After consecutive election cycle setbacks, Republicans are making a comeback. The GOP scored big wins in Virginia and New Jersey state elections last year. In Virginia, after two Democratic administrations, conservatives led a clean-sweep of the statewide-elected offices. It was only one year removed from Virginia going into the Democratic column for the first time in more than 40 years. New Jersey, a blue state with some conservative tendencies, tossed out then-Gov. Jon Corzine.
This month, we witnessed a groundbreaking moment when Scott Brown beat Martha Coakley to take the vacated seat of the late Ted Kennedy, which had been filled in the interim by Paul Kirk. Before that, the position was filled by Ben Smith and John F. Kennedy. You have to go all the way back to Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., who was beaten by JFK in 1952, to find the last Republican to hold the seat.
How did this happen? Republicans didn’t sit back, disillusioned after the defeats of the 2008 elections. They did what you have to do to be victorious – go back, assess what went wrong, what went right, and how the other guys got over on you. Virginia Republicans, especially, could have been pretty dejected. But, they organized, got it right and whipped the Democrats.
Being out of power in Congress and the presidency has allowed the party to do some self-analysis. Certain factions are in favor of a strict, doctrinaire policy in which you have to be 100 percent according to a set of criteria to be legitimate. That’s no way to build a party, and no way to win an election. Elections are won by bringing together coalitions – ideally, among people who are with you all of the time, and people who are with you most of the time.
We won the recent elections by casting a wide net to bring in as many people under our banner as possible. We went to the people with our message, did a good job of it, and came out on the right side. It’s that simple. Should Ronald Reagan have eschewed the support of Rust Belt union members? Of course not. Campaigns in America are unlike Western Europe, including Britain. We don’t use proportional representation, and except for a few limited places, two parties are the standard.
That means broad-based campaigns. You have to go to people where they are, and do the best job of selling your message as you can. When conservatives do that, it works, without fail. We bring more people in. Then an independent, a conservative Democrat or even a rarely-voting Republican will cast their ballots for our candidates. And, you know, they just might enjoy it, and make it a habit.
Winning is about addition. We have to demand conservatism while communicating a message that connects with America’s working families. We won’t win by telling people that they’re not good enough to be with us.
Activists across the nation are calling into Massachusetts this weekend to help Scott Brown’s campaign for US Senate. Republicans are finally getting it and creating the online tools for grassroots action. And I’m PUMPED about it.
I believe traditional websites are fading away and more candidates and businesses will start using social networks as their central online hub, specifically Facebook.
Good morning everyone. I hope you are having a fantastic Monday. I just wanted to share this article that ran in The State today.
Stay warm!
- Wesley
Campaigns get interactive Candidates rely on technology to reach out
This ain’t your momma’s gubernatorial campaign.
Seizing on ever-changing technology, South Carolina’s gubernatorial campaigns are unleashing a cloud of new interactive approaches to make you feel connected to their candidates and gain your vote.
Last week, state Sen. Vincent Sheheen, a Camden Democrat running for governor, unveiled the Sheheen Action Network, an interactive social component to his Web site.
Based on technology used by President Obama’s campaign, the network lets Sheheen supporters join or start their own groups, like Teachers for Sheheen and University of South Carolina Students for Sheheen, organize their own campaign events, write blog posts, and upload photos and videos from campaign events.
“No campaign that I’m aware of in South Carolina has done anything like this that’s so interactive,” said Laurin Manning, Sheheen’s new media director who did similar work for Obama’s presidential campaign.
“You may have a person who lives four doors down from you and you don’t know they’re also a [Sheheen] supporter. This is a way to connect.”
U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, the Westminster Republican running for governor, is taking a more visual approach.
Anyone can ask Barrett a question by posting a short video or sending an e-mail to the “Ask Gresham” section of his Web site.
Each week, Barrett answers about three questions in his own short video posts.
“He’s very personable,” said Wes Donehue, who oversees Barrett’s new media. “He’s a very likable guy, and that comes across in the videos. Video works for him.”
Next week, the Barrett campaign will unveil another Web site feature allowing supporters to download scripts and phone numbers so they can phone-bank from home.
Barrett and state Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, boast the largest followings on Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites among the Republican candidates for governor.
