Fighting Fire with Fire - Money with Money

In politics, you often end up using tools you have denounced when others use them. But you use them when you have no other choice. If you are being relentlessly attacked by an opponent who's got gazillions in the bank from corporate donors, polluters and hedge fund managers, you need to have a healthy war chest yourself.

This doesn't mean you take money from the bad guys. You seek out the good guys who share your values, and also coincidentally (lucky you!) have the means to back it up and infuse your campaign with much needed cash.

Until such time as we enact real campaign finance reform, that prevents corporate donations and independent expenditures, stops considering corporations as people, therefore imbued with the same First Amendment rights as a "natural" person, money is still very much needed in the political game.

And sometimes, money is the only weapon you have to check the alarming advancement of bigotry, climate change and ironically, income inequality.

See Tom Steyer as an example of someone with money who is using that money for good (we will suspend taking a deeper look at how he came about that money as a hedge fund manager for now) to fund campaigns against climate change deniers all over the Country. He is also seriously considering funding an oil extraction tax initiative in California, if the Legislature proves to be too beholden to major oil and gas companies for their campaign contributions, and the strings that those companies hold even on the floor of the legislature.

Politics is a game, and it can be a deadly one, but if you can't play in the big leagues you'll never be in a position to make serious change to the rules. Just be sure you adhere to some of your own. I advise my clients to look carefully at the sources of their donations. I advise against taking money from insurance companies, tobacco, pharmaceutical firms. And watch out for lofty sounding groups whose goals may not reflect the names they call themselves. (Example: Civil Justice Association of California, claiming to stop frivolous lawsuits, but actually seeks to limit the ability of consumers to sue businesses for unfair practices or damages, and supports maintaining a 1975 cap on damages awarded for pain and suffering to patients inured by doctors committing malpractice.)

In politics, as anything in a capitalist society, it's buyer beware. And if you don't, your opponents will. They are watching.

When Candidates Drop Out

There are a myriad of reasons candidates choose to leave their races. Over on the Republican side of the aisle, well known scandals of the sexual variety often poke their ugly little heads up, forcing early retirement so that the candidate (or officeholder) can "spend more time with their family." In divorce court perhaps.

Not that Democrats are immune to these peccadilloes. Notably Elliot Spitzer (otherwise known as Client Number 9 - I always wondered why someone didn't name a fragrance that, but hmmm, maybe better not to go there) and the appropriately named Anthony Weiner and his you know what flashing across the Twittersphere.

But there are other reasons candidates leave their races, and it often has to do with lack of finances, lack of momentum in the polls or with the voters, major defeats in partisan endorsement processes.

These candidates usually get out early before they spend down the family coffers. They are not driven or embarrassed out of the race. They are being clear headed and honest about their chances. They are reluctant to leave, but they do not wish to put themselves and their family through a grueling experience, the outcome of which is almost a sure thing. These are the honorable ones,the ones who are in it for the community, for values and principles they hold dear, and which they hoped to be able to further in public office.

They will often be the ones to go on and distinguish themselves in other ways, giving back as volunteers. campaign or legislative staffers to others who share their values. They may even reappear on the campaign scene running for another office or the same office once they have retooled and rethought their strategy.

These are the ones who leave their races for all the right reasons, and they need to be recognized.  Even though they will leave disappointed supporters and donors, they do so with a clear conscience.

And they win respect not approbation for their decision. It's hard to give up a dream, to go back to your ordinary life when you have got used to the excitement and the stress of a political campaign.

And even though it means a loss of income to consultants, the wise consultant must take a step back and look objectively at the decision her client has made, then offer the best advice she can, encouragement to stay and tough it out, if that seems right, but grace to let the client make the right decision for her and wish her well a she goes forward with new endeavors.

Back on the Trail

You'd think we hadn't been doing much (because I haven't been writing much) but we have been busy on some campaigns. This season is a hot one, with campaigns all over the North Bay map. Sonoma, Marin, Solano, Napa, Yolo, Lake Counties.

So now it's juggling candidates and their various nees.

Most candidates need a few basics:

• A remit envelope to get checks, endorsements and offer to volunteer
• A website to list their isues, bios and endorsers
• A walk piece or handout to leave with the people they meet on the campaign trail
• Some social media
• A letter to potential supporters to solicit funds and ask for help
• A data base to keep track of endorsers, donors and volunteers
• A telephone - to call potential donors for campaign contributions
• A good campaign message
• A good campaign message delivery system - mailers, tv and radio, speeches and more

And a few good people:

• A campaign consultant to make sure these things are in the works and on schedule
• A campaign manager to make sure the candidate is on time, knows where to be, handles the press and other issues and act as chief cheerleader and nag
• A treasurer to handle the finances and file reports on time
• A field coodinator to handle the volunteers and oversee precinct walking and phone banking to voters
• Volunteers to do all of the above and more

You could always use a fundraiser, a data base manager and some gofers to help it all run smoothly, but know this - You, the candidate, must be the one to sell yourself, make the phone calls for contributions, meet the voters, go to debates and answer the questionnaires. Your staff, volunteers and friends and family can all help, but ultimately, You are the salesforce.

