Election Strategy Memo #3

The Campaign Mantra

President Clinton, who could be called "The Master" when it comes to pulling off political miracles, was certainly a master at holding his campaigns "on message." His campaign workers were boot camp drilled in staying on message above all else. Every news release, every response to the opposition, every answer to a media question was turned back to the message of the campaign so that the underlying theme became a "campaign mantra."

A campaign mantra is more than just a slogan. It is a statement of the way things can be and should be from the candidate's point of view ... used so often that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Every campaign should have its mantra.

For example, Libertarian Party candidates in West Virginia are beginning to use the mantra [when this memo was originally written]: "West Virginia is a Libertarian State." This mantra serves dual purposes, inviting people to ask "What does 'Libertarian' mean?" and implying that it's natural for people in West Virginia to vote Libertarian. This mantra works especially well for West Virginia because the state motto is: "Mountain Men Always Free!" Other mantras work for other states or districts.

The more often the mantra is used, the more obvious the results. When we sent the above campaign mantra to West Virginia candidates, we also suggested some brainstorming to come up with 101 ways to get the mantra into people's minds.

There are probably a million ways to spread a campaign mantra but in the West Virginia case our own brief brainstorming, as with all brainstorming, came up with a couple ideas that sounded workable for West Virginia candidates and some which sounded far-fetched or unworkable. Strange as it might seem, all ideas coming in a brainstorming session, even the ideas judged unworkable for a given campaign, lend energy to the self-fulfillment of the prophecy. All ideas held in mind have consequences.

(Regarding ideas in mind having consequences, there is a Buddhist sect which teaches doing nothing but chanting hour after hour for one's desired result. Lo and behold, the results always come ... as if by magic. It's not really magic, but this is not the time or place to go into a scientific explanation. Suffice to say that ideas held in mind have consequences.)

To give only one example of how a campaign mantra can be spread, here is one of the ideas we passed on to West Virginia candidates:

The name of this idea is: "Here's a little gift for you!"

A give-away card (business card size) is made up for the campaign mantra. The cards are reproduced on white card stock with a nice libertarian blue ink (people respond well to libertarian blue on white).

Centered across the card's face is the mantra:

WEST VIRGINIA IS A LIBERTARIAN STATE

Printed in smaller letters lower on the card is a one line explanation:

We believe in "LIVE AND LET LIVE"

Nothing else is on the card. No name, no phone number, no party identification, nothing. Just these two lines.

Then Libertarian Party activists are given a task from the very beginning of the campaign, meaning right now ... a job they can do all day long every day.

Each activist has a supply of these cards. As the activists go through their day, they watch for "positive feeling opportunities" to give the cards out as a gift.

The cards are NOT to be handed out wholesale to everyone the activist comes into contact with.

But they are to be given to anyone the activist helps or to anyone with whom the activist has a positive moment of connection or rapport.

For example, libertarian activists when supplied with cards will be instructed to stay on the alert during their days for opportunities to help people ... maybe carry a bag of groceries or stop for a motorist in trouble ... any helpful gesture.

When the activist helps someone there is a moment of automatic gratitude, which means a moment of openness where no judgment can enter into the mind of the person who has been helped. At this moment the activist gives the helped person one of the cards and says, "Here's a little gift for you!" It's as if the activist was saying, "Thank you for letting me help you. Here's a tiny reward."

This also works when someone has helped the activist. "Thank you for helping me. Here's a small expression of gratitude."

It also works during any moment of rapport ... a flirtation moment, a friendly moment where eye contact has been made, a moment of sharing joy that the local team has won their game ... any positive moment where a connection has been made between two people.

Giving the card DOES NOT work if there is no eye contact or feeling of connection between the people and it DOES NOT work if the moment has a negative feeling flavor.

If the activist is angry and happens to connect with another person who is also angry about the same thing, even though there is a connection, this is NOT the time to give the card. Cards associated with painful emotions will not bring the desired result. Cards associated with gratitude or other positive emotions work wonders.

It's absolutely critical that the activist does NOT launch into libertarian philosophizing with the person who receives the card. The cards should be given with NO FURTHER COMMENT. If the receiver of the card asks what "libertarian" means, the activist must keep it simple and stay on script:

"It means just what the card says: 'Live and let live' The card is just a friendly reminder of the spirit of West Virginia."

Train your activists to say it JUST LIKE THAT and then KEEP QUIET. No further elaboration. No further explanations about libertarianism. No advertising. Nothing further. The activist slogan should be, "Keep it simple! Stay with the one simple message that everyone can feel good about."

Those are the instructions for spreading the campaign mantra using give-away cards.

The exact same principle can be used for New Hampshire. The give-away card would have in large letters:

NEW HAMPSHIRE IS A LIBERTARIAN STATE

And in smaller letters lower on the card:

We believe in "LIVE FREE!"

One possible side benefit of using this method is that libertarian activists might feel a little self-induced incentive to become more helpful, more giving of themselves to others, and more willing to connect with others. This will serve them in the long run.

This is known as a "risk free" method because the give-away cards were given in moments of gratitude, love, or rapport. So if an opponent tries to argue, "No, no, West Virginia is a Democratic state!" they will be defeating themselves with their negativity and in the process making the Libertarian Party look even more positive.

Speaking of "risk free" and "positive", you might want to consider working the free-of-charge positive lessons of the Course in Political Miracles [link on tab of this page].



If you are just waking up to your innate libertarian side and want to investigate deeper the underlying nonsense of Obama's religion of government worship, give yourself the pleasure of reading Ayn Rand's epic and masterful novel, Atlas Shrugged

"God's laws will keep your minds at peace, because peace IS His Will, and His laws are established to uphold it. His are the laws of freedom, but yours are the laws of bondage. Since freedom and bondage are irreconcilable, their laws CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD TOGETHER. The laws of God work only for your good, and there ARE no other laws beside His. Everything else is merely lawLESS, and therefore chaotic." -Jesus Christ in A Course in Miracles


For the last election year studied (1998) some of the highest percentage of votes for Libertarian Party candidates were for candidates who had been studying free of charge the lessons of: Course in Political Miracles

For a great discussion on Christianity vs. State Socialism see: Christianity vs. State Socialism

“I did not understand what made me free, nor what my freedom is, nor where to look to find it. Father, I have searched in vain until I heard Your Voice directing me. Now I would guide myself no more. For I have neither made nor understood the way to find my freedom. But I trust in You. You Who endowed me with my freedom as Your holy Son will not be lost to me. Your Voice directs me." (Prayer from A Course in Miracles)

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