"Conservation"

ILLUSTRATED: Conservation is now a kitchen table issue, not merely an elite issue.
First of all, don't say "environmentalism", say "conservationsim". Just be sensible and practical.
-Sports(wo)men want to hike and hunt in clean forests.
-The Earth is for life, the Earth is not for profit.
-We want to save our national parks for the future generations.
-Shoot down Republicans when they bring up "Property Rights". Come back with the concept of the "Public Trust".
-Use Bibilcal words like "steward".

Nuggets of Wisdom

ILLUSTRATED: Time for some basics that I have learned.

-Being a great orator does not make you an effective campaign stump speaker. A great orator is like Miles Davis blowing his trumpet. It sounds good to the ear, but it is often improvised and hard to remember every note. A good stump speaker is like a bass player, repeating the same few notes constantly. Be clear, be repetitive.

-Framing the language is not enough. You have to set the storyline for a campaign. You want every speech, press release, and advertisement to be consistent with that storyline.

-When asking for money, tell people what the money is used for with concrete examples.

-With literature, the headlines and the pictures do the most communicating to the most people. The text is really the illustration, just giving some credibility to the slogans and images.

-90% of activists talk the talk. 9% walk the walk. 1% leads the walk. For example, with a sign-in sheet at a political meeting, about one tenth will reply to you contacting them. Of that, one tenth with become dedicated volunteers or leaders.

-You have to size volunteers up for why they got into politics. A lot got in for a sense of identity and community. A few see it as a cost of doing business. Fewer still get into it because they analyzed the issues and candiates.

-It is incredible how hard it is to change people's beliefs, even with hard facts. People are comfortable with their worldview, and they do not want it flummoxed.

-The amount of formal education someone has, has little to do with the following dichotomies: 1)Whether they make political decisions emotionally or analytically. 2) Whether they are orthodox thinkers or out-of-the-box thinkers.

-People resent you for being right about an issue when they were wrong. Don't remind them, be inclusive with them.

-Particularly when running for executive office, it is more important to be decisive and seem like you've made a decision, than it is to appear deliberative, and tell the audience your reasoning.

-To get into the mind of a voter, pretend you are a professional sports athlete. If you are a legislative candidate, you are their friend and advocate. Act like you would be a great Sports Agent.
If you are an executive candidate, you are asking to be the leader running the show. Act like a great Head Coach.

-To be a good policy maker you need a high IQ. To be a good politician you need a high EQ. Hint, Bill Clinton had both in abundance.

-When running for office, talk about what you will do for the voters in the future, before your past.

-Running on themes is better than running of programs since voters don't understand the details. Ultimately, the theme of your campaign should entice voters to TRUST YOU to best handle the issues according to THEIR VALUES.

Globalization abroad requires Strength at home

ILLUSTRATED: Globalization makes a strong country stronger, and a weak country weaker. Bush is making us weaker, Dems will make us stronger.

The world is getting smaller. The trick is, if you are strong going into a globalization, you will get stronger. If you are weak going into globalization, you'll be eaten alive.
America is getting weaker under George W. Bush.
Thomas Friedman articulated four "deficits" that are getting worse: the government's fiscal deficit, the trade/monetary deficit, the energy deficit, and the education deficit.

Policy Prose

Fiscal deficit- When we aren't taxed enough, we borrow, much of it from China, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. They buy Treasury notes, they could stop any time. Thus they could but their shoe on our throat. That borrowing is not only a national security issue, it crowds out money that banks could lend to American businesses. That drives up interest rates, a terrible tax on everyone.
So Bush's deficits are selling out our independence and driving up interest rates. As Clinton proved, raising taxes on the rich is just an investment for the rich. In return, the government borrows less which lowers interest rates for their business activity.

Trade/Monetary deficit- We are not creating enough goods, and we owe too much money. We need to spur new businesses by having lower deficits, lower interest rates, lower barriers to entry...oh most importantly, lower health care costs. There would be more capital available here at home.

Energy- This is easy. Government, with direct investment and tax incentives, needs to promote green industries, and alternative energy sources. Oil is still the lifeblood of our economy, and our dependence on foreign oil weakens us.

Education- All business analysts agree, our education system is not pumping out graduates who have the skills for the 21st Century. At the federal level, the government needs to promote the teaching profession to attract the best & brightest, and assist in building and repairing the infrastructure for schools. Execution takes place locally.

Campaign Poetry

1) America is strongest if we pay as we go, and stop borrowing from foreigners. America is worth paying for in full.
2) Buy American and Build American.
3) We need to get off oil. It is for national security, good for the environment, and more science jobs.
4) The feds need to help get great teachers and build more schools. The locals need more innovation.