A number of years ago, I noted a connection between various Republican consultants and the incestuous ties within political campaigns. The GOP has a problem with a lot of consultants. They get paid commissions whether a candidate wins or loses. They get commissions from most parts of a campaign business and, interestingly, do not invest in parts that do not pay commissions. It is time for action.
Erick: This is good stuff and should be more broadly disseminated. Any chance I can reprint this in place of my weekly Sunday column for the Santa Barbara News-Press?
Too many grifters running things, including McDaniel, who want the status quo because it benefits them. If they happen to win, fine. If not, maybe next time. You're right that it's not acceptable and needs to change but just not sure how this would even happen.
Failure after failure requires a real in-depth analysis to determine the causes. Things need to change. People and processes need to change if you expect the results to improve. Remember the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result? Surely Republicans aren’t so stupid to not understand this? One other thing that has been a real problem……..Donald Trump. He is killing the Conservative cause. He’s killing the Republican Party. I voted for him twice but he needs to disappear if we expect to retake the White House and Senate in 2 years. He’s become toxic.
As someone who has worked for both major GOP congressional campaign committees in support of 35 US Senate and House campaigns in 25 states over several decades, Erick is spot on here. The consulting class not only thwarted many campaigns this cycle with message-less advice and direction, but increasingly resemble grifters. Too much money is being wasted on TV broadcast campaigns (and, with it, 15% commissions for buying TV time) and too little on new methods of digital advertising - reaching people, especially younger voters, where they live, on their smartphones. Add to that the blocking and tackling of organization, especially voter ID and turnout (broadly defined to include absentee and early voting).
And the horrible world is on fire e-mails and texts need to stop. I hated them when I was in DC and I hate them even more now. If anything I’d wager they turn more people off than not. It’s clear the GOP and their cadre of consultants are totally out of step with how to communicate, messaging and effective distribution channels. Unless the GOP cleans house, expect the pain to continue.
JOE, WHY AREN'T YOU ON THE TEAM?!?! I DON'T SEE YOUR DONATION. IF YOU DON'T DONATE TO ME IN FIVE MINUTES AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE 3X MATCH, A MILLION CHILDREN WILL DIE OF STARVATION AND COMMUNISTS WILL RULE THE EARTH.
JOE, ARE YOU THERE? Text stop to think that you've unsubscribed, but we won't unsubscribe you.
Oh my goodness Erick. I didn’t think it could get worse than it was, but it did. Love the unsubscribe! There’s no way out. Particularly with texts. It’s really so embarrassing. It kills the GOP brand. They don’t get it. I was happy to leave DC, but now I almost want to go back and kick some sense into these folks. If they were smart, they’d easily move from Trump by focusing on Trump’s policies. It’s about packaging. They can be so stupid…to the country’s detriment.
Joe, we may need you to step up and help, if I may be so bold. Erick’s analysis and your and his experience need to be listened to, learned from and energetically pushed out to others, especially conservative leaders. Erick’s readers’ occasional posts in this forum are great, but they need to be backed up with an iterative plan, so we’re not back in this same place in November, 2024. (I pretty much read everyone’s posts, then I think and consider. Let’s filter through these ideas and make actionable steps…)
I’ve been out of it longer than I was in it. I had a great experience working with Erick. We don’t see eye to eye regarding Trump, but I think we’re about 100% aligned on his policies. When the story of these past 6 years is finally written I truly believe the country will feel great shame. And do know that is ever asked to help with anything to right the ship, I certainly would. Peace…
So spot on about certain consultants. After the Senate debate in Savannah, I was chatting with Herschel's ad guy from Dallas. All the 20 something staffers were standing near him, showing him responses to their IG and Twitter posts, while patting themselves on the back about the response. I shared with him how we cut the cable cord years ago and asked him what the plan was for streaming services since we're ONLY seeing Warnock ads which were highly effective and some of the best in the business. I also shared what I was seeing online while nothing from Team Herschel. He sat there with an air of arrogance, looking at me incredulously, while bouncing his leg up and down so we'd all notice his Gucci shoes. He said he couldn't effectively target on those services. I told him I'd be happy to help with that effort - for free. I also said we'd donate enough for a worthwhile test for some good digital placement. He smiled and said he had staff for that - a condescending pat on the head. Of course I knew what he really meant was that he didn't get paid for that and I didn't know what I was talking about. Well, he got paid while we all paid the ultimate price.
