Elections) and can attest to your far-seeing wisdom, wee one.

Unfortunately, the RNC, from whom all blessings flow, is convinced that to get the female vote, ya gotta go liberal... gotta weasel around on the abortion thing ... gotta go after the 'Soccer Moms'by being a weasel on the 2d amendment. Well, they're nuts.

The RNC is also nuts about going Liberal to get the Latino vote. We'll get the Negro vote first, if we take a strong stand against illegal immigration and explain to them in a straightforward way how it is costing them their livelihoods. Even the Jewish vote is wising up.

The three-way Democrat whammy, the Jewish-Negro-Woman thing has been costing us elections in the big states ... but we're not going to EVER get it by trying to outcrap the democraps.

We're always going to lose plenty, but we can hold a majority by holding to principle in the places where we do have the votes. We have to do one more thing:

Vote fraud must be ended. Period. The Democraps are robbin' us blind!

[let freedom sing]

good advice bump*ping<)))

[kanaell]

In case anyone is doubting the efficacy of MAKnight's campaign plan, witness the election of Scott Walker (an outspoken and self-identified Conservative Republican) over Jim Ryan (a Leftist Democrat), 55%-45% in the Milwaukee County Executive's race yesterday.

Walker never once hid his conservatism and he won a high-turnout election in a county that went 61% for Al Gore in 2000. He even managed to eat significantly into the Democrat's share of the black and Hispanic vote. The following is from the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal, which had (typical media Democrat fixation) endorsed Ryan.

Walker didn't concede any sector of the community to his opponents in the primary or the final election, including the city of Milwaukee and African-American neighborhoods where others presumed he would be weak.

An anecdote that shows how effective his campaign was: Ryan appeared on a Saturday afternoon program on WNOV-AM (860) several weeks ago, hosted by Lenard Wells, a retired Milwaukee police lieutenant. After Ryan left, Wells criticized Walker strongly and said he didn't want to have Walker on his program. But within minutes, Walker was at the studio in person, where he went on the air and, as usual, handled himself well. Moments like that show why he did far better than many expected among African-American voters.

If this proves anything, it proves that Ronald Reagan's victories in CA and the nation, the Gingrich Revolution in 1994 and Bret Schundler's Mayoral victories in Jersey City were not flukes. Conservatism, combined with the right candidate(s) is a winning formula. Eliminate the media's bias and you need not even be a super-charismatic "Great Communicator"/ Stategist to succeed.

Now if only the big old Elephants in the GOP would only listen ...

[GraniteStateConservative]

Actually Charlie Cook correctly reports the failings of Schundler's campaign. They weren't all ideological.

From early on the race in New Jersey was a mismatch. Democrat Jim McGreevey already had the experience of a statewide campaign under his belt with his near-upset over Gov. Christie Whitman in 1997. He never stopped running and was long ago anointed by a unified state Democratic party anxious to regain the governor's mansion and delighted that McGreevey was back for a second try. In contrast, not only was it Republican Bret Schundler's first statewide foray, but his relationship with his state party's leadership couldn't have been different.

A conservative championed by the pro-life, pro-gun wing of the party who had spent the seven long Whitman years on the outside looking in, his primary campaign rhetoric was as critical of the Republicans running the state government in Trenton as a Democrat's. Still, Schundler was stunned with attempts by the state party leadership to search for a candidate they believed was viable statewide, leading to the failed campaign of acting governor/state Senate president Donnie DiFrancesco, and the eventual candidacy of last year's Senate nominee, Bob Franks. The hard feelings among the moderates never healed and DiFrancesco more than once was loudly critical of Schundler during the general election campaign while Whitman waited until well into October to generate a feeble letter of endorsement.

Once past the primary, Schundler seemed never to regain his stride. Within days of winning the nomination he was immediately demonized by McGreevey surrogates who played up his conservative views on social issues with no GOP surrogates in sight to come to his aid. Said on veteran political observer here, "Bret was kept on the defensive. He never learned the lesson that when attacked, attack back." He and other insiders also point to Schundler's verbal gaffes and seeming series of back luck - branding McGreevey an "ayatollah" this summer, then, down 18 points in the polls at Labor Day, he went out of the country on a pre-arranged trip to Israel, got stuck overseas in the wake of September 11th, came back and insulted state emergency workers, and in his final debate with McGreevey nine days before the election managed to offend just about everybody when he dragged McGreevey's pregnant wife into the abortion debate and then alluded to his opponent's children being from his first marriage.

Long touted as a new styled Jack Kemp with innovative economic theories and a possible national future in the GOP, Schundler failed to sharpen a message for the general election contest and, in the words of one observer, "never learned to work in sound bites," instead speaking in paragraphs.

[kanaell]

Schundler's campaign failed because of tactical missteps as well as a weakening of ideology (which was caused by the tactical missteps). MAKnight's plan deals with both these issues.

I think MAKnight's campaign plan also addressed the issue of party unity and also about attacking without letting up. Also, the Citizen's Conference Tour idea would also work against demonization attacks.

Either way, your post was very insightful (and correct). Charlie Cook generally is.