I just read mole333’s excellent diary Do you really want to win 2006? In 2008?
It’s #38 on the recent diaries list as I write this.
I agree with his sentiment. Now is the time to get involved for 2006 and even 2008.
I’m glad he gave a list of non-blogging real life activities to try.
Reading the list got me thinking about the way we do politics. And it worries me.
I don’t see anything that’s really ‘new’.
Politics is about change.
- Ya vote out the bum who’s changing things the wrong way, or isn’t changing what need to be changed.
- Ya vote in the guy who’ll “fix” things — change things to be more how you like them.
Even on the progressive side, I just don’t see the “new”, I just don’t see the “change”.
We can put in progressives who are more like us. Good. I guess. I mean, I don’t know what they’ll do differently than what’s currently being done, but I assume its better than what the other guys are doing. I don’t like the other guys, after all.
So, what can I do to help this guy who’s more like me win the office so he can, er, make things better?
Give money? “Early money could decide the race”.
Okay. I don’t know what I’m really buying, but if I buy it early, I get a better value?
Its commonly said “there’s too much money in politics”. Well, its true. Not sure where we made the decision that our best strategy was to spend more money to counter all their money. At the end of the election, its votes, not money, that count.
Advertising says people are really simple, and can be made to beleive anything with enough marketing. So, that’s what we’ve done. Advertising.
I’m from MN. Jesse Ventura may have been a national joke as a governor, but he’s the last time I’ve seen the people rise up and vote their consciences, vote their hopes for something better, vote for a change in the way things are done. He offered a clear choice, and the people responded. Turnout was up. Part of the disengaged 40% got out and voted. The political bigwigs from both parties were taken by surprise.
I wish the progressives would capture that kind of energy. Running scared (the Republicans will destroy the country, vote for ME!) or running dirty (Eh, if they do, we should too!), or just plain running on character (vote for me, I’m like YOU!) simply isn’t enough.
People are interested in politics when they feel they can make a difference. When something they strongly believe in is literally at stake, and its made crystal clear to them if they do A, they’ll get B. When what they do matters. When they feel involved.
Recently in MN the national-political news has been which candidates are raising the most money for Dayton’s soon-to-be-vacated Senate seat. Not their plans once they get the seat, but simply how much money they’ve raised before telling any of us what they’d do if we put them in office. Both parties. Its a game unto itself.
Its kinda sickening.
I thought a big part about being progressive was about inclusion of the grassroots, about doing the will of the people, and of course all those nice progressive ideals (vs the Republican agenda of ‘survival of the connected’).
Turning our campaigns into clones of the soulless Republican Machine, focused on dollars and groundwork, seems … dangerous.
It doesn’t matter how much money the other side spends if voters have a personal connection and trust with our candidates.
Yes, people are busy. They’re isolated.
That’s not just reality, its our advantage.
One way to reach them is through the media — you know, the ugly beast sucking up millions and billions of advertising dollars while forcing our politicians to whore themselves out to compete.
The other is to use networks of people. Parents visit kids’ sporting events. Coworkers chat in the breakrooms and hallways. Neighbors still do see each other, even if they don’t share a brew on the front steps anymore. It doesn’t take millions of dollars to spread a message that way.
It does take a message folks have an interest in spreading. One that both the giver and the recipient want to share.
Ah well, 2am ramblings. Long on ideas, short on specifics. But then, I guess I wrote this to make the point that the “one-size-fits-all” corporate-style approach to campaigning isn’t necessarily the answer.
So maybe the answer is simply to recognize how your community acts, and to encourage you to find a way to spread the message in a way that best fits it. Maybe it is the local TV spot in the 6 o’clock news or billboard that everyone sees. Maybe corporate campaigning is the answer for your community.
But maybe, just maybe, for your community there is a better way. A way that involves people — the people in your community. A way that makes them part of the message, not just lab-rats subjected to it.
Heck, I’ve even come up with a great little event idea for both word-of-mouth and free press while writing this. I’m sure there are hundreds more just like it. I think I’ll share it with a local candidate as a way to get the message out — when I find one with a message really worth sharing.
