Promotions, Q & A, public relations • March 31st, 2008

Stepping into the lion’s den

by Chris Lato

Fellow Wispundit Karl Robe tipped me off to a fascinating interview segment on WISN-AM’s morning program today with state Sen. Lena Taylor, who’s looking to unseat incumbent Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker in tomorrow’s election.

It’s painful but worth a listen. (Scroll down to hour two, part two – it aired today). Things go downhill quickly due to a confrontational host who tries to step on Taylor’s answers, and Taylor swinging away, basically accusing the host of reading off the Walker campaign’s talking points.

Who thought this was a good idea? Obviously Taylor’s campaign was approached to appear on the program in the interests of providing equal time to both candidates. In general, WISN listeners are not part of Sen. Taylor’s support base, to put it charitably.

But most importantly, I took nothing away from the interview. What is the point of Lena Taylor running for this office? What does she want to do? What is her vision for Milwaukee County? I have no idea. Sen. Taylor had a prime opportunity to potentially connect with a group that normally wouldn’t be in her camp, and instead she took the bait and went rabid by trying to out-yell the host. If that was a voter’s first impression of Lena Taylor…not good.

I’m of the mindset that one should rarely, if ever, turn down media opportunities. Just about any mainstream media opportunity presents a potentially positive and even valuable outcome for a campaign…IF you are properly prepared for the appearance. If I was Sen. Taylor’s campaign advisor, I definitely would have told her to appear on WISN. And I would have advised her to handle herself in the exact opposite fashion, and extensively rehearsed her for that appearance.

Would she have listened? I don’t know, as I don’t know Sen. Taylor and how well she might have responded to media coaching. I can say that if she does pay for a media coach, that coach ought to refund her money.

Back in the day, I used to book media appearances for a top Wisconsin Republican who never looked forward to appearing on Wisconsin Public Radio programs, saying it was akin to stepping into the lion’s den. However, he recognized the value of taking on one’s ‘enemies’ head-on, not shying away from the challenge of confrontational callers who disagree vehemently with you.

Be disciplined, on-message, assertive when you need to be, clear-headed, and don’t let anyone bait you into losing your cool. If you are well-prepared in advance and feel secure in your answers, you should be able to handle yourself and get out of the lion’s den in one piece.

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Views on News • March 26th, 2008

Frankenstein unstitched?

by Chris Lato

This issue has received almost zero attention this election cycle, what with all the hot air surrounding the state Supreme Court race, but this is significant: Wisconsin voters have the chance to kill the governor’s so-called ‘Frankenstein veto’ power on April 1.

Voters will consider a proposed constitutional amendment limiting the governor’s power to do things like this.

Props to the Wisconsin State Journal, in particular, for being all over this issue and pressuring the powers that be, like Senate President Fred Risser, to get off the dime. The WSJ has a good summary of the history of the Frankenstein veto here. And you can read the legal-ese version of the proposed constitutional amendment here.

Right now, Wisconsin’s governor enjoys one of the most powerful veto pens in the country. Jim Doyle, much like Tommy Thompson before him, hasn’t been shy about using it to an extraordinary degree. And some say that even if this amendment is approved by voters Tuesday, the governor will still have a whole lot of ink in the ol’ veto pen.

While the Frankenstein veto has been upheld by the state high court, it clearly subverts the will of the Legislature, and that is a big part of the problem. It opens the door to a governor making changes to a budget that actually increase spending and borrowing, instead of using the veto pen to cut spending, and that is another problem.

Both parties were obviously offended by the steps taken by Governor Doyle in recent budgets. Credit must be given to the Legislature, Democrats and Republicans alike, who showed overwhelming support for sending this issue to voters. Democrats always used to complain that Republicans were MIA on the Frankenstein veto back when Thompson was in office. Well, everyone has stepped up now, and both sides should be acknowledged for that.

If people take a moment to understand what this issue is all about, I’d be shocked if the Frankenstein veto ban didn’t pass by a big margin on Tuesday.

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2008 Primaries, Messaging • March 19th, 2008

Obama speaks out

by Jon Tingley

Presidential hopeful Barack Obama yesterday gave what some people are calling a landmark speech, addressing comments made by his former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright. In his speech, Obama denounced Wright saying his statements “expressed a profoundly distorted view of this country,” and were “not only wrong, but divisive.” Obama goes on to explain the history of his relationship with Wright and says that he cannot disown his pastor for a few minutes of sermon over 30 years of service. Obama asserts that he never once heard Wright talk about these subjects before they appeared on YouTube and in the broadcast media.

Regardless of whether you believe Obama, he astutely distanced himself from the radical portrayal of his pastor while illustrating his ability to remain loyal.

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2008 Primaries, Fundraising, Leadership, Messaging • March 6th, 2008

The value of endorsements

by Chris Lato

No big shock – President Bush has endorsed John McCain for President.

This is how the game is played, even though the two have had a stormy relationship in the past, particularly in the 2000 campaign. The Bush team was accused of dirty tricks that helped knock McCain out of the race.

However, McCain soldiered on and even campaigned for Bush’s re-election in 2004. As an aside, I had the pleasure of being in McCain’s presence for a 2004 Bush event in Madison – we walked him from the Historical Museum to a speaking engagement and he handled the hecklers in style. He has a forceful, even intimidating presence, but he dutifully did everything that was asked of him without complaint.

Consider the value of endorsements. Much like yard signs, endorsements don’t vote. Some say they hold little to no value. I disagree, to a point.
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