Selling the Drive

Yesterday, I was in Montgomery County doing what is now becoming a weekly event: a training seminar. For three and a half hours, I walked them through grassroots preparation, candidate preparation, campaign preparation, and how to prepare to go against the opposition. (Photo below)

I spend a good amount of time referring to what I call the "land of milk and honey." Candidates, during the life of their campaign, need to pitch two things: why they're running to replace the incumbent (if there is one), and where they want to take the voter, should they be elected.

This doesn't just apply to candidates. It also applies to causes.

Any political ambition that you might have requires numbers. You have to organize to be successful. To organize, you have to attract people to your cause.

The key word there is "attract." It's crazy to me that some forget that. There is one candidate I know who is running for office right now who is bent on insulting everyone they can on their way to the election. Good luck with that...

When the Dodge dealer wants to sell his inventory of cars, he doesn't talk about how horrible Fords are. You've never seen that car commercial. Instead, he talks about how amazing it is to drive a Dodge. He sells the experience. The feeling. He aims to make you fall in love with the vehicle he wants to sell you.

If only candidates and causes would take that approach. You have to sell the experience, the destination. It's what I call the land of milk and honey. You must create in others not just the desire, but the burning desire, to follow you there.

But most candidates don't. They talk instead of how horrible the other person is. They forget that no one buys a Dodge because the buyer has become convinced that Ford is horrible. They buy the Dodge because they like the Dodge.

It's okay to talk about the truthful faults of the opponent. You need to do some of that. President Trump talked at length about Kamala Harris' shortcomings. But he talked more of his land milk and honey, which he labeled MAGA. He created a burning desire in people to follow him there. They did, and he won the election.

But if the majority of what he had done was talk about his opponent's flaws, he would not have won.

There is always a protest vote. As I told the audience yesterday, I could put my left shoe on the ballot against John Cornyn and my left shoe would pull 40% of the vote in a primary - because my left shoe is further to the right than John Cornyn is. But it wouldn't win the election. People vote for the winner, not against the loser.

We also discussed censure.

They asked me to walk through the inarguable approach to censure, which I did with them. They recorded it and planned to use it later in their CEC meeting. But I also warned them of the danger in a censure: no one is attracted to a censure. It's a protest, a valid protest. Protests are fine, but they don't win elections. To win an election, you need a land of milk and honey. Don't substitute censure for the beautiful destination to which you want to lead people. Be ready with the vivid description of that destination.

MAGA is divisive for those who hate a strong America or who just hate President Trump, Vice-President Vance, or Elon Musk. But overall, the message itself and the promise of its destination are attractive. People ignore the bumpy road on the way there because they dream of a life lived there.

To sell the car, you have to sell the drive. Otherwise, buyers might be in short supply.

4 Comments

PJ Jackson (Mar 2, 2025 11:49 AM):

We need some dang cars on the lot.
The failure of the RPT to censure rogue (but very well-funded) legislators puts those ‘new cars’ at a definite disadvantage. Having their names REMOVED from the ballot is like a $100k campaign donation to a prospective candidate. Why? Because there are those people who will ALWAYS buy the Ford - no matter how many Fords they’ve bought that turned out to be lemons - because the Ford is on the lot. Remove the Ford and it’s far easier to market those Dodges, Chevys, etc.
Don’t mean to sound negative but it’s true. It costs a LOT of money to buy a seat in Austin. It should NEVER be that way.

Brett Rogers (Mar 2, 2025 11:52 AM):

PJ, here's the dirty secret - nothing stops the censured incumbent Republican from pulling a Murkowski and running as an independent. They have the money and the name recognition.

The more you organize (attract), the less relevant establishment money becomes.

PJ Jackson (Mar 2, 2025 12:04 PM):

Brett,
Yes, they can run ad an independent but, if they do, can they still get those Abbott, Patrick, Sid Miller coveted endorsements and feature them on their glossy mailers?

Brett Rogers (Mar 2, 2025 12:39 PM):

If Abbott and crew thinks the candidate will do what Abbott and crew want done, then yes. McConnell backed Murkowski. Her running as an independent didn't stop him (or other Republicans) from backing her.

Establishment isn't about Republican it's about establishment. They'll openly partner with Democrats if they think it benefits them. As we're seeing...