Clark Gathering in Little Rock starts Tomorrow…two ideas
Tomorrow former members of the Clark volunteer campaign will be gathering in Little Rock for two days. I understand there will be around 200 in attendance.
I can’t attend for scheduling reasons, although if I can catch a flight tonight that might change, but here’s two ideas if someone wants to talk about substance not just have a feel-good hug and meetings convention and redesign a Meetup system…something that could have happened by email. [Caveat] I’m entirely on the outside of this event and it could be more substantive than it seems on the surface.
Again and again I come back to Practical Politics…even if it is two years in advance.
Idea #1. Per Political Wire:
Kerry, Edwards Paying New Hampshire Staffers
Sen. John Kerry and former Sen. John Edwards “are currently paying staff to work for local candidates in New Hampshire, home of the nation’s first presidential primary,” Roll Call reports.
“There seems little doubt that the hirings by the two men will be viewed through the prism of 2008 presidential politics as both have made little secret of their ambitions.”
Fair enough and LOTS more below the flip!
Fair enough and a damn good idea! There is no better way to cement relationships than by having professional staffers involved 2 years early in all the local and Congressional Races in the state.
So why not take that good idea and take it one step farther? Hire WesPac staffers to do the same in New Hampshire and, more importantly, Iowa?
By doing so now, WesPac’s visibility, viability and professional credibility are enhanced and WesPac has two years to cement relationships in both states. Frankly I think Iowa is the more important of the two states. But the concept works.
Idea #2: (and this is more radical…but if you’ve followed The Insurgent Political Campaign you know I don’t shy from unusual, but effective, techniques)
Once the Campaign is ready to announce, assuming Wes Clark does just that, move the Campaign HeadQuarters to Iowa! No greater statement of commitment has ever been made about the conviction and determination of the Candidate than to take all his people and put them into the first competitive state!
In consulting my political friends and partners here, the only downside they mentioned was the potential added cost.
As a real estate guy for 26 years, I don’t see the issue. Wherever the HQ is located it has to pay rent and overhead. Frankly I’d be amazed if Iowa wasn’t less expensive than Little Rock. But the cost differentials would be minor if any and the PR invaluable.
Imagine: No sitting Governor can take that step. He has to be in his office. The same is true of members of Congress. Wes Clark would be the only Candidate in the field to make that huge non-verbal statement of commitment.
Iowa has plently of central major airports and certainly is NOT a rural backward state. They also have the most complicated contest of the entire Primary system and will need a ton of groundwork.
What better way to state the Campaigns commitment to Iowa, and the Primary Process, than to uproot the Campaign and do something that’s never been done before…relocate the HQ to the first contested state!
As a Clark Partisan since before there was a campaign, I think both of these ideas deserve real consideration by the professional staff of WesPac and Wes Clark himself. Let’s hope they get the message. I’m sending copies into other blogs and directly to some attendee’s to try and get into WesPac’s hands.
We’ll see.
(If you want a more opinionated version of this post check The Political Dogfight)
