Madison Ave. Ad Exec Reveals How GOP Wins Elections

[Pirate Smile]

Via Daily Kos

Madison Ave. Ad Exec Reveals How GOP Wins Elections

by Mr Populist
Sat Sep 09, 2006 at 09:47:53 AM PDT

The diary entry I'm posting today is not my own but a public domain essay written by an anonymous writer who describes himself as a "high powered Madison Ave. advertising executive." He uses the alias "Coty Jarrett" because many of his clients are Republican politicians and opinion leaders. His motive for writing the essay is simple: he's sympathetic to the Democrats and wants to pass on privileged information on how Republicans win elections. He conveys it in the form of an open letter to all Democratic candidates and campaign managers in elections this fall.

I first saw it on the Huffington blog and saved it because it was a brilliant but cynical essay on the deployment of power in the manner of Niccolo Machiavelli's The Prince. I'm not sure if Coty Jarrett's Rules of Perception has ever been posted on the Daily Kos, but I searched the tagging index and came up empty handed. Even if it's been posted and discussed on the Daily Kos previously, I think it's worth revisiting.

Mr Populist's diary :: ::
Here is his list of rules, in the form of an open letter to all Democratic congressional candidates (and their campaign managers) this fall:

THE RULES OF PERCEPTION

John Kerry went to Vietnam, saved a man's life and was wounded. Somehow, the voters perceived of John Kerry as a coward who never served his country and would not be tough enough as our commander-in-chief. George W. Bush avoided Vietnam and failed to fulfill his National Guard obligation. Somehow, the people of this country perceived of George W. Bush as a heroic military man and a courageous commander-in-chief.

This is called MANAGING PERCEPTION. Not just managing the perception people have of YOUR guy, but more importantly, managing the perception people have of the OTHER guy! In 2004, more people perceived that Kerry was bad and Bush was good. Just enough people for Bush to win the election.
Which brings us to a cold hard fact: if the Democrats want to take back Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008, they must become as good as Karl Rove at managing perception. The good news is, it's not some trick only Karl Rove knows the secret to. Managing perception is not even all that difficult once you know the rules.

RULE ONE
Pick ONE INDIVIDUAL to head up your election team and give this person TOTAL AUTHORITY to manage all advertising messages and perception issues. Whatever he or she says -- goes! And no more discussion.

There were 29 people in charge of Kerry, including Kerry himself. The public heard 29 different viewpoints. The Republicans had one person in charge: Rove. The public heard one viewpoint: Rove's. Americans are used to single-minded powerful selling messages, and they like a single-minded powerful point-of-view.

Hint!
Choose the roughest, toughest person who has ever created wildly successful advertising and PR campaigns. Make damned sure this person is a real marketer, doesn't take any guff from anybody and is NOT a political stooge. Make sure ALL money flows to this one person and all spending is coordinated through this person. (Strong hint: if the DNC drafted Donnie Deutsch, they'd take it all.)

RULE TWO
Learn how to disseminate simple catchphrases the mainstream media can use. Like Rove when he invented "cut and run" -- which Fox and the mainstream media lapped up like a thirsty dog. You need to do this with the same dexterity and speed. You will never exceed Rove in this, but you can do AS WELL as he does, which would basically neutralize his effectiveness in the media.

Just watch Fox News (Official News Channel of the successful invasion of Iraq and media/PR representative for the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth). You may hate them, but they're incredibly effective at spreading the Rovian catchphrase of the day and using it to rally the faithful, while keeping GOP politicians in lockstep and on message!

Hint!
You do not have a media outlet like Fox, so you must work twice as hard to get the mainstream media to carry your message to ALL voters. Importantly, do not believe the mainstream media is for you and against Republicans. They're not. If you somehow think they'll help you win an election, you've already lost.

RULE THREE
When the other side hands you a bone, do not bury the bone! USE IT! The best way to negatively affect the perception of the other side is to use their own bone against them!
"I voted for it before I voted against it" was a bone Karl Rove shook in our face the entire campaign. It perfectly defined Kerry as a "flip-flopper". When Bush said, "I don't think much about Bin Laden," Kerry should have said, "Bin Laden murdered three thousand Americans and you promised you'd kill him! Why didn't you, you flip-flopping coward?"

Hint!
Cheer up. You missed your chance, but there'll be more. Rudy blamed the grunts for missing that weapons cache. Ask the Mayor why he's not supporting the troops!

RULE FOUR
Understand that you are dealing with a target audience that doesn't care enough, or simply refuses to devote the time to learn the real facts regarding the real issues. Instead, their perception has BECOME the facts!

The target audience fervently believed Saddam Hussein WAS behind the 9/11 attacks and there WERE weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Just as they believe today that the second in command of Al Qaeda has been killed or captured at least a dozen times -- AND they've conveniently forgotten that Osama Bin Laden is not only still alive, but happily and calmly planning future attacks against our country.

Hint!
Do not try to change this reality. Work with it. The perception you create IS the reality! Take heart! If they perceive something despite obvious evidence to the contrary, you will be able to make them perceive any number of things! Including your point of view! Rove knows this and uses it -- you must too!

RULE FIVE
Stop playing by "Marquess of Queensberry" rules. Before you get punched, you punch. Hard. Whenever possible, you punch below the belt. And most importantly, even after they are down, you keep punching.

