2008 Primaries, Grass Roots Organization • June 10th, 2008

Are McCain’s Wisconsin ground troops MIA?

by Chris Lato

At first blush, this doesn’t sound good.

What has John McCain been doing these past few months? Is an opportunity now lost? Has Barack Obama laid the groundwork for an unstoppable juggernaut of a campaign in Wisconsin?

Hold your horses a moment. In past columns I have discussed the need to have a strong ground game, and the importance of field organization in winning races in Wisconsin. It’s not the sexiest part of the campaign, it doesn’t get much attention, but it is absolutely vital, especially in a battleground state such as ours. And the Trib article suggests McCain is already falling behind. more »

Comments (2) »

Events, Fundraising, Global Concerns, Grass Roots Organization • May 13th, 2008

Help needed ASAP

by Chris Lato

Regular visitors to this site know we’re all about the politics, the public affairs, the public relations, the messaging…you know the score. Today I’m doing something a bit different - asking for your help for a good cause.

This Saturday, in downtown Milwaukee, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) – Greater Milwaukee Chapter is holding its annual NAMIWalks event. The honorary chairman is Green Bay Packer Greg Jennings and his lovely wife Nicole, who I understand will be there to walk as well.

Avicom Marketing Communications is involved as a sponsor of the event and has a team entered in the fundraiser. I will be peeling my butt off the couch and taking part. I’m asking you to do what you can to support the cause and give what you can. The program is worthy, the effort needs your help and anything you can pitch in would be welcome. NAMI is heavily involved in supporting those struggling with mental illness, along with offering support services to their families. Check out their website if you’d like to learn more.

If you can even give a few bucks, it is very easy to donate online by visiting my NAMIWalks webpage. I’m aiming low ($100 in donations) and hoping to succeed beyond my wildest goals. But I need more than donations from mom and dad to help out.

A sincere thanks for anything you can do. And now we return you to your regularly scheduled blog…

No Comments »

Grass Roots Organization, Messaging, Views on News, wispundits • April 2nd, 2008

Oh, what a night

by Chris Lato

For a spring election, which typically doesn’t do much to excite the voting population, this one had a whole lot of twists and turns.

One thing’s for sure: Gov. Jim Doyle can’t be happy about the results. Consider:

1. Doyle’s hand-picked Supreme Court justice, Louis Butler, loses in a squeaker to Michael Gableman – the first time a challenger has picked off a sitting justice in more than four decades. More on this race in a bit, but suffice it to say for now that Gableman’s win was in no small part a repudiation of the current high court’s left-leaning makeup and resulting decisions since Butler ascended to the high court.

2. Incumbent County Executive Scott Walker sails to victory against state Sen. Lena Taylor. Taylor has said she never spoke with Gov. Doyle about running for County Exec, but it’s hard to buy the notion that the governor never took more than a passing interest in knocking off Walker, an all-but-certain GOP candidate for governor in 2010. Walker is now positioned to make that run with the lessons of his ’06 bid to build on and the momentum from Tuesday’s decisive win to propel him forward.

3. Voters got out their pitchforks and torches and took down the governor’s ‘Frankenstein veto’ power by an overwhelming margin (as some of us predicted). There was strong bipartisan support for this constitutional amendment in the Legislature, due in part to what were viewed as abuses of the veto authority by the Doyle administration.

There were other big decisions, too. In Milwaukee, Ald. Michael McGee Junior’s constituents finally realized that having their representative locked in a jail cell is not exactly serving their interests well. McGee was defeated, in a bit of a surprise to some, to Milele Coggs, a member of a locally-known and politically-connected family. It feels a bit like the end of an era for the McGees, and the current Alderman hasn’t even gone to trial yet.
more »

Comment (1) »

2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Creative, Grass Roots Organization, New Media • March 17th, 2008

MoveOn beckons Web 2.0 to race

by Greg Batiansila

MoveOn.org, the outspoken left-leaning political website, is showing just how much the political grassroots landscape has changed in just one election cycle.

The site is calling on filmmakers, writers, directors, actors, editors, composers, graphic artists, and animators to use their creativity and create an ad supporting Barack Obama. MoveOn has even YouTubed their call to creative arms.

What you’re seeing and will continue to see is a move on the Internet toward social media, one where the audience creates content and essentially contributes in a conversation with itself and a website. The result is powerful – you give contributors their minutes of fame and priceless exposure, get free content, and engage the audience to share and contribute.

Politically, this is the first major step toward audience-created media that skirts campaign rules and campaign-driven “talking points.” If MoveOn.org posts its top 100 videos, and one or more are risky or take avant garde stabs at the opponent, both MoveOn and Obama can simply disassociate itself from the ad as something made by a novice and not from their campaign – even while displaying the ad under the context of a contest. But if something is truly moving and great, Obama or MoveOn can snatch the ad up and give it national play.

Locally, politicians could use the same platform to engage the electorate. more »

No Comments »

2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Fundraising, Grass Roots Organization, Messaging • March 10th, 2008

I’ve seen the future & it will be… (part 2)

by Greg Batiansila

Barack Obama’s fundraising is making considerable waves - and not just because of the incredible amount of money he’s brought in (Obama reports raising 55 million dollars in February alone) - but how he’s raising the money - on the internet.

“Obama’s staggering sum is made all the more frightening for Republicans because much of it came over the Internet in small sums — support that not only underscores Obama’s organic appeal but that also signals an ability to raise more money from a donor pool that now totals more than 1 million individuals.” (read more here)

Running for office? Regardless of whether its local, regional or national - how’s your website? Today’s campaigns are using the web for more than some show ‘n’ tell. The web platform is quickly becoming the focus for practically every aspect of a campaign.

No Comments »

2008 Primaries, Grass Roots Organization, Views on News • February 20th, 2008

McGee scores win from jail cell

by Chris Lato

This one just fascinates me. Milwaukee Ald. Michael McGee Junior has survived a major-league challenge in Tuesday’s primary.

The caveats: Michael McGee Jr. is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, etc.

What blows me away is this: McGee clearly understands his Milwaukee constituents, what they respond to, how to connect with them so deeply that they will stand behind him even while he’s sitting in a jail cell facing a host of criminal charges.

Lots of politicos would feel blessed to have this kind of connection with the voters.

No Comments »

2008 Primaries, Branding Politix, Grass Roots Organization, Messaging, Strategic Blueprints, Views on News • February 20th, 2008

The Wisconsin post-mortem

by Chris Lato

Well, I can’t say I’m shocked. Turnout appears to have been impressive, especially for the Democrat presidential candidates. In such a hotly contested race, that is not surprising.

What is intriguing: the margin of victory for Barack Obama. The numbers are still rolling in as I write this, but all indications are that Obama really swamped Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin.

more »

No Comments »

2008 Primaries, Grass Roots Organization, New Media • February 18th, 2008

New tech on the campaign trek

by wispundit

Many people may not have decided on a presidential candidate, even this close to the Wisconsin primary. But they would likely agree that the 2008 election has spawned an entirely new style of political campaigning. There are several key reasons for this.

more »

No Comments »