I am not a Ron Paul hater…really

I was teaching a candidate school recently in Minnesota and wandered into some dangerous territory. Our firm is often hired to do political education and one of our bigger clients is American Majority We teach several sessions that focus on Communications, Campaign Plans, Fundraising, Social Media and Grassroots Organizing (all ppts are available to download and steal here SlideShare )

The last session of the day focuses on Grassroots Organizing Online and Offline. One of the themes I present is how most grassroots movements are viral and require a "host". I then go on to say that Ron Paul was too weak of a "host" to carry his "movement". Full disclosure – I was a mail vendor for Fred Thompson's campaign (that is a whole other discussion) and I did not support Ron Paul. Having said that, I was constantly intrigued by his supporters and his "movement". I work in the business of political campaigns and like to think I am a student of how they work on a logistics and business end. So for the purposes of this post lets skip by issues and just talk nuts and bolts.

First I have to take a dig at my strident Libertarian friends who loved Dr. Paul – learn a lesson from him

1. Run as a Libertarian for Congress and lose
   
2. Run as a Republican for Congress and win
   
3. Run as a Republican for President and get to take the stage, be in the debates and air your issues
   

(**CORRECTION** thanks to my observant friend Steve from Minnesota I stand corrected. Dr. Paul was Republican Member of Congress from 1976 to '85. He then ran for President in 1988 as a Libertarian. He then returned to Congress in 1996 as a Republican. I was wrong and I repent. However I think it would be fair to say that he ran for Congress in 1996 as Republican because he knew he would not win if he ran as a Libertarian.)

Pretty safe to say no one is accusing Dr. Paul of "selling out" even though he ran as a Republican. I can already feel the hate that point is going to draw…

Moving on, Dr. Paul raised over $34 million dollars of which over 99% came from individual small donors. This is a supremely impressive feat for a guy who, candidly, has below average public speaking ability, no message discipline, fairly inexperienced campaign organization and barely eked into double digits in most public polling. So his campaign was obviously not as much about the "product" of the candidate. He benefited from a couple powerful motivators;

1. A disgruntled and angry free-market fiscal conservative base
   
2. A weak field of Republican options for President
   
3. A core Libertarian group that was already online
   

$34 million, unfortunately, is still not enough to get serious traction in a modern Presidential Primary. That is compounded by the fact that his campaign spent almost 50% of their cash on "Administrative" expenses. That is just unacceptable. Barely a third of the dollars spent went towards actual voter contact. Ok, now all my grassroots friends can holler and say "of course that is what an evil money grubbing political consultant would say!" But folks let's get real, modern campaigns are not small mom and pop businesses any more…especially ones for President. They can start that way but at some point you have to bring in experienced folks to run the ship…having said that the grassroots are still vital and important to success, but they have to have experienced leadership.

Looking back at Howard Dean circa 2003…the guy almost became the democratic nominee and was much more viable than Paul. Both had strong grassroots movements but Dean had some adults in charge at HQ. Ultimately, I think both Dean and Paul were not strong enough vessels for their movements. So what happened to many of those early Deaniacs? They became the base of Barack Obama's underdog campaign in early 2007. So why was Barack successful where Dean was not?

1. Obama is a FAR superior candidate "product" than Howard Dean
   
2. Obama's team of very experienced political folks had a whole list of lessons learned from the Dean Campaign
   
3. The online left-roots had only grown larger and stronger since 2003
   

In short I would propose that Barack Obama would NEVER have gotten off the ground had it not been for Howard Dean.

So if you were a Ron Paulie in 2007 what should you be preparing for? Look for the well spoken Liberty candidate. Can you imagine if Dr. Paul had the TV appeal or speaking skills of a Mike Pence or Jeff Flake? There will be a Republican candidate running in 2012 (in all seriousness they have probably already started) that will carry many of Dr. Paul's limited government issues, learned from his mistakes and have a more experienced team around them. Don't know who that "Candidate X" is yet but if you find them let me know.

Candidate X is looking for your passion, your love of liberty and yes your dollars too. That candidate will finally be worth the absolutely incredible effort that so many Paul supporters poured into the 2008 primary.

Be looking for that candidate because they are probably already looking for you.

How SXSW Is Different Than Your “Usual” Conference

First of all many of you are wondering what is SXSW and why do I keep talking about it. It stands for South by Southwest. Started in 1987 as an independent music festival that now has 3 stages that include film, music and interactive. I just came for the interactive. I am not sophisticated enough to enjoy indie film or music.