Exactly the sort of thing I've seen over the years from the consultants the RNC recommends to Republican candidates, especially political newcomers. I noticed the same thing you did about the Warnock ads online--they were by and large very effective and professional, and the Walker ones had RNC consultant written all over them. (i.e., expensive but with the money going to the consultants not into the ads.) Not one definite positive thing about Walker or the Republican Party--just stop Warnock from spending money. With these people, it always comes back to money. That's all they see. That's all they understand--they don't understand social issues, don't understand the struggle between decency and depravity, don't understand the ordinary voter.
Changing consultants won't help the Republicans unless primary voters can be convinced to care about character, intelligence, and preparation for the job--not to mention candidates' actual, demonstrated principled beliefs related to liberty, financial responsibility, and free enterprise. Only ranked choice voting will open the way for candidates who offer solutions and the ability to work with others. Meanwhile, social media, and, yes, even mainstream media, will continue to produce celebrity candidates who bamboozle uninformed voters.
I've been reading all these posts since the general election and there are almost as many opinions on who's to blame as there are respondents. Most seem to agree the general election should've been a slam-dunk for Republicans, yet it wasn't. The common thread is the desire to disrupt the status quo, and unfortunately DJT is still seen by many as the Disrupter-in-Chief. Establishment Republicans and their lackeys may have done much more damage than just p*ssing away a huge opportunity in this election...they may have reopened what was a closing door for Trump 2024.
Life experience means a lot. My wife and I were discussing the shaping events for lives. My parents were shaped by the depression and Pearl Harbor leading to WWII. We were shaped by the Kennedy assassination and Vietnam. My kids experienced 9/11. I think some people would like this current group to remember as their life moment the Capital fiasco. What does that give these people when they become adults? For my parents it was a need to live and raise a family in peace without interference from government. For my wife and I it has been a mistrust in our leaders who kill those they dislike and then get us into intolerable messes. For my kids it is how government failed the citizens and let a bunch of boxcutter carrying Saudi terrorists bring our nation down for three full days thus creating a twenty year war with on permanent change. I am not sure what this generation gets out of 1/6. Bottom line is we need God in our lives for Hope, Love and Peace and Assurance of better things to come.
Unfortunately I feel we are going further and further in the direction you describe. So many young people are choosing dogs over children, equate abortion with tissue that you just get rid of at your convenience, see nothing wrong with a boy becoming a girl and a girl becoming a boy because after all it was a sexist patriarchal system that forced this identity system upon us. They ignore biological facts and create their own new concepts of humans. They quickly label anything associated with conservative thinking with a distasteful misnomer such as the “don’t say gay” bill. Having said all this we need some deeper thinking in conservative circles. On the issue of abortion the liberals including Pelosi frame it in the name of protecting a woman’s right to choose. As a Catholic I find it abhorrent but somehow Pelosi‘s conscious is clear because she has now accepted that this is God’s view. Think a little further - how would conservatives enforce abortion laws? We have to be prepared to explain how we plan to follow through on policing this very personal issue or then allow the liberal machine to frame it for us. We have to think it all the way through. How do we have a society that believes a baby is nothing but tissue until birth? One of the most horrific depictions of this was a news photo of protesters after the Roe v Wade decision. A woman was holding a toddler in her arms and appeared to be almost full term with a second child and was wearing a T-shirt with an arrow pointing at her belly with the words this is not a human. How did we get here? On the issue of immigration conservatives put it in black and white terms. They are law breakers. To adamantly believe that an immigrant that has risked everything to come to the US is the equivalent of a person charged with murder means you’ve never fully understood the conditions they are fleeing. These same immigrants have built our homes, worked the most difficult, undesirable jobs, thank God every day for the privilege and want nothing more than to live the American dream. There has been no mass immigration enforcement for at least 40 years. How do we now deport millions of families who have US born children? We turned a blind eye when we needed them. Had the US really wanted to stop the migration it could have been done but when your economy is firing on all cylinders and you need more workers the door remains open. The Republicans should take the bull by the horns and come up with immigration reform that works for everybody. Finally, my hope is that God is watching all this and will ultimately straighten us out because He is the only one who can do it.
You spoke my heart. Where our country is headed is incredibly discouraging yet I remind myself daily that God is in control. That’s the only way I know to get through this mess.
Erick: This is good stuff and should be more broadly disseminated. Any chance I can reprint this in place of my weekly Sunday column for the Santa Barbara News-Press?
Not sure if this is how to contact you but I had 2 questions for you.