George Bush. Cocaine. Alcohol. The National Guard. Deserter. With 40 days to go before the election, there should have been 40 awful revelations about George Bush -- one each day, each worse than the one before it.

Hint!
Stop being a candy-ass. If you start lamenting, "I'm becoming just like THEM", you have just guaranteed their victory. They currently OWN the playing field. You either play by their rules or YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE. Your job is to punch hard and neutralize their negative attacks by being just as nasty. IF you make it back into office, THEN you can start working to reform how people get elected. For now, you must get mean!

RULE SIX
NO MORE NUANCE. The target not only fails to understand even the most obvious nuance, they actually HATE the idea there should be nuance at all (it even sounds French!). Nuance = bad. Black and white = good!

"A marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman" -- George Bush.

"I'm personally against gay marriage, but I feel the states should decide." -- John Kerry (too nuanced by half!)

Hint!
Come off your high horse and forget that issues really DO demand nuance, at least until the election is over. Until November, pick a side on each issue and make sure your target audience understands CLEARLY what that side is. And relax! The only people you'll sound like a simpleton to are already voting for you anyway.

RULE SEVEN
Choose ONE VERY CLEAR LABEL for your candidate and NEVER let go of it. Keep hitting it hard until everyone in America knows it is EXACTLY what your candidate stands for.
George Bush was the "unwavering commander-in-chief who won the war on terror." John Kerry was ____. Whatever he was wasn't as bad as you think, but we're still not able to fill in that blank.

Hint!
Think of a one-word label that your target can quickly grasp. "America, I am the Jobs President!" Don't worry about which label is best. Just choose one and let that be the centerpiece. All other things the candidate talks about should grow out of this one strong position. And remember -- no matter how Rove tries to re-define you (and he will, constantly) -- make sure this one label sticks to you like glue!

RULE EIGHT
Devote a tremendous amount of time and spend a huge portion of your campaign money finding, recruiting, training and firing up VOLUNTEERS. As odd as it may sound, if you spend $100 million on TV, you MUST spend $200 million creating a massive, incredibly well-coordinated volunteer effort.
Karl Rove used pinpoint research to find and motivate volunteers who went where no campaign had gone before -- into parts of Florida where alligators were more likely to vote than people. In Ohio, Rove's volunteers dragged Republicans out of their corporate meetings to make sure they voted! It's why he won and you lost.

Hint!
Your volunteers MUST BE A MEMBER OF YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE. You need to find volunteers who attend the same church, go to the same stores and like and dislike the same things your target audience does! Remember, you cannot spend TOO MUCH money or do TOO MUCH demographic homework and research making this happen! Just so you know, Republicans do NOT own a patent on this type of research!

RULE NINE
Do not give Karl Rove any help whatsoever. In other words, do not start with a candidate who puts you in a twenty-foot ditch that Rove will never let you fight your way out of. Make damned sure your candidate has the gumption to come out swinging and immediately counter-punch every Swift Boat move Rove tries.

This is no walk in the park, but it is not impossible. Remember, George W. Bush did not have to defeat John Kerry. With Rove calling all the shots, John Kerry defeated John Kerry.

Hint!
Work hard against the nomination of anybody who cannot remain strong and stay firm on base issues while tacking to the center in a convincing, spirited way.

Hint! Hint!
Bill Richardson. Mark Warner. And yeah, Al Gore!

RULE TEN
Stop trying to be ATTAP, or "All Things To All People". You will fail. There is no way in this great country of ours that you will ever be more than 65% of things to 55% of the people. That's your goal, by the way. You reach it and you own Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008.
Karl Rove didn't bother with liberals or most Democrats. He went after his base and the squishy center and didn't waste any time or money on anybody else. He also didn't care what anybody else thought of him or his candidate.

Hint!
By all means, rally your base. Then go figure out what you can actually say to the squishy center and spend MOST of your time and money winning them over. And for heaven's sake, don't worry about what dyed-in-the-wool Republicans think about what you're saying. They're not voting for you anyway.

RULE ELEVEN
Start today. Not later today. NOW! Start figuring out now where you're going to find your own Karl Rove and then get this person started. Any time you waste is going to make it tougher for you to win in 2006 and 2008.

By the time the Democrats got around to throwing a few punches in 2004, they were defensive punches, and way too late. Today, right now, Karl Rove has already picked his candidate and crafted a strategy he is confident will whomp your stupid Democratic butt. And make no mistake about it: he has ALREADY dug up tons of dirt on the 20 people YOU are most likely to nominate.
Hint!
Don't put off your homework for tomorrow morning. Collect data on whoever they might nominate. Spend some time NOW figuring out how to effectively deal with anybody and everybody they might nominate.

RULE TWELVE
Keep a copy of these rules by your pillow and read them every night. When you wake up, make damned sure you follow them every day. If you adhere to these rules, you are going to NEUTRALIZE Rove by making this Rove Versus Rove. That might sound horrible and off-putting, but what it actually means is that the race will NOT come down to perception, but instead, level the playing field, so you might actually have a chance to win!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/9/124753/8755

[AX10]

1. READ RULE NUMBER FIVE AND NEVER FORGET IT!

RULE FIVE
Stop playing by "Marquess of Queensberry" rules. Before you get punched, you punch. Hard. Whenever possible, you punch below the belt. And most importantly, even after they are down, you keep punching.

George Bush. Cocaine. Alcohol. The National Guard. Deserter. With 40 days to go before the election, there should have been 40 awful revelations about George Bush -- one each day, each worse than the one before it.

Hint!
Stop being a candy-ass. If you start lamenting, "I'm becoming just like THEM", you have just guaranteed their victory. They currently OWN the playing field. You either play by their rules or YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE. Your job is to punch hard and neutralize their negative attacks by being just as nasty. IF you make it back into office, THEN you can start working to reform how people get elected. For now, you must get mean!

[AZBlue]

12. You said it!!

eom

[AJ9000]

77. He touched on the secret of the Republicans' success: the media

They have their own television news media outlet in Fox news, and they also dominate talk radio. They've spent lots of time and money developing all this.

The mainstream media is conservatively biased as well, mainly because the corporate ownership is.

Look at this 911 movie hack job for example.

Disney refused to release Fahrenheit 911. Yet they have no problems airing what amounts to a right wing propaganda film right before election.

It is very difficult for progressives to win under these conditions.

That is why the most important thing we can ever do is develop our own media infrastructure, exactly as the right has done so successfully. That is where political power starts. Then, a progressive political movement can take place.

Only after we are in power can we hope for much-needed news media legislation.

My quandary is why such otherwise smart progressives, liberals, and wealthy liberal funders don't seem to understand this.

[calimary]

67. I've been begging people to wise up about this for as long as I can

remember. I swear to God this is the MOST important thing. The MOST crucially and vitally important rule of all these marvelous, shrewd, and spot-on rules. Rule FIVE should be tattooed on the insides of all of our eyelids and burned into our brains for as long as we draw breath.

Taking the high road takes you straight off a cliff.

If I hear one more person here, or anywhere else, worrying aloud that if they play dirty then they're no better than the bad guys, I think I'll frickin' SCREAM!!! Can we PLEASE put that mentality to bed, once and for all? This is WAR, people. Nice guys finish last. Shouldn't we have learned this by now? How many times will we be okay with getting fucked up the ass because we wanted to be above such things, and take the high road, and not lower ourselves to such depths? How long will we be okay with being locked out of power? Oh, but we have to be nice. We're Democrats. We have the truth on our side and the truth will set you free, and it's the honorable thing and the high road and we must be able to look ourselves in the mirror and not wallow in the gutter where the bad guys live. Otherwise, we become the bad guys.

Well, all of that and a nickel will get you a few minutes in a parking meter. PERIOD. You CANNOT come to a gunfight armed with a feather duster. When the other side is armed with anti-tank guns and AK47's, you wanna come play with a pea shooter?

I'd rather look myself in the mirror in the morning, with the satisfaction of having won a significant national election, and having beaten the bad guys with kerosene enemas. I'd like to be their Hurricane Katrina.

[bleedingheart]

81. I have said this over and over again....

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

2. Very, very good. Thanks for posting P.S.!

:toast:

:kick: MKJ

[Joanne98]

3. I don't agree with this one...

Hint!
Do not try to change this reality. Work with it. The perception you create IS the reality! Take heart! If they perceive something despite obvious evidence to the contrary, you will be able to make them perceive any number of things! Including your point of view! Rove knows this and uses it -- you must too!

[AZBlue]

13. It's the way of advertising & PR.

It doesn't mean you have to make them believe lies. Don't get the two confused.

[whistle]

4. No thanks, I'd rather politicians speak truth not talking points

...and most certainly not mind control distortions and out right lies. Advertising has demonstrated over and over that it has no ethics when it comes to deception not telling the truth and therefore should be restricted and curtailed when it comes to political campaigns. Do what other countries do, limit campaigning to a short period before the elections, limit campaign contributions and restrict how much candidates and political parties can spend on advertising and promotion and public relations.

[zeemike]

7. But he is not telling them to lie

It is about managing perceptions and there is no reason to think that the truth cannot do that.
If you spend all your money and energy on trying to correct there lies you will not have time to get your message over. And besides do you think you can convince a Rush ditto head that he has been lied to? It can't be done.

[blondeatlast]

21. No one's saying LIE. What they are saying is keep the message

pointed and irrefutable.

If we don't adopt advertising stragies, we lose--simple as that.

It's about positioning the candidate.

Lexus and Infiniti are pretty much the same type of cars, but one leads in sales by far--and people perceive the successful one as being both better quality and more desirable.

It's not a stretch to think of a candidate the same way.

[zeemike]

5. That sounds like good advice

I hope they get this memo.

[fasttense]

6. Rule thirteen: Rig the votes so that you can't lose.

These rules assume that Americans are stupid and can't see through the obvious manipulation. I think the bush base falls for this crap but most Americans can see this for what it is manipulation and distortion.

We don't know if his rules would have worked because they hedged their bets and rigged the votes anyway.

[zeemike]

9. Who is the target audience?

Not the well informed people who you are right about and will be able to see obvious manipulation or the dyed in the wool right wingers but the large number of people the could not tell you who the vice president is tight now because they pay little attention to politics and rarely watch the news. They can and do vote.
And again the truth can work just as well as a lie for this purpose. for instance did bush cut and run from the Viet Nam war? is that a lie?

And they needed to steel the election in 2000 and 2004 because we turned our to vote in big numbers and we do outnumber them.

[calimary]

68. When we start winning elections with 60-40 margins in our favor, then

I will believe that most Americans can see this for what it is - manipulation and distortion.