Is it a tech geek thing? Kinda sorta. It has a lot of different aspects and I came as someone who is just curious. You can check out the schedule of sessions here http://sxsw2009.sched.org/

From my layman's perspective, and in an attempt to be funny and way oversimplify this week, here are some observations in the difference between SXSW and a regular "Trade Show"

1. More tattoos…less comb overs.
   
2. More jeans…less khakis.
   
3. More Macs…less PCs.
   
4. More iPhones…less Blackberrys.
   
5. More Battlestar Galactica…less College hoops.
   
6. More guys who code…less guys who sell.
   
7. More brains…less schmaltzy sales pitches.
   
8. More piercings…less polo shirts.
   
9. More green tea…less Starbucks.
   

More later…

Chris Faulkner

Consumer Engagement :: The Marketing Arm

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Consumer Engagement :: The Marketing Arm

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Blacks, whites hear Obama differently - Nia-Malika Henderson - POLITICO.com

Targeting can be done by mail, phones, media and even public speaking.

Blacks, whites hear Obama differently - Nia-Malika Henderson - POLITICO.com: "Dog-whistle politics was hardly invented by Obama. One of its most deft practitioners lately was President George W. Bush. He regularly borrowed the language of evangelical Christianity and the anti-abortion movement to signal he was simpatico with their beliefs, even as he often avoided obvious displays of support that might turn off middle-of-the-road voters.

“The code words matter, how you dress matters, how you speak matters; it’s all subliminal messaging, and all politicians use it,” said Michael Fauntroy, an assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University, who specializes in race and American politics. “Ronald Reagan used to talk about making America the shining city on a hill, which is about America as divinely inspired, and it has a deep vein in the evangelical conservative movement. It goes on all the time, and there are so many circumstances when only the target people get the message.”"

This is a fascinating look at how words can mean different things to different people and how effective campaigns use this to make a message stick.

INDIANA FIRM WINS AWARD FROM NATIONAL MAGAZINE

(Granger, IN) – Faulkner Strategies was presented a Reed Award by Campaigns & Election Politics Magazine for its innovative direct mail design during the 2008 election cycle. The Midwest based communications firm took top honors for category of Direct Mail for a Republican State Legislative Candidate.

The piece features Indiana State Representative candidate Dan Leonard who needed to make his mail stand out during an election cycle inundated with national and statewide candidates stuffing mailboxes as never before in Indiana. The mail piece was designed to emphasize Leonard’s “outsider status. The message targeted to voters was that a small action performed by them (voting for Dan Leonard) would lead to a big change, i.e. an outsider like Dan being elected. By utilizing fun and creative graphic design with easily read blurbs, the voter was guided through seemingly unimportant moments in history that turned out to make a significant impact on their today.

Faulkner Strategies was retained by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, who was targeting the Leonard race in the 2008 Republican primary. Dan Leonard handily beat two others in the primary, with his vote total coming out to 4249 while the other two received 1675 and 1343. “Faulkner Strategies is the best political mail vendor in the Midwest and is a growing Indiana company with a talented staff. IBRG has hired Faulkner Strategies on several races in the last few elections to handle direct mail for our endorsed candidates in competitive races and is a company we have an excellent relationship with,” said Michael Davis, Vice President of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

Jordan S. Lieberman, President of Political World Communications, LLC and publisher of Politics magazine, said, “The competition for this award was intense, and included some of the most successful political professionals in the world."
Founder & President of Faulkner Strategies said, "By winning this award, I think we’ve proven that fun and upbeat messaging in a campaign can make a difference. Our team worked hard to tell a story about the difference one man can make in a community and the voters responded positively to it.”

The Reed Awards recognizes excellence in campaign management, political consulting and creative content. The awards are named after Campaigns & Elections founder Stanley Foster Reed, and embody his mission to strive for excellence in political campaigning.

The Campaigns & Elections' Politics magazine Reed Awards are highly coveted by the nation's top political consultants. This year's Reed Awards were judged by political luminaries from across the political spectrum, including: Morton Blackwell, Tucker Carlson, Tom Davis, Monica Dixon, Ben Dworkin, Vic Fazio, Martin Frost, Julie Germany, Shane Greer, Ken Khachigian, Mike Hennessy, Ron Klain, Mike Krempasky, Kevin Madden, Mark, McKinnon, Dick Morris, Terry Nelson, Christie Pelosi, Amy Pritchard, Larry Sabato, Ron Silver, Jamal Simmons, Michael Steele, George Stephanopolous, Robert Traynham, Joe Trippi, Suzanne Turner, Vaughn Ververs, Amy Walter, Christine Todd Whitman, and Reid Wilson.