1) Ronna Mac. Does she have dirt on all these GOPers? I too think she has reached her Level of Incompetence!
2) Why did Laxalt lose here in NV? Trump Hangover? Union? Illegals in Vegas and Reno? Certainly, not because Cortez-Masto is wonderful.
George in Reno
Too many grifters running things, including McDaniel, who want the status quo because it benefits them. If they happen to win, fine. If not, maybe next time. You're right that it's not acceptable and needs to change but just not sure how this would even happen.
Failure after failure requires a real in-depth analysis to determine the causes. Things need to change. People and processes need to change if you expect the results to improve. Remember the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result? Surely Republicans aren’t so stupid to not understand this? One other thing that has been a real problem……..Donald Trump. He is killing the Conservative cause. He’s killing the Republican Party. I voted for him twice but he needs to disappear if we expect to retake the White House and Senate in 2 years. He’s become toxic.
As someone who has worked for both major GOP congressional campaign committees in support of 35 US Senate and House campaigns in 25 states over several decades, Erick is spot on here. The consulting class not only thwarted many campaigns this cycle with message-less advice and direction, but increasingly resemble grifters. Too much money is being wasted on TV broadcast campaigns (and, with it, 15% commissions for buying TV time) and too little on new methods of digital advertising - reaching people, especially younger voters, where they live, on their smartphones. Add to that the blocking and tackling of organization, especially voter ID and turnout (broadly defined to include absentee and early voting).
And the horrible world is on fire e-mails and texts need to stop. I hated them when I was in DC and I hate them even more now. If anything I’d wager they turn more people off than not. It’s clear the GOP and their cadre of consultants are totally out of step with how to communicate, messaging and effective distribution channels. Unless the GOP cleans house, expect the pain to continue.
JOE, WHY AREN'T YOU ON THE TEAM?!?! I DON'T SEE YOUR DONATION. IF YOU DON'T DONATE TO ME IN FIVE MINUTES AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE 3X MATCH, A MILLION CHILDREN WILL DIE OF STARVATION AND COMMUNISTS WILL RULE THE EARTH.
JOE, ARE YOU THERE? Text stop to think that you've unsubscribed, but we won't unsubscribe you.
Oh my goodness Erick. I didn’t think it could get worse than it was, but it did. Love the unsubscribe! There’s no way out. Particularly with texts. It’s really so embarrassing. It kills the GOP brand. They don’t get it. I was happy to leave DC, but now I almost want to go back and kick some sense into these folks. If they were smart, they’d easily move from Trump by focusing on Trump’s policies. It’s about packaging. They can be so stupid…to the country’s detriment.
Joe, we may need you to step up and help, if I may be so bold. Erick’s analysis and your and his experience need to be listened to, learned from and energetically pushed out to others, especially conservative leaders. Erick’s readers’ occasional posts in this forum are great, but they need to be backed up with an iterative plan, so we’re not back in this same place in November, 2024. (I pretty much read everyone’s posts, then I think and consider. Let’s filter through these ideas and make actionable steps…)
I’ve been out of it longer than I was in it. I had a great experience working with Erick. We don’t see eye to eye regarding Trump, but I think we’re about 100% aligned on his policies. When the story of these past 6 years is finally written I truly believe the country will feel great shame. And do know that is ever asked to help with anything to right the ship, I certainly would. Peace…
I think a place to start would be looking at who Ron DeSantis and Gov. Youngkin use.
So spot on about certain consultants. After the Senate debate in Savannah, I was chatting with Herschel's ad guy from Dallas. All the 20 something staffers were standing near him, showing him responses to their IG and Twitter posts, while patting themselves on the back about the response. I shared with him how we cut the cable cord years ago and asked him what the plan was for streaming services since we're ONLY seeing Warnock ads which were highly effective and some of the best in the business. I also shared what I was seeing online while nothing from Team Herschel. He sat there with an air of arrogance, looking at me incredulously, while bouncing his leg up and down so we'd all notice his Gucci shoes. He said he couldn't effectively target on those services. I told him I'd be happy to help with that effort - for free. I also said we'd donate enough for a worthwhile test for some good digital placement. He smiled and said he had staff for that - a condescending pat on the head. Of course I knew what he really meant was that he didn't get paid for that and I didn't know what I was talking about. Well, he got paid while we all paid the ultimate price.
