The forward-looking campaign – not in the Mass. gov. election

October 19, 2006 by Mary Wynne-Wynter 

Here’s a political example of the importance of have the correct slogan (message, tag line etc).

The article made me think about the Massachusetts governor’s race that got increasingly odious in the past few weeks as Rep. Kerry Healey’s ads insinuated that Dem. Deval Patrick sympathized with rapists and cop-killers. I’m not impressed  with Patrick or Healey on the issues, but the creepy Healey attack ads make it a lot harder for me to vote for her. 

But then Patrick responded, defending himself and attacking Healey, and I felt so sad to see him do so. So I’ve been thinking about my psychological reaction to Patrick’s response.  Simplistically, its the proverbial "don’t stoop to their level".  I wish he had not.  I so badly wanted him to ignore it, to not react, to be progressive and ballsy and just say what he stands for and say it simply.. maybe with a touch of defiance and humor and populist-style one-liners like Kinky Friedman’s statement: I’M NOT LIKE THEM.

I could picture it…a different 10 sec. ad every night for a week with a defiant Patrick:

I’m Deval Patrick and I uphold the constitution…NOT LIKE THEM.

I’m Deval Patrick and I do the job the taxpayers pay me to do…NOT LIKE THEM.

I’m Deval Patrick and I stand for change and progress…NOT LIKE THEM.

No clarifications, no explanations…let the media fill it in any way they want. Give the voters a list of your pros and cons and an idea or two of how you will pull it off. 

Kinky promises big changes. He’ll legalize casino gambling and use the proceeds to fund public schools — "slots for tots." He’s the only candidate in the race — or maybe anywhere — who supports both school prayer and gay marriage. ("They have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us," he explains.) He’ll clamp down on illegal immigration. And he’ll run the state’s school buses on the biodiesel fuel that Willie Nelson uses to propel his tour bus.

"We can make Texas number one in renewable fuels — which is a helluva lot better than being number one in executions, toll roads, property taxes and dropouts!"

The learning for me: think out of the box when hiring your political (or business, or personal) advisors.  Be different, be bold with your slogan (unlike Patrick’s wimpy "together we can"). If you’re too safe, too conservative, or trying to be something (or someone) you are really not… you’ll end up looking JUST LIKE THEM.

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR; Running With Blinders: "Looking to the 2008 presidential race, there is still time to for progressive candidates to consider a fresh approach to running for office…."

To level the playing field, and restore clarity to progressive values, I propose “the forward-looking campaign.”

The rules are simple. Never mention the opponent. Don’t talk about the opponent’s policies. Don’t question the opponent’s character. Don’t talk about votes the opponent may have cast last week, last year or even 10 years ago. Refuse to run against anything or characterize any group; choose instead to run for something. Rather than engaging the opposition, the forward-looking candidate will engage the American people in a conversation about our future, keeping the focus on what we can accomplish as a nation and as individuals.

This is not just a commitment to be positive. Many candidates have tried that and failed. I was one of them. In 1992, I ran what many would consider a positive congressional campaign; my advertising never mentioned my opponent. But during a debate, I read statements she had made about me, noting that they were inaccurate. I made the corrections and moved on, doing so — I thought — without venom.

The next day’s newspapers, however, described my actions as a personal assault, suggesting that sparks flew when I “stood up to attack.” Any luster I had gained from being positive had been tarnished.

I should have known then what is now quite obvious: one person’s “clarification” is another person’s “brutal attack.” This is why the forward-looking candidate commits to avoiding any mention of the opposition, focusing instead on those whom he seeks to serve. It is a campaign promise that can be kept before a single vote is cast.

(Via NYT > Contributors.)

Filed under: Consciousness, career, going solo
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