Faulkner Strategies is an Indiana based targeted communications firm that focuses on delivering personalized and impactful messages to consumers and voters. For more information visit http://www.faulknerstrategies.com/.

GOP Bright Spot For 2008 Was Indiana

In 2008 one of the nation’s longest GOP streaks for President was broken. Barack Obama was the first Democrat since LBJ in 1964 to win Indiana. So with Obama’s wave of change sweeping over our state the GOP must have taken a beating and lost the Governor’s race right?

Nope, not even close. Mitch Daniels won reelection by 18 points.

How big was the win for Governor Daniels? By the numbers it went like this:

With 1,563,873 votes Governor Daniels received more votes than any other Hoosier candidate for office…ever.

• Daniels received 24% of the Democrat vote.
• Daniels received 20% of the African American vote.
• Daniels won the Independent vote by 18 points.
• Daniels won EVERY age group including young voters (51%-42%).

A Republican Governor won reelection in a purple state in 2008 not by playing it safe but by being a leader.

How did he do it?

• Daniels talked about “change” in 2003 before “change” was cool. When first elected, he inherited a dysfunctional state government, hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. Since taking office, he has had only balanced budgets, the biggest tax cut in state history, telecom reform, ethics reform, and millions of dollars have been paid back to schools and local governments. Indiana is now the only state in the nation to have a fully-funded ten-year transportation plan with no debt or tax increase.
• Hoosiers made a connection with the governor’s steadfast leadership and work ethic. Voters recognized his constant focus on attracting a record number of new and diversified jobs, dramatically reducing homeowner’s property taxes, and the state’s immediate, organized and effective response to the severe weather/record floods in the summer of 2008.
• Daniels was supported by a formidable coalition of both typical and atypical interest groups. Because of his approach, he received backing by union building trades as well as the Chamber of Commerce, the Manufacturer’s Association and the NFIB. The FOP and prominent veteran leaders were seen on TV ads pledging their support in their own non-partisan words. The International Association of Fire Fighters supported Daniels and Obama. African American leaders passed out Governor Daniels suggestion boxes to urban barbershops and hair salons. Fluent in Spanish, Daniels earned the support of traditionally Democrat Latino voters.
• Job creation and tough line on fiscal responsibility. The Midwest is a sea of red ink as every state faces serious budget deficits…every state except one. Indiana.
• Daniels kept it real. He has remained in touch and accessible to average Hoosiers through constant statewide travel. His view is always from the taxpayer’s perspective and that showed on Election Day. Voters came to appreciate his preference to travel the state on his Harley Davidson motorcycle and his insistence to stay overnight in Hoosier homes, not in hotels.

Governor Daniels is term limited and will exit office in 2012…hmmm what could he do in 2012?

Lessons from the trenches of 2008.

2008’s electoral results are getting clearer as we close in on a final result in MN and GA. As President-elect Obama sorts out his administration and we all eat turkey sandwiches there are some great lessons to be learned from GOP campaigns of 2008.

In the coming weeks I will interview consultants, campaign staff and candidates to look at the tactics and where they made a difference. Before I start the interviews I want to hear from you on what questions you want answered.

Some of the questions I am considering asking are:

• What campaign on the GOP side showed real innovation in fundraising?
• What campaign on the GOP side had the most effective use of New Media?
• What candidate on the GOP side best leveraged earned media to get traction?
• What campaign on the GOP side showed the greatest comeback?
• What campaign on the GOP side showed the best mobilization of grassroots supporters?
• What campaign on the GOP side had the most effective GOTV organization?
• What GOP media consultant showed the most appreciation for web video and integrated it into their mix?
• What GOP pollster was the most accurate?
• What GOP mail vendor had the most creative and effective designs? (yes, I am biased)
• What GOP campaign showed the best ability to integrate it’s website into its’ over all campaign operation?
• What GOP candidate has the biggest ideas for the future of our party (even if they lost)?
• What GOP campaign showed the best use of its email list?
• What GOP campaign was really good at the small stuff? (yard signs, bumper stickers, t-shirts, etc)
  
  I also have a sizeable list of people to interview, if you have some you would like to see, let me know.
  
  Email your suggested questions and interviewees to chris@faulknerstrategies.com