Is this any way to run a presidential campaign? *UPDATED*
Bookworm on Jul 21 2008 at 5:25 pm | Filed under: John McCain, Presidential elections
See important update below.
I have been trying without success for a couple of weeks now to volunteer my writing and editing services to the local “John McCain for President” chapter. No one is getting back to me — and I’ve been told by someone with ties to the local “McCain for President” chapter that this is par for the course. I find this distressing. Here you have someone who wants to volunteer, and whose services are, quite frankly, much needed (since campaign literature is usually horribly written), and I’m getting the cold shoulder.
I’ve also been given to understand that, even though my skills involve writing and editing, they will only want me for a “get out the vote” effort in my own small town. Living as I do in my own small town, I can tell you two things: first, the Republican party has never achieved an even marginally visible get-out-the-vote presence (and that includes the people who sit behind ironing boards at grocery stores trying to register voters); and, second, even if it did, there are only about 200 conservatives here, and they’re going to vote anyway for Obama.
The big need is for large, county-wide promotional campaigns and, to toot my own horn, that’s where my editing skills are beyond useful. Even if my writing is somewhat pedestrian at times, I can edit the hell out of other people’s work, making their materials tighter and more interesting. Using me to harass my blue, blue neighbors is just a waste of everyone’s time.
I can’t decide if what I’m seeing is the natural inefficiency of a volunteer organization or the demoralized behavior of a group that’s functioned for so long (and done so badly) in hostile territory that it can no longer respond even to offers of help. Either way, it’s a damn shame. After all, this isn’t a local election for a Congress person. Instead, this is one little piece of a vast state-wide election in what will be a very, very close race at the end of the day. In other words, state-wide, every vote counts. To turn ones back on someone who would like to add to the McCain votes strikes me as very foolish.
UPDATE: DQ pointed out to me that, as this is a local outpost, not the national campaign, it’s unlikely that any writing is going on. Now, from my point of view, that’s just plain wrong. I can think of a million things they should be writing — or at least four: (1) emails to local Republicans; (2) fliers to local Republicans; (3) a blog for local Republicans; and (4) op-eds for the local paper. Considering how demoralized the base is, just getting the vote out is a big deal, and should be taken seriously at the local level.
Further, even if my writing and editing skills are useless, it still makes no sense to me, with a volunteer hurling her body across their path, that they’ve made no effort to contact me about doing other work.
UPDATE: I owe the group a big apology. I attended their first formal meeting tonight and was very impressed by the quality of the people and by how far the long-time stalwarts have already come in terms of organization. It’s a great group and one with which I’ll be very proud to be affiliated. I was too impatient and I let my ego get in the way.
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6 Responses to “Is this any way to run a presidential campaign? *UPDATED*”
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Which of course begs the question: what has there been about the Republican party’s conduct - locally or nationally - over the last five years that has struck you as OTHER than foolish?
Or, for that matter, McCain’s conduct over the past twenty years?
The Republican party is like the Army. There’s a right way to do things, and then there’s the Army way of doing things. Usually it takes a war to teach the Army to change their ridiculous rules and regulations. For a political party, it’s a loss. Or it’s an inspirational leader that can macromanage and micromanage things.
Bookworm, This is about volunteering in general. The powers that be want to retain their power by using your free manual labor. This is not about the Republicans. Sadly, a brain is not an asset for a volunteer.
Helen - There you are!!! I’ve been waiting since our discusion on the 13th for you to start redistributing your wealth in my direction and then it was like you disappeared! I was starting to wonder if you were having second thoughts on the matter . . .
Bookworm, I think you are correct. There is no shortage of things that local offices could be doing. I would love to believe that this election won’t even be close and McCain will win in a landslide but I’m afraid that the forces of darkness are arrayed such that it is going to be a tight one. Every vote is going to count.
Deana
>>Sadly, a brain is not an asset for a volunteer.>>
I agree with Helen on this. I was thinking about it on my drive home last evening… Those who make up the core of the campaign are most likely paid employees. A volunteer who is as capable as they are is a threat - because the volunteer doesn’t get paid. Volunteers may have a high opinion of themselves - warranted or not - but we don’t really have time to do “job interviews”…so we give volunteers jobs that require no skills. That way, they can’t really mess up. Volunteers are temporary workers…we don’t really expect anyone with any talent to be available on a temporary basis - otherwise, they’d have paid jobs. If you’re available, obviously you don’t have marketable skills. Unless, of course, you have buckets of money, but we’d know that because you’d be a donor if you really wanted to help, and we’d know your name. We don’t, so you aren’t a major donor.
I suggest a job application, if you really want to help. You know that old conservative idea of something being worth what you pay for it…I think they’re just telling you that they don’t value very highly what they get for free.
Make them pay for your skills. Then you’ll be appreciated.
Bookworm,
I’ve tried volunteering for Giuliani’s campaign, and that was exactly what they wanted me to do: call people. I told them that I was uncomfortable bugging people, so they had me assembling yard signs.
I think you can simply continue writing here on your blog and at American Thinker. You can also write letters to newspapers. Unfortunately that is the only thing you can do.
Eric.