To Conservatives: Usurp the Green Candidate Position With Technology

July 15, 2009 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
Filed under: Campaign Technology

: Image via Wikipedia

Admit it…it’s frustrating as heck to hear “non-conservatives” touting their “Green Candidacy” when truth is, unless you’re Ed Begley Jr, we’re all probably taking the sedan to our meetings across town vs. riding our bikes and showing up less than dry. We at Operation Red State live a very Green Lifestyle. By leveraging technology, we’ve virtually elminated the use of paper in our business. We do gather in our studio regularly…but often times we meet in remote locations close to each other’s homes. Or we work from equally equipped (and very cool) home offices. So if you’re a conservative candidate running for local or state office…are you ready to claim the “Green” label? You should be ready NOW. So do it. Here’s how to ensure you’re ready.

Let’s create your Green Candidate Scorecard: Start from 0 and add up your score. Scoring weights are arbitrarily decide by the author.

Be transparent with your paper usage. Publish tangible numbers and include the paper product purchases for your campaign. Easy to track. Does your competitor have this data? No. Therefore you are the Green Candidate +2
Log your walking miles. Green candidates door knock and log the mileage of their own hoofing plus their campaign staff/volunteers. Your competitor doesn’t have this data. You win. +2
Log your driving miles. Log your campaign mileage and that of your staff. Even if you’re Chris Rants and have logged 15k+ miles recently assessing the pulse of voters…you are the Green Candidate. Why? Even if the other candidate has fewer miles and claims the Green label, he/she isn’t as invested in gathering voter positions on issues. Besides, today’s vehicles barely puff out a gnat’s breath worth of emissions. You win. +1
Use Collaboration software like Central Desktop to coordinate with team members, staff, and volunteers. (Obama used Central Desktop to organize at the precinct level in CA and TX and this on-demand software starts at $25/mo). By using online documents and housing communication here..you reduce paper usage by an order of magnitude. Set this as a standard within your campaign and hire people who support using tech to be efficient and be Green. +2
Use live streaming at events to allow 100X the viewership and attendance without the travel expense and “carbon output”. Maybe you can use ustream.TV to hold an event where 50 people attend in person and 50 attend online. You’ve reduced your carbon footprint by 50% by leveraging technology. You’re green. You win. +3

What’s your score? I’m going to go out on the limb of a respsonsibly replanted tree and say that even if you only earned 1 point on this quiz that YOU are the Green Candidate. Do not let this opportunity slide by. I find most conservatives to be far more in tune with the reality of a clean environment, energy, water, air, etc. Lay it on the line and go for it!

Want to join the ORS revolution? Just look to the right —-> Over there and sign up. If we haven’t earned your business yet…start with the free stuff. Thanks a metric ton.

Tags: Central Desktop, ed begley jr, green candidate, obama, Precinct, technology

The Shock and Awe Method of Running a Winning Mayoral Campaign

July 7, 2009 by Doug Mitchell · Leave a Comment
Filed under: local politics

Excluding New York, Chicago, LA…the race for mayor is a far less glamorous affair. Most of the USA is dotted with smaller towns where campaigns don’t eclipse the $5k-$10k mark in raised funds. Let’s take the imaginary AnyTown, USA. AnyTown has 25,000 residents of which 80% are voting age (20,000 citizens). Typically, voter turnout to elect a mayor is 12% of the voting population (2400 citizens) citizens. Of those 2400 citizens the age of the voter skews heavily toward 55+.

Conclusion:

I need to target voters 55+ because they come out and vote. Focusing here will win me the election because although I’d like the others to vote for me, resources are scarce and I must spend them on what gets votes…and not hope.

Recommended Approach:

Use shock and awe to overwhelm your opponent.
Mobilize your ground troops to target 18-40 year old voters.
Leverage social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, blog, and video to build mini-tribes throughout your community. Sign up for Operation Red State of course to maximize your use of technology in the campaign.
Conduct town hall meetings and live stream each one using Ustream.TV and promote it like crazy with all available online/offline methods.
Target any colleges in the area and entice youth with free food in exchange for listening to your message.
Remember the 48-58 year old voters may have kids in college that come home and vote. Don’t ever decide that because Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are 55 and voting for your competition that you can smoke them by winning John and Jane Juniors’ votes.
Declare that you are the true “Green Candidate” and avoid the use of direct mail completely.
Have 500 shirts made that are bold and have your campaign slogan on them. Distribute them liberally before parades and any public event you can to show your overwhelming support.

The bottom line is that you want to drive 5000 people out to vote rendering the past model of targeting voters completely useless.

Do you think the next election cycle will be different now that YOU changed the rules…and changed the game? Congratulations Mr. or Mrs. Mayor. Now go to work for your citizens.

Tags: facebook, green candidate, mayoral, small race, twitter, ustream.tv, voter demographics