A simple strategy for winning elections that most state parties fail to follow
1. Find a candidate, or if you are the candidate, find a core group of hardcore supporters2. Train self and supporters on how to win, take advice from people who have won competitive elections before
3. Mount an insurgent candidacy against an incumbent, run repeatedly
4. Build momentum, even if it takes several elections, unseat the establishment/incumbent
5. Work like crazy while in office to firm up foundation, win over coalitions
6. Coast on inertia of incumbency, work behind the scenes to get victories, let the activists consider you a sellout as you systemically deconstruct the state from within.
Most state parties write off anything but a sure bet, which has two consequences:
1. They never prevail when they never even fight
2. They lose the opportunity for activists and candidates to learn what it really takes to win.
Any previous election under 55% is what most state parties are interested in, and then they bowl over anyone else but aren't really interested. I'm not saying that resources should be diverted to long shots, but we should play like champions and treat every race as though it's a golden opportunity to send a statist packing. I once wrote out a plan with a friend on taking 10 longer-than-normal-shot state house races and running serious campaigns for them, utilizing economies of scale to cut costs on mail, web, phones, etc.-- still a decent idea if I could figure out how to finance the bulk of it.
Labels: campaigns, conservativism, politics, theory
posted by . @ 10:04 AM
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