Welcome back, Saturday Campaign D-I-Y’ers! For those who tune in, welcome to the Nuts & Bolts of a Democratic campaign. Each week, we discuss issues that help drive successful campaigns. If you’ve missed prior diaries, please visit our group or follow Nuts & Bolts Guide.
We’ve spent a lot of time following what our fictional candidate, Jessica Jones, should be doing in order to win her race for a state senate candidate. We’ve also covered the importance and plan for county and state parties looking to help Jessica win. Now that we’re in the last month of the election, we start dealing with media responses. Do you respond to your opponent? How do you respond?
Campaigns often struggle with this issue. Jessica Jones, our fictional state senate candidate, has definitely had her struggles with whether or not she should respond to negative mail sent by her opponent. She’s also seen ads placed in the local paper, as well as media responses that she feels distort her record. Let’s talk about how you can deal with these issues.
Never Accept The Premise
The most important part of responses made by a campaign is a simple one: never accept the premise your opponent is offering. Many groups have different ways to look at this, but LGBT groups have referred to it in a way that catches my mind: Bert & Ernie.
Opponents and even press may want to frame an issue in a certain way. That doesn’t mean you have to respond or answer accepting their premise.
A question is posed: do you think Bert & Ernie would get married if gay marriages were allowed.
You can respond strongly talking about the issues and never once mention Bert & Ernie. They are irrelevant to your argument. If your opponent or media frame a question in a certain way, you are NOT obligated to accept their terms, and instead should focus on your issues that relate to the heart of the question, period.
Don’t Get Into Tit For Tat
Jessica Jones’s opponent sent out a pretty hurtful mail flyer that implicates Jessica as a woman. Jessica is rightfully offended. Her campaign is free to denounce the activities of her opponent and highlight why they think this makes dirty campaigning. But Jessica Jones should not alter her media strategy to respond to her opponent. Doing so keeps the attack of her opponent alive and builds more earned media for her opponent’s position.
If you spend time responding to attacks, the only message that is guaranteed to get out repeatedly is the initial attack, which will not be heard or repeated every time someone talks about your response. Don’t do your opponent’s work for them.
Don’t Respond Immediately
Jessica Jones receives a mid-day call from Tim Barbary, a local reporter, asking her about something her opponent has said. What should she do?
First, Jessica needs to ask the reporter when their deadline is for the story they are writing. Second, she needs to tell the reporter that she is in the middle of something, but she can call him back before his deadline and make sure she has a quote ready.
Jessica should avoid responding immediately off the cuff. Take time. Reporters are okay if you get back to them in time, and it gives you a second to step back from the issue and find out more, to make sure that your response is informed and reflects your campaign.
Final Thoughts:
The key rules to dealing with the media are simple: protect your campaign. These simple rules can help make sure your campaign is truly effective at dealing with the media.
Next Week on Nuts and Bolts: Early Voting