Oh, yeah, take a few moments to breathe each day and maybe once a week or so, kiss your family.  It will all be over soon and you'll be in office or back at your day job. either way, you'll have had a real adventure with lots of stories to tell.

Photo Shoot!

An important component of any campaign is the right pictures. You need a more or less formal portrait. You need pics with other people, family, supporters, other elected officials, community members.

Dogs are always good.

Will you provide free treats for all, if elected?

If you have a good photographer in the family, put them to work. If not, you will need to spend a little cash on a professional photographer and spend some time getting it just right.
We recently took a day going with the candidate to meet constituents, visit locations in her District and get some shots of her "On location."

It's sort of like being on a movie crew. I got to play photographer's assistant. A few pics below illustrate the tale of the photo shoot.

  Meeting constituents at a community event.

        

Posing with a high school sports team raising funds. We bought some lemonade to help the cause.

                                         

Mind if we take your picture with the candidate?

  Setting up the shoot.

                  
                                                                                             

Looking at what we got. 

                                                      

The power of the Internet

Is the internet as awesome as it is perceived to be? Do Twitter hashtags make or break your campaign? And why do they make me think of hash fries? Or #hashfries. And what's the magic to get the random scroller to hone in on your message, your campaign? They go  by so fast. It seems to be the luck of the draw; as in who can get to their pistols first, in a metaphorical way of speaking.

Unless you are Obama maybe. Or the royal pooches. Comments on the power of Twitter and best practices fir the nascent campaign. Can we track "hits?"

Then there is the ever popular Facebook; every candidate must have a Facebook Page dedicated to the campaign. Never mind that half the "likes" are from trolls for other candidates, seeking to glean secrets.

Campaigns are gearing up now for the New Year. Last filing for 2013 is Dec. 31. What is the wisdom of waiting to collect those pledges until after the first? Stealth campaigns only go so far. But the surprise element is good. The old mother's milk is just as sweet. Go forth and raise money, you candidates.

Campaigning is not for sissies. All strategies are deployed. The idea is to get the opposition on his/her back, turtle like. Watch out that is not you. It's hard to right a flipped terrapin. Don't let them plop you into the soup. I digress. Campaign is a sport like the Hunger Games. Now there's a good name for a How To campaign book for the millennium

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Happy Festivus! Don't Fall for Deceptive Campaign Practices

Yes, it's the Festivus for the Rest of Us. Dancing around the pole, airing of grievances and feats of strength. I have grievances. Campaigns that lie and cheat; organizations that pretend to be one thing and really another. We are not fooled, Californians Aligned for Patient Protection (CAPP). Really your name should be Corporations Against Patient Protection and that's what you are, an industry group supporting  the Medical Injury Compensation Reform Act of 1975 (MICRA), the law that caps pain and suffering damages for patients injured by physicians' malpractice at  $250,000.

Now, I see this nefarious group is congratulating our Assemblymember Marc Levine  for protecting patients. This means he supports CAPP and that's not good for Californians.

Don't fall for deceptive campaign practices, starting early this season.

Happy Festivus everyone!

Inspired by Democrats!

The Campaign Slut has returned from the November Executive Board meeting of the California Democratic Party, a mercifully short drive from the San Francisco airport this time, inspired and hopeful and ready to campaign on.

What could have been two contentious items involving strongly held views by passionate Democrats were averted, one by being pulled, the other by being referred to a thoughtful committee for further consideration by 2015. (Ask me, if you really need to know.)

So the 2014 election cycle is in full swing. We met candidates for Secretary of State, term limits ending the tenure of our beloved Debra Bowen. Three men, State Senators Alex Padilla and Leland Yee and Common Cause's Derek Cressman are vying for that seat. They spoke to the Progressive Caucus last night. Wish more people were there to listen. This is an important seat.

Friday night our Platform Committee took testimony and broke into smaller plank groups. We continue to fine tune the Preamble and got some good work done on my other planks, Death with Dignity and Energy and the Environment. 

The Women's Caucus Saturday featured the Proposition 8 case plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier who spoke of the importance in getting involved in issues we care about early, so that we can keep bad propositions like Prop. 8 from happening in the first place and protect our hard-earned but never entirely safe, rights.

Then we got a special Campaign Boot Camp workshop on the 1965 Voting Rights Act which the Supreme Court is busily gutting with newly enacted voter ID laws, meant to disenfranchise old people, students and anyone of color.

Lots of schmoozing in the bar, in the lobby, in between meetings and general sessions.  Jan Black and I met a fascinating Polish gentleman on his first trip to the States, to give  a training for the local office of the large investment firm he works for. We talked politics, American and Polish, including Party make up and health care. His English was excellent. He says people in Poland learn English with a British accent. We exchanged contact info, and Jan on her international travels, already plans to meet up with him and his wife in Chile the first of the year.

The most fun was having political wizard Joe Louis Wildman, who has the most wicked sense of humor in all the good ways, share his strategy for a 1996 supervisorial race comprised entirely of  slogans in weekly ads in the Anderson Valley Advertiser. He lost, but the Campaign Quips live on. A sample printed here, courtesy of designer Sonia Taylor. Enjoy.  They may inspire your own future campaigns!