VoluntaryMan
01-26-2008, 11:45 PM
Anyone who has been doing any canvassing has been running into a mind boggling number of such responses from prospects, people who would vote for RP, if only they believed he could win.
There are 2 important things to keep in mind when dealing with such responses:
1) The "back the winner" mentality is primarily a byproduct of professional campaigners, calculating endorsers, and media whores seeking privileged access from the "likely winners." Since these 3 sources are the providers of the majority of candidate information received by the average ill informed voter, it is only natural that the mindset infecting the campaigners, endorsers, and reporters would also trickle down to the voters.
What is sometimes productive to gently remind such voters is that, unlike the sources of their infection, the average voter has absolutely zero to gain by supporting the "statistically likely winner."
2) That being said, the manner in which I've had the most success in shaking people out of this semi-hypnotic state is to remind them that the primary is the time to go against the grain, to assert one's political independence. Primaries are the time to declare our personal, individual preferences. The primary is the time when we throw our support behind the candidate who most closely represents our ideal political philosophy. It's the time to be bold and to support the underdog.
When the primaries are over, and the dust has settled, let the chips fall where they may. If our guy doesn't triumph, so be it. The general election is the time for compromise, not the primary. The primary is not the time for picking the winner; it's the time for backing the guy we'd most like to win. The general election is the time for backing the winner, whether he's our ideal or not. [I personally have no 2nd choice, and have no intention of backing any other candidate, but I recognize that mine is a minority view, and that we need to attract party loyalist, if we are to win the nomination]
The thing to remember is that most primary voters will support the eventual party nominee, no matter who he is. Demonizing the other candidates, toward whom your prospect may already be leaning, isn't going to win many converts in a face-to-face exchange of ideas. Finding out toward whom your prospect is leaning and why will provide the best opportunity for conversion. If your prospect believes that McCain will protect gun rights, that Rudy is a "libertarian," that Huck's collar is a halo, or that Rmoney's business background translates into a sound understanding of economics, then do the hard work of gently setting them straight, and demonstrate to them how Paul is actually a better fit for them.
Liberating your prospect to express his true individual preference in the primary, and providing him with a personal reason to choose Paul is really our best primary strategy. This is a step-by-step process; at this stage, we must let our prospect know that pulling the lever for Paul in a primary is not a "suicide pact"; they should know that they have our blessings to support the eventual party nominee, whomever it may be. I am probably even guilty of letting my prospects believe that I intend to do the same. Making your prospects feel that their primary vote for Paul equals a commitment to vote 3rd party in the general election (if he were to lose the nomination) is not going to help get him nomina
There are 2 important things to keep in mind when dealing with such responses:
1) The "back the winner" mentality is primarily a byproduct of professional campaigners, calculating endorsers, and media whores seeking privileged access from the "likely winners." Since these 3 sources are the providers of the majority of candidate information received by the average ill informed voter, it is only natural that the mindset infecting the campaigners, endorsers, and reporters would also trickle down to the voters.
What is sometