A reader writes:
Allan,
Will the material you plan to teach help freedom candidates win outside of the United States? From your promo emails it looks like you are going to be covering a lot of the basics that appear to be stuff that should work almost anywhere. Is that correct?
— A Reader
—
My methods work everywhere, because everywhere I have seen politics practiced, I see the same mistakes being made. Please allow me to elaborate.
A lot of political campaigns look something like this: meet people, get your name out there, hope that all goes well on Election Day.
A lot more method can be added to that process. Allow me to illustrate why that framework is not enough.
Meet people
Who are you meeting? How much time are your spending with them? Is the purpose of the meeting to win votes, identify volunteers, or raise money? There isn’t a lot else that you need to be talking with anyone about as a candidate.
Of course you take time to learn about issues and to hear what is motivating people to vote but if they are not giving you money, willing to volunteer in some capacity, or a voter in your district, there is not a lot of reason to talk to them.
A lot of candidates talk to anyone, because they are operating under the vague and saccharine jeremiad “I just want to get my message out there.” Two years before an election that might make sense. Two months before an election it is very hard to justify. Yet that is what many many candidates do: they spend time looking for the next person to meet and are very amiable about it, but that is no way to identify what it is that you need to do or who you need to meet. Being busy does not equal staying focussed on victory.
Asking yourself what it takes to win and always being focussed on that is helpful. For this reason, I know that constant focus on a number is helpful. Of course I want candidates to meet people, but a solid 95% of candidate time in most elections is spent with people who can’t vote for them, won’t give money, and won’t volunteer for them. Such people cannot have a moment of your time after you have recognized that they do not fit your immediate purpose of winning an election. Yet that is who most candidates spend most of their time with. I have no shortage of unkind words to speak about such behavior.
That may sound harsh or cruel. What is truly harsh and cruel is losing a winnable campaign and wasting all kinds of energy, money, and time of the people who care most about you and your values. Why did you lose? Because you didn’t get enough votes. Why didn’t you get enough votes? Because you spent lots of your finite and precious time being nice to everyone you met rather than being discerning enough to win.
You can’t focus on the amiable good-for-nothing and your victory at the same time. In the context of a campaign, if they can’t vote, won’t give, and won’t volunteer, they are a good for nothing. It doesn’t matter how amiable they are.
They will amiably steal your community’s last hope — you. They are likely too amiable to realize that. But you who know better and still spend time with the amiable, you are acting in malice and doing the work of promoting great evil in the world.
Listen to me. Your campaign really matters. Winning really matters. “Meet people” must be understood in that context.
Get your name out there
No matter how many signs you post, no matter how many radio interviews you do, if you can’t get a hold of the people who support you, you are missing the fundamental nature of a campaign: being able to organize people toward a common goal.
That goal is to get you winning.
I despise the phrase “get your name out there.” It is used in defense of the most idiotic and impotent behavior. Skywriting, performance art, nursing some strange quirk — these are all things candidates do to get their name out there.
You don’t win by getting your name out there. You win by getting more votes than the next guy. Name recognition is not the goal. Popularity is not the goal. In a grassroots campaign these are next to meaningless. Get more votes than the next guy.
That’s it. Unless you approach it with that attitude, don’t waste my time by asking “What about X brilliant idea?” Every idea must be held to this standard: My resources are limited, with my resource of time chief among them. Realizing that, is this brilliant idea of mine the very best way to get more votes than the next guy?
Hope all goes well on Election Day
If you’ve run a grassroots campaign the way most people run a grassroots campaign, on Election Day, the best you are going to be able to do is hope.
On Election Day you can say this: “I have built a 3,000 person organization and I know that 80% of them are going to reliably come out and vote for me today and to help me with all kinds of future efforts!” or you can say “I hope all goes well for me today.”
I know which one I would like to be doing.
I know which one I would like you to be doing.
Join me in “There Is No Substitute For Victory.”
Allan Stevo