Exactly the sort of thing I've seen over the years from the consultants the RNC recommends to Republican candidates, especially political newcomers. I noticed the same thing you did about the Warnock ads online--they were by and large very effective and professional, and the Walker ones had RNC consultant written all over them. (i.e., expensive but with the money going to the consultants not into the ads.) Not one definite positive thing about Walker or the Republican Party--just stop Warnock from spending money. With these people, it always comes back to money. That's all they see. That's all they understand--they don't understand social issues, don't understand the struggle between decency and depravity, don't understand the ordinary voter.
If you hear “Radical DC liberal” you know the source...
Wow.
Changing consultants won't help the Republicans unless primary voters can be convinced to care about character, intelligence, and preparation for the job--not to mention candidates' actual, demonstrated principled beliefs related to liberty, financial responsibility, and free enterprise. Only ranked choice voting will open the way for candidates who offer solutions and the ability to work with others. Meanwhile, social media, and, yes, even mainstream media, will continue to produce celebrity candidates who bamboozle uninformed voters.
I've been reading all these posts since the general election and there are almost as many opinions on who's to blame as there are respondents. Most seem to agree the general election should've been a slam-dunk for Republicans, yet it wasn't. The common thread is the desire to disrupt the status quo, and unfortunately DJT is still seen by many as the Disrupter-in-Chief. Establishment Republicans and their lackeys may have done much more damage than just p*ssing away a huge opportunity in this election...they may have reopened what was a closing door for Trump 2024.
Erick, how do you feel about Harmeet Dhillon wanting to be the new GOP chairman?
I'd much prefer Harmeet to the status quo.
She’s impressive on ‘Tucker’.
Spot on!
EXACTLY!!!!!!!
Life experience means a lot. My wife and I were discussing the shaping events for lives. My parents were shaped by the depression and Pearl Harbor leading to WWII. We were shaped by the Kennedy assassination and Vietnam. My kids experienced 9/11. I think some people would like this current group to remember as their life moment the Capital fiasco. What does that give these people when they become adults? For my parents it was a need to live and raise a family in peace without interference from government. For my wife and I it has been a mistrust in our leaders who kill those they dislike and then get us into intolerable messes. For my kids it is how government failed the citizens and let a bunch of boxcutter carrying Saudi terrorists bring our nation down for three full days thus creating a twenty year war with on permanent change. I am not sure what this generation gets out of 1/6. Bottom line is we need God in our lives for Hope, Love and Peace and Assurance of better things to come.
Unfortunately I feel we are going further and further in the direction you describe. So many young people are choosing dogs over children, equate abortion with tissue that you just get rid of at your convenience, see nothing wrong with a boy becoming a girl and a girl becoming a boy because after all it was a sexist patriarchal system that forced this identity system upon us. They ignore biological facts and create their own new concepts of humans. They quickly label anything associated with conservative thinking with a distasteful misnomer such as the “don’t say gay” bill. Having said all this we need some deeper thinking in conservative circles. On the issue of abortion the liberals including Pelosi frame it in the name of protecting a woman’s right to choose. As a Catholic I find it abhorrent but somehow Pelosi‘s conscious is clear because she has now accepted that this is God’s view. Think a little further - how would conservatives enforce abortion laws? We have to be prepared to explain how we plan to follow through on policing this very personal issue or then allow the liberal machine to frame it for us. We have to think it all the way through. How do we have a society that believes a baby is nothing but tissue until birth? One of the most horrific depictions of this was a news photo of protesters after the Roe v Wade decision. A woman was holding a toddler in her arms and appeared to be almost full term with a second child and was wearing a T-shirt with an arrow pointing at her belly with the words this is not a human. How did we get here? On the issue of immigration conservatives put it in black and white terms. They are law breakers. To adamantly believe that an immigrant that has risked everything to come to the US is the equivalent of a person charged with murder means you’ve never fully understood the conditions they are fleeing. These same immigrants have built our homes, worked the most difficult, undesirable jobs, thank God every day for the privilege and want nothing more than to live the American dream. There has been no mass immigration enforcement for at least 40 years. How do we now deport millions of families who have US born children? We turned a blind eye when we needed them. Had the US really wanted to stop the migration it could have been done but when your economy is firing on all cylinders and you need more workers the door remains open. The Republicans should take the bull by the horns and come up with immigration reform that works for everybody. Finally, my hope is that God is watching all this and will ultimately straighten us out because He is the only one who can do it.
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You spoke my heart. Where our country is headed is incredibly discouraging yet I remind myself daily that God is in control. That’s the only way I know to get through this mess.
EXACTLY!!!!!