“You’ve got to work on it every day,” said Grooms, who through the sites has developed a large, loyal following of Tea Party activists, among others. “It’s just a new way of communicating.”
It’s also a new way of self-promotion.
When Democrat Jim Rex, the state superintendent of education who is running for governor, decided to do a recent conference call about his campaign, he promoted the event entirely on Facebook.
“You have to meet voters where they are,” said Rex campaign aide Zeke Stokes. “And lots of them are on Facebook.”
Rex also soon will begin a series of Twitter town hall meetings, discussing his positions on issues. Twitter users will be able to ask questions and get direct answers from Rex in real time.
Henry McMaster, the S.C. attorney general and a GOP gubernatorial candidate, is using Google ads to target S.C. voters as they peruse the Internet.
Google shows the McMaster ad to computer users that it identifies as likely South Carolinians based on key words that the user types into the search engine.
Currently, hundreds of Web sites frequented by S.C. voters display the ads.
“They range from college football Web sites to political blogs,” said Rob Godfrey, McMaster’s spokesman. “Our plan – and it’s been very successful – has been to saturate those Web sites that S.C. voters visit often with Henry’s positive message.”
Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, another contender for the Republican gubernatorial nomination, is dabbling in desktop broadcasting.
Soon, Bauer’s supporters will be able to sign up for campaign updates on specific topics – like education and job growth. A desktop icon will flash whenever Bauer releases new information.
On several fronts, technology is turning traditional campaign notions on their ear, according to GOP strategist Donehue.
“It used to be where you only heard from candidates right at the end of elections, when they went up on TV,” he said. “Now, [voters] can hear from the candidate throughout the campaign. Plus, from a monetary standpoint, it is the cheapest way to communicate with voters ever.”
But the new technology is not a political silver bullet, said state Sen. Robert Ford of Charleston, who is seeking the Democratic nomination.
The new technology is good, said Ford, adding he uses it. But it is only one small piece of running a campaign.
“I do all the shoulder rubbing and hand shaking I can,” Ford said. “I get out and help people solve problems every day.
“You can’t do that by Twittering or Facebook. That’s good to have, but it doesn’t take the place of good old-fashioned grass-roots campaigning.”
I shot this video last week and hesitated to post it because I know I’m going to catch all kinds of hell with even suggesting using purchased lists. But I’m here to talk about the results I’m having and this is what I’ve found.
Purchased and rented lists typically have a HORRIBLE open rate, but you can have some strong success if you use them strategically and very sparingly with the goal of grabbing new organic subscribers – prospecting. NEVER dump a purchased list into your organic list and absolutely 100% never ever ever SPAM the crap of folks with tons of unsolicited emails every week. Use them in the midst of hot button issues only when folks will be spurred to action.
I should have also mentioned stolen lists in this video. This year alone I’ve ended up on about ten new mailing lists because consultants are stealing candidate’s lists and giving them to other candidates. Seriously people…quit with the dumb shiz.
I was about to cut a video on this until I stumbled across this one by Kevin Rose. My question: how can candidates and elected officials use these applications?
A couple days ago someone asked me “what’s your strategy with using Daily Booth?”
My answer – “I don’t have a strategy. We’re just having fun.”
But the more I think about it, I ask, isn’t having fun a good business strategy? I think so. When I’m searching for new folks to work with, I absolutely look through their tweets, facebook posts, and photo albums. I want to work with likeminded teams – people who like to have a lot of fun while working their butts off.
And then there are the candidates. Issues, especially in this environment, are most important. But we just went through a string of political scandals. Here in South Carolina alone we’ve had Charlie Sharpe, Thomas Ravenel, and Governor Sanford. Applications like Daily Booth give you the opportunity to show off some personality and to connect with voters on a more personal level. You don’t have to get too cheesy, but remember, likeability is half the game. You can be 100% right on the issues, but if voters see you as untrustworthy, chances are they ain’t voting for you.
Sitting in the Charlotte airport, heading to Tampa, Florida to meet a candidate I’m now working with. It’s pretty early and I’ve tried to write a few memos but all I can think about is the lousy performance by our South Carolina Gamecocks yesterday. In all my years of being a hardcore Gamecock, I’ve never seen our team play such a half-assed game. Even during our 21 game losing streak, our team at least tried. Yesterday was just sorry, earning the Gamecocks a well deserved #FAIL.
