Friday, December 9, 2016

Starting yesterday might be too late...






"Most voters don't know the inside baseball of day to day politics. By the same token, many when given the facts which expose the 'swamp', they become filled with righteous indignation."



I went to a Christmas Party last night with a bunch of other patriots. Well, it was really a victory party as well. After the unexpected and historic wins on November 8th, everyone seemed to be quite giddy. Truthfully, so am I. Before I left for the party, I received a phone call from a friend who holds a post in MNGOP. We chatted about a few things including our stunning victory last month. However, he reminded me of a brutal fact - the race for 2018 started Wednesday morning, November 9th, at sunrise. And time was ticking.

One of the classes I told while attending the Carlson School of Management was on business planning. I remember a catch phase which was used in the book. Proper and timely planning was essential in any competitive environment. I remember the phrase, "Starting yesterday is often times too late." I guess that replaced the old adage of "the early bird catches the worm". 

In 2018, Amy Klobuchar's and Mark Dayton's terms will be up. A six year Senate seat and the Governor's chair. Big prizes? In Minnesota we say "you betcha!". On November 17, Erin Murphy announced she is going after the Governor's chair in 2018. Her campaign is off and running. What about others? Republicans? All we have right now is some backroom whispers, rumors and innuendos.

One of my take away moments from working on past campaign is this - to win, a candidate must follow three basic steps. Step one - introduce yourself. No matter how well known a candidate thinks he or she might be, there will always be some voters who don't know you. Step two (and this applies only if the position is not an open seat) - make a case why the person holding the seat should be fired. Step three (the all important one) - make a case why YOU should be hired over everyone else. 

Right now, I see step 2 coming into play for both Dayton's and Klobuchar's jobs. If they run or don't run again, make the case on how mucked up things became under their watch. Why their party deserves to be fired. The facts are out there - trust me, many, many facts that need to be shown the light of day.

This is the key to why and how to do this - to expose the facts. Most voters don't know the "inside baseball" of day to day politics. By the same token, when many are given the facts which exposes the "swamp", they become filled with a righteous indignation. Look at Donald Trump in this past election. He was able to stir up enough righteous indignation from both the right and the left. He stirred up enough that he stole the election from right under Hillary's nose.

What can we as citizens do if we fall into the 99% of the public who are not running for elected office in 2018? Latch onto a campaign as soon as one forms. There is always a ton of work to do as well as garnering funds. Also, become as informed as possible about the issues. Most candidates, no matter how informed, don't know everything. Being surrounded by trustworthy people who can help fill in the cracks can really help win the day.

Got to go now. Time is a wasting. Much to do, and little time to get it done. Yes, even for us retired folks, with some tasks starting yesterday might be too late.

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