I'm afraid most Americans CAN'T. I think they're too easily swayed and knocked off their guard. Mainly because most of 'em are busy doing other things - like life. They're raising kids, trying to keep gas in the car and the lights on and the phones connected and the boss happy and the grocery shopping done and the rug vacuumed and the dishes done and the trash emptied and the laundry finished and the carpool handled and the checkbook balanced and the homework corrected if they get time. They don't have time to sit and read and research and analyze like some of us do here. We're a select bunch, very seriously in the know. If there were more Americans like us, with the time and energy and commitment to invest in making sure we know the truth (few of US can be fooled by the standard crap, after all), then we wouldn't have an argument here. Not one. And the Democrats would be the ones controlling everything. But that is Just. Not. So.

I think they're won by emotional and visceral appeals - negative campaigning especially because it raises hackles, emotions, and gets noticed. It makes an impact because it makes a stink and you can't help but notice. It's the campaign version of a trainwreck or a 5-car pileup on the freeway or maybe a three-county car chase that your local TV station is preempting the soap operas for. You can't help but look. And it sticks in the mind. And when these overworked, overwhelmed average Joes and Janes stumble to the polling booth, making up their minds at the last minute, they're gonna remember that visceral reaction they had - that will tip the balance toward one side, all other things (including the "eeeeeaaaaahhh, it doesn't make any difference, they're all the same. One side's as bad as another" cop-out) being equal.

They aren't vigilant because they have other priorities. We're pretty singleminded here, by contrast. They're not. That's one big reason why the bad guy tactics are so effective. And why we HAVE to start using them, ourselves, if we EVER hope to start winning again.

[LuckyLib]

8. Excellent! Now if the Dem leadership can only agree to campaign

by these rules!

[oscar111]

10. AAR .. Expand AAR: dont rely on MSM so much

we need to explain our evidence at length, same as Limbaugh does for fifteen hours each week.

Especially since progressiveism is foreign to most americans.

AAR is Air America Radio. Some states dont yet have even one AAR station. Others have weak transmitters.

[DeepModem Mom]

11. YES, INDEEDY!!! nt

[ms liberty]

14. K&R and Bookmarked:

Every democrat in the party needs to have a copy of this posted above their desks, on their fridges, and pinned to their foreheads if necessary. It is a much more concise version of what most of us have been saying.

[laundry_queen]

15. I agree.

This is something the Dems MUST do if they ever hope to get enough power to correct all the fuck ups of the current admin.
K&R&bookmarked!!

[tbyg52]

16. I have a small nit to pick with the title.

The GOP did *not* win the last two presidential elections. They stole them.

[fuzzyball]

70. I wish you could prove that in court so they can be put in jail...

[NJ Democrats]

17. Great info

I hope Dean and the candidates get this and use it.

[roguevalley]

18. Rule Fourteen: Have no conscience.

[blondeatlast]

19. Nothing will change if we don't WIN. We gotta play rough, we gotta remembe

that the voters who will get our guys into power aren't reading DU.

Excellent, recommended.

[Guaranteed]

20. This is all "dead-on balls" correct. nt

[Canuckistanian]

22. Kick this like it's never been kicked before

This is not rocket science, it's Marketing 101, applied to winning elections.

Get rid of the Think Tanks, get rid of the focus groups (or at least cut them down to essentials) and start researching these points!

Rove isn't a genius. He's just done his homework and the hard slogging to make it happen.

Dems, Learn Your Lesson Here and you too could elect a total idiot to the presidency if you wanted (but I hope you don't want that).

K&R. All the way.

[ProSense]

23. This is complete BS!

A lot of stupid generalizations and nonsense! One point:

Hint!
You do not have a media outlet like Fox, so you must work twice as hard to get the mainstream media to carry your message to ALL voters. Importantly, do not believe the mainstream media is for you and against Republicans. They're not. If you somehow think they'll help you win an election, you've already lost.

Who the hell believes the media should help them win elections? The media simply should not spew GOP talking points (see Path to 9/11, or calls for apologies to Rove), nor should the media hire right wing hacks like Jonathan Kaplan or pay off pundits like Armstrong Williams!

Any valid points the piece makes, such as "stop trying to be all things to all people," is couched nonsensical statements like this: "Karl Rove didn't bother with liberals or most Democrats." Rove and the GOP/media did everything to distort perception, and not just among wingnuts. They also resorted to a lot of dirty tricks that had a negative impact on people not in their base!

[Stinky The Clown]

24. "The media simply should not spew GOP talking points ......"

What 'should be' is very different from 'what is'.

[ProSense]

25. And what's the solution:

let them have the media? What the hell is all the fuss about over ABC?

[Stinky The Clown]

27. That's the $64,000 question

"What's the solution'?

The ONLY way forward that I can see is a major clamp down and divesiture of the media conglomerates. That can only happen when we get back in power.

But right now .... arm flapping over Disney's movie accomplishes virtually nothing. I'm not saying not to do it. I'm saying it will be ineffective.

[ProSense]

29. "arm flapping over Disney's movie accomplishes virtually nothing."

Completely disagree! These actions exposed a RW attempt pass off propaganda as fact. It resulted in backtracking by Scholastic and ABC, however little. Mostly, it made people aware and demonstrated to these media types that the public is not going to be spoon-fed lies!

[Stinky The Clown]

30. Okay, let's start on some common ground .....

You and I are on the same side. You hate this crapumentary and I hate this crapumentary. There's not a hair breadth's difference between un us on that.

Scholastic caved for what are completely their own self interests. They don't want even a hint of anger from Joey's and Brittany's moms.

As to the rest of what we've 'exposed' .... I would ask: 'to whom'? The average uninvolved, uninformed schulb who tunes in tomorrow and Monday will know little - more likely nothing - of the facts or the controversy. If they happened to have heard anything, what they heard will be interpreted as Clinton apologists' whining. Why? Cuz that's what they were told. And even if they heard the whole story, that's the perspective they're conditioned to adopt.

I don't like it. You don't like it. But I don't think we won this one. Even if we do eventually win it, it will be after the midterms. So the damage is done.

[ProSense]

32. The damage is to ABC's credibility!

ABC has won nothing! Sure the movie will air, but it will not achieve its original goal, which was to fool the public into believing it was factual. This is an ongoing fight to hold the media accountable!

[Stinky The Clown]

48. ABC's credibility

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Like they give a shit.

[ProSense]

54. Which would prove the point that perception is nonsense!

What about the perception that ABC's credibility is damaged? Isn't that the message of the OP -- Democrats should deal in perception?

ABC has been exposed for trying to promote propaganda, that's real, not perception, and whether they care or not is beside the point!

Dealing with reality: take real action and continue taking real action.

[calimary]

69. True. If you're expecting people to stop watching "Lost" and

"Desperate Housewives" in droves big enough to make a dent in the Neilsens, you're kidding yourself. People will forget about boycotts by the time they hear the theme music for those shows and others. They don't care. The damage has been done. The best we can hope for is that all the noise made about this hose job crockumentary had enough mentions of "lies" and "it just didn't happen" that the two concepts are subconsciously attached in people's minds. When "The Path to 9/11" is mentioned, their reaction MAY be - "oh yeah, isn't that the one that people said had some lies in it?" MAYBE. Worth hoping for. And maybe the crappy filmmaking, the wierd, jolting, uneven camera work, bad editing, too complex, "Syriana"-esque hard-to-follow storyline may cause some people to tune out or change the channel. I mean, I love George Clooney and everything I heard about what "Syriana" was about, but I fell asleep on it, and fairly early-on, too. And there's the football game on at the same time, on NBC. Maybe that'll blunt things a little. But it's not a win. ABC will survive this relatively intact. Robert Iger may have to pop some Maalox for a few days, but that's about it. Unfortunately.

[ProSense]

75. All that's needed is a little

perception altering! People will come to their sense and stop watching ABC if we change the perception that ABC cares what people think!

What the hell is the point of all of this -- that there is nothing anyone can do to change people's minds about ABC? That really supports the OP message doesn't it? :sarcasm:

[SquireJons]

39. I don't agree at all

While much of it is general and common sense, these suggestions get to the heart of why the pugs have been winning elections with one steaming pile of crap after another for 25 years. I firmly believe that if these 'rules' were followed by the DNC, the pugs would be toast. Unfortunately, Democrats are too divided and many are unwilling to fight fire with fire. The best quote I've ever read about the Democratic party is from Will Rogers: "I don't belong to an organized political party, I'm a Democrat." That pretty much says it all.

[ProSense]

43. It's BS! Show me where Republicans have been winning

elections:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2657617&mesg_id=2657617

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2820433&mesg_id=2820433

[Greyhound]

44. They have been consistently winning elections, at every level of

government from boards of education to the national level for over 25 years, where have you been?

[ProSense]

46. Nonsense!

This is not a message about school board elections and obviously this statement and the rest do not support your comment about state and national elections:

Nationwide, Democrats added more than 60 legislative seats, reversing the 2002 results that gave Republicans more state legislators than Democrats for the first time in a half century.

[Greyhound]

47. Oh I see, we have a majority of which branch?

Your position is absurd on the face of it.

[ProSense]

50. Can you honestly say that you believe the elections

since the 2002 phone-jamming incident, have been the models upon which to base all future elections?

Democratic majorities in the Senate (24 years out of the past 39 years):

1967 to 1981 (14 years)

1987 to 1995 (8 years)

January 2001 to December 2002 (2 years)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2657617&mesg_id=2657617

[Greyhound]

55. All of which has accomplished, what?

The decimation of our industry, the emasculation of our unions, the largest transfer of wealth, to the already wealthy, in the history of the world, the corporatization of the health care industry, the rampant looting of our financial institutions which, in turn, financed the exodus of the thieves to off-shore tax havens, the elimination of the already inadequate social services, a national infrastructure crumbling through sheer neglect, corporate consolidation and re-establishment of, what amounts to, the "trust" system of the late 19th/early 20th century rendering virtual monopolies of the national media, agriculture and other areas of vital interest. How long before "our" government is calling in troops to silence all dissent and force the proles back to the mines.

If what you say is relevant, then it was Democrats that allowed this all this, and much more, to happen.

You can't have it both ways, either this was done by evil re:puke:s in spite of Democratic objection, or we have been repeatedly sold out by those we thought we were electing to represent us

[ProSense]

56. You seem to miss the point!

Obviously there are Democrats who lean more Republican. We need people to be honest, not create illusions to get elected. Consider Lieberman: Democrats need to stand up on principle not fiddle with perception! Democrats need to engage voters by offering them a reason to vote for Democrats, the alternative to voting Republican.

The OP's message that Democrats need to employ Republican tactics will most likely result in getting Republicans elected!

[Greyhound]

57. Assuming for the moment that you are right, what is your alternative? n/t

[ProSense]

58. Fight hard and stick it to Republicans

Fighting hard doesn't mean fighting dirty or resorting to sleaze! Look at how much can be accomplished by sticking to the facts and fighting hard: Lieberman (and his supporting cast in the media) wants to paint Lamont as fighting dirty, but can't because Lamont fought a tough, strong and principled fight! After that election Democrats came together to dispel a lot of the spin.

It works and it's been happening a lot! The Repubs have nothing but deception to run on, and those among them who resorted to illegal activities have been exposed and are being dealt with (DeLay, Ney, Cunningham, etc.), despite the GOP's efforts (at perception) to drag Democrats down with them!

Fight tough, prosecute illegal activities and stay true to principles.

[Greyhound]

66. I guess that's where our opinion differs. You wrote, "Look at how

much can be accomplished by sticking to the facts and fighting hard..."

I don't think we've accomplished much of anything. The re:puke:s have made one astoundingly stupid mistake after another, resulting in a series of heretofore unimaginable, embarrassments on every front, yet all our party has gained from it is Lieberman, who may still cause us problems, and polling that says we will probably take the House but not the Senate, sheesh. :eyes:

The re:puke:s have done absolutely everything possible to turn the government over to us except switch the voting machines to our favor (OK, maybe they also could have called a press conference for a puppy-shoot on the Whitehouse lawn), and what do we have to show for this once-in-several-lifetimes opportunity? We get rid of one or two of the most egregious DINOs and we might take the lesser House? If we can't take over half of all the available seats under these circumstances, how can we even call ourselves an opposition party?

[ProSense]

76. A lot more than

giving Lieberman a hard time has been accomplished, especially since the Republicans are still the majority. They expected this to be a cakewalk, and now they're fighting to keep safe seats.

[ruggerson]

63. People who think like you

are the reason we keep losing elections.

This piece is RIGHT ON TARGET.

[ProSense]

74. People who keep spewing BS about

Democrats losing elections are doing everything to promote the RW lie! Eat up their perception!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2819242&mesg_id=2820546

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2819242&mesg_id=2820657

[Helga Scow Stern]

26. Not one word about election theft?

It doesn't matter if Jesus himself was running for president with Goebbels as his propagandist.

What part of two stolen elections doesn't this marketing expert understand?

[calimary]

71. The point is that this shit the bad guys do allows them to get into

position so it's close enough to steal. Just look at some of the polls. It's approximately mid-September already, closing in on early November, and santorum's making up lots of lost ground against Casey, allen's just BARELY behind Webb now, and in numerous other races, the margin's tightened up. We do NOT have a lot of wiggle room anymore. The bad guys are catching up and closing the gap. They're now starting "opposition research" to find the Achilles Heel in LOTS of local races, trying to switch the focus away from their party's and candidates' ties to bush and toward more local stuff that has little to do with national politics. And they're doing this by hitting below the belt, following that Madison Avenue playbook to the letter. When they can get it close enough to steal, then they CAN. What we need to do is rip a page out of their playbook and use their tactics to OUR advantage, so the margin's too wide for them to steal it.

This stuff is absolutely spot-on, and those who discount it will assure themselves, and the rest of us, a lot more of the same damned frustration in November. I GUARANTEE IT.

[lumberjack_jeff]

82. That falls under rule #3 n/t

[salib]

28. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah.

I am tired of being told that I need to "play the game" like the Repugs do. We are Democrats for a reason. The people are NOT STUPID. If we continue to treat them like "Madison Avenue" want us to, then we will continue to live up to the DNC/Repug Lite role.

I am SICK of it. This deceptive advertising on the part of that crowd is exactly why most people see Dems as "the same ol' same ol'." And you know what? If this is the message that gets "out there", then they are right.

They are NOT STUPID. We need to be honest. Not cleaver. HONEST. Not manipulative. HONEST. Not playing the game.

HONEST.

[Stinky The Clown]

31. Being honest and following those guidelines are not mutually exclusive.

[salib]

34. Not true AT ALL!

Come on! Be honest. That does not simply mean plausible deniability. That does not simply mean one can dance around the issue. That does not mean there is "a subtlety."

Let's try these on for dishonest:
"Understand that you are dealing with a target audience that doesn't care enough, or simply refuses to devote the time" "The target not only fails to understand even the most obvious nuance, they actually HATE the idea there should be nuance at all (it even sounds French!). Nuance = bad. Black and white = good!" -- BS BS BS. As long as we keep saying that most every one else is lessor, then they will have NO RESPECT for our position. And good for them!

"Learn how to disseminate simple catchphrases the mainstream media can use. Like Rove when he invented "cut and run" -- Again, are you actually sayting that way Rove does is honest?

"Hint! Hint!
Bill Richardson. Mark Warner. And yeah, Al Gore!" -- Come on, there are so many better, stronger, and more "up front" candidates than this list.

"top trying to be ATTAP, or "All Things To All People". You will fail. There is no way in this great country of ours that you will ever be more than 65% of things to 55% of the people. That's your goal, by the way. You reach it and you own Congress in 2006 and the White House in 2008.
Karl Rove didn't bother with liberals or most Democrats. He went after his base and the squishy center and didn't waste any time or money on anybody else. He also didn't care what anybody else thought of him or his candidate." -- Oh yeah. Let's just ram a few "salient issues" down their throats because it is so obviously more important to WIN than to actually do something good.

But the ultimate is:
"Stop being a candy-ass. If you start lamenting, "I'm becoming just like THEM", you have just guaranteed their victory. They currently OWN the playing field. You either play by their rules or YOU ARE GOING TO LOSE. " -- Boy, it that EVER DLC thinking. Oh yeah, fight fire with fire. Torture because they torture. Bet em at their own game. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Bull shit!

We are MUCH better than that

[Stinky The Clown]

49. Well ..... since you want to just quote and arm flap instead of discuss ..

..... fine.

Were you making a point?

How's that's intellectually honest campaign debate strategy been going?

I'd rather win.

I stand by what I said. You can do all of this and STILL be truth and fact based.

[femrap]

38. Obviously you haven't been to Ohio lately....

Sorry...but middle america is very easily manipulated. That is a fact. Rove pushes either the Fear or Greed button and middle america jumps. I have seen it. And it sickens me. Some people just can't logically get past the EMOTION OF FEAR OR GREED.

I think there are pearls of wisdom in this post. Sure, we're not lying crap like them....but we must play dirty to get control so we can bring back: 1. The Fairness Doctrine 2. Verified Voting 3. Fair Trade 4. ETC.

It is about PERCEPTION. And I wish Dems would realize that NICE IS OVER! We cannot afford to be nice. We are fighting for our Democracy....and I will throw as much mud as is needed to get rid of these warmongering repugs.

LEAD, FOLLOW, OR GET THE FU*K OUT OF THE WAY!

[calimary]

72. Me, too. Show me the mud! I'm gonna throw it, kick it, and spit it.

And shit it out the back if I have to.

[Greyhound]

45. Don't know where you live, but here in amerika it is painfully obvious

that we are stupid. As a nation we are incurious, under-educated, anti-intellectual, illiterate, and emotionally stunted. We have the attention span of a gnat with ADD, and are no longer able to understand subtle solutions to complex problems, nor will are we tolerate any suggestion that the problems we face may be self-inflicted.
:dunce:

[garthranzz]

33. He forgot the precondition: Steal the election before it happens

and all the rules don't matter. Let's get it straight: despite Rove's smear campaign KERRY WON! If the votes were counted according to law, and if the machines had a paper trail. Against Stalin/Rove/Bush - it's not the votes that count, it's who counts the votes - even those rules won't work.

[EVDebs]

35. Read Jules Archer's book first and get media to show a documentary on it

How do you get a copy of The Plot To Seize The White House, by Jules Archer ? This expose starts the ball rolling and the others just came tumbling along.

A life story of USMC Gen Smedley D. Butler would do wonders too !

[femrap]

36. I believe I've found the holy grail!

I do love #5.

[calimary]

73. Rule Five is the whole ballgame. Rule Five is EVERYTHING.

Master that one and you've got the rest of 'em automatically.

In fact, if I was allowed to read and implement one rule only, Rule Five would be it.

[SoyCat]

37. Rule thirteen: Get verified voting or the other twelve don't matter

[robbedvoter]

40. RULE#1: COUNT THE VOTES Hint: they steal

This is wrong from the title- they didn't WIN anything. They stole it.
If we don't take that "hint" (and we missed that train) all the advertising in the world ain't gonna do dick.

[riona]

41. Often our candidates

overestimate their electorate. The repugs do not.

RULE FOUR
Understand that you are dealing with a target audience that doesn't care enough, or simply refuses to devote the time to learn the real facts regarding the real issues. Instead, their perception has BECOME the facts!

[C_U_L8R]

42. Donny Deutsch ???? Donny Deutsch ????

Oh good god... Donny Deutsch is the biggest hack in advertising.
Who the hell wrote this??? Suggesting Donny Deutsch as the
savior of the Democratic Party is sheer idiocy.

(i do agree with a lot of other points.... but they're tripping on Donny)

Donny is that you??? You self-promoting weasel.

[Joe Chi Minh]

51. Did he mention the virtual election machines?

If not, he's the one who needs a word in his ear.

[Botany]

52. nice list

I will take it Mary Jo Kilroy's campaign HQ

[Tatiana]

53. The most important thing the author said:

And for heaven's sake, don't worry about what dyed-in-the-wool Republicans think about what you're saying. They're not voting for you anyway.

It never fails to amaze my how we contort ourselves to say or phrase messages in a way that won't piss Repugs off. Who cares? We don't have a prayer of persuading them anyway. The key is motivating the base and that (along with some help from voter fraud in select areas) is what keeps electing Republican officials. Their base. Why don't we finally give something for OUR base to support? They'd come out and vote if we gave them a reason to.

[roseBudd]

59. Thom Hatrmann says we MUST MOCK our opponents...

This Hartmann article from '04 was the most important thing I read in '04. I took it to heart and used mockery in all my GOTV efforts AND it was very well received. I urge all DUers to read all of Hartmann's article linked below.

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0817-13.htm

Cheney Speaks to the Reptile Brain
by Thom Hartmann

We humans, being the product of a long evolutionary process, really have three brains. And, as the Bush psy-ops folks know, politicians who win campaigns do so because they speak to all three of those brains.

First there's the most primitive of our brains, sometimes referred to as the "reptilian brain" because we share it in common with reptiles like alligators and komodo dragons. The reptile brain has a singular focus: survival. It doesn't think in abstract terms, and doesn't feel complex emotions. Instead, it's responsible for fight-or-flight, hunger and fear, attack or run. It's also non-verbal - you can stimulate it with the right words, but it operates purely at the level of visceral stimulus-response. The second brain is one we share with the animals that came along after reptiles - mammals. The mammalian brain - sometimes referred to as the Limbic Brain because it extends around and off of the reptilian brain in a dog-leg shape that resembles a limb - handles complex emotions like love, indignation, compassion, envy, and hope. Anybody who's worked with animals or had a pet knows that mammals share these emotions with humans, because we share this brain. While a snake can't feel shame or enthusiasm, it's completely natural for a dog or cat. And, like the reptile brain, the mammalian brain can also be stimulated indirectly by words, and is also non-verbal. It expresses itself exclusively in the form of feelings, although these are more often felt in the heart than the gut.
The third brain - the neocortex ("new" cortex) - is something we share with the higher apes, although ours is a bit more sophisticated. Resting over the limbic brain (which is, in turn, atop the reptilian brain), our neocortex is where we process abstract thought, words and symbols, logic and time.

When Dick Cheney recently took John Kerry's comment about sensitivity in the war on terror out of context and spun it for his audiences, he was performing a psychologically masterful bit manipulation of all three brains.

Only ridicule with a subtext of fear has this power.

WE MUST RIDICULE AND MOCK OUR OPPONENTS


For today (Path to 911) I bring forth this piece of educational mockery



Right click and choose Save Target As to download PDF for printing

http://bushcheated04.com/img/080601pdb.pdf

For tomorrow we must make this election about incompetence, failure and the Iraq War.



Right click and choose Save Target As to download PDF for printing

http://bushcheated04.com/img/war2.pdf

[Straight Shooter]

60. Rove's forte is in direct mail marketing.

He simply transferred that forte to the media when he handled bush's campaigns, and the media was more than willing to go along because it meant big $$$$$$ in their pockets.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/architect/rove/cron.html

Rove serves as national executive director of the College Republicans. A master at condensing a complicated message into a few forceful points, he puts together direct-mail programs and brochures for the organization. "I didn't know anyone of his age that could put together these type of materials," says Joe Abate, who was chair of the College Republicans at the time and was a mentor to Rove. "It turned out became his business, his direct mail. And I could see why he became one of the best direct mail political consultants in the country years later. But, his energy, I mean he was 24/7." During this time, Rove also travels extensively, teaching weekend seminars for campus conservatives across the country.

Don't forget that Rove was also a protege of Lee Atwater, who managed the G.H.W. bush campaign and invented the heinously successful advertising of linking Dukakis to freeing black rapists.

. . the Bush campaign virtually nominated Willie Horton as Michael Dukakis's running mate. The furloughing of Horton by a prison board was turned from a weak spot in Dukakis's criminal justice record to weakness in dealing with black pressure, from incompetence as a manager to ideological extremism, from cerebral arrogance to lacking compassion for the victims of crime, and, finally, to lacking feeling per se. Dukakis, according to Bush, was a "know nothing, believe nothing, feel nothing" candidate, "the ice man."

"There is a story about a fellow named Willie Horton who, for all I know, may end up being Dukakis' running mate," Lee Atwater told a group of southern Republicans in Atlanta just prior to the Democratic convention there. "The guy was on TV about a month ago, and he said, You’ll never see me standing in the driveway of my house talking to these candidates.' And guess what? Monday, I saw in his driveway of his home Jesse Jackson. So anyway, maybe he will put this Willie Horton on the ticket after all is said and done."

http://www3.niu.edu/~td0raf1/history261/nov2609.htm

Nice job, Lee, you got your just reward.

[democrank]

61. We should send copies of this

to send to every single Democratic Party leader and consultant. Bravo, Madison Avenue Ad Exec.

[ChiciB1]

62. Well.... IF Anyone Thinks This Is Something That Will Work....

WHO might that "mean dog" be??? Howard Dean tells it like it is and they call him a whack job!!

I live in Florida and to this day don't think I've voted in a clean election since 2000, so we might also need a "good" hacker too. We can't even get paper ballots here!!

[ruggerson]

64. This guy is saying what many of us here have been saying

for years now.

He is exactly correct.

Read it and re read it.

[nolabels]

78. They did if for years before 2000 with mixed success

Something changed in 2000 and there is very little evidence to point at any significant change in peoples attitudes. This canard of an overwhelming secret strategy is constantly dragged out to try and drown out skeptics and critics. The large shift in 2004 of the popular vote goes against polling data, statistical averages and is void of most any evidence to why any shift was able to take place.

[blondeatlast]

65. Kick. nt

[xchrom]

79. in short: a good offense beats a good defense every time.

[ProSense]

80. Preface to rules: create perception of a secret GOP strategy for winning

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2657617&mesg_id=2657617">Nationwide, Democrats added more than 60 legislative seats, reversing the 2002 results that gave Republicans more state legislators than Democrats for the first time in a half century.


Democratic majorities in the Senate (24 years out of the past 39 years):

1967 to 1981 (14 years)

1987 to 1995 (8 years)

January 2001 to December 2002 (2 years)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2819242&mesg_id=2820657