I just reread Will Folk’s Power 100 list, which was posted a few days ago. It’s always the most popular SC political post of the year because every one and their mother rushes to the site to see what they were ranked. You can tell that Will puts a lot of effort into the list, and love or hate the guy, you can’t doubt his ability to get a crap ton of web hits. Obviously the most glaring absence from Will’s list is Will himself and seeing that he has never been one to shy away from being cocky, I’m always surprised that he leaves himself off. I agree with about 15% of what Will writes, but there’s little doubt of his influence on the palmetto state political scene and he should be on the list. Probably ranked around #88 (I’m ranked 87. It’s a joke. I know…I’m not very funny at all).
Will made some random comment on WIS a few months back where he said something like “I drive the conversation in South Carolina.” You might think that Will’s line was just another example of his cockiness, and well…it was. But it was also a good bit true. I can tell you from working on the Senate floor that in any given day, at least 10 South Carolina State Senators have fitsnews.com on their monitors. Everyone reads him.
What’s the point in all this about Will?
There are many in South Carolina who claim to ignore him. That’s a mistake. Don’t let him get under your skin, but don’t ignore the guy. The donors read him. The activists read him. All the operatives read him. And chances are that a lot them live in your district. While every voter might not read him, the opinion leaders do, and his message often trickles into the mainstream media where your voters DO read it.
As for the list itself, its half horseshit, but Will doesn’t claim to be fair and he makes his biases very well known. I don’t think people like Neil Mellen should be listed above Trey Walker or Walter Whetsell or John Hazzard. Neil’s a super nice guy but Trey , Walter, and John have more pull in their pinky toes than Neil has in his entire body. I obviously have issue with the negative comments he makes about my clients and colleagues. I don’t think Senators Tom Davis or Mick Mulvaney are more powerful than their likeminded colleagues and Senate Chairmen Greg Ryberg, Larry Grooms, or Danny Verdin. They’re both influential, but the State Senate power structure is based on seniority. Like it or not, that’s the way it is. I also have big issues with a self-professed Libertarian calling Republicans RINOs while concentrating on only one plank of the Republican Party, something I’m constantly harping on.
But guess what? It ain’t my list. It’s Will’s list and he can rank people however he sees fit. He’s a blogger, not a reporter. He doesn’t have to be fair or even right. It’s not like he has an editor breathing over his shoulder. And like me, he’s paid to promote particular messages. Take Will’s blog for what it is, but you better not ignore it, or you will probably end up regretting it.
One last note. There are a few accurate things on the list, like this:
Jeffrey Sewell – Editor, SC Hotline
How the mighty have fallen … once positioned to become the Matt Drudge of South Carolina, Sewell has turned the SC Hotline into an afterthought for a handful of decrepit politicos who haven’t updated their web browser since 1999.
We’ve designed and developed a lot of sites. Some of them were pretty complicated, but one of my favorites was the absolute simplest – www.scsenategop.com.
When developing a site, you should keep attractive design in mind, but its not the most important. I see a lot of beautiful sites out there, but their functionality is completely useless. They remind me of nothing more than pretty mail pieces.
You probably know by now that I serve as the Political Director and Communications Director for the SC Senate Republican Caucus. A couple months ago I relaunched the Senate Caucus website and I’ve been tweaking it every few days.
I love this site because of its simplicity. During session, our 27 Senators are pumping out a lot of content in every form – written, video, audio, and image based content. We also tweet from committee meetings and the Senate floor and last year we launched a successful weekly web chat called Senate Time. Not to mention a ton of news stories every day.
When developing the site I kept two audiences in mind – the press and the voters. While I imagined we get a small trickily of uber-informed voters visiting our site, I knew that our site would be better used as a resource for the press. If we target the press correctly, they deliver our message to voters on the radio, on television, and in newspapers.
For example, if we post audio mp3 quotes regarding big legislation on the website, radio stations are likely to pick it up and broadcast it. After all, it saves them a ton of time and manpower and I get much more access to the Senators, making it easier to grab the content.
It ain’t the prettiest design in the entire world, but its one of the most informative and constantly updated sites we’ve ever built. Check out www.scsenategop.com when we go back into session in two weeks. We have a few new cool features we’re about to release. I think you’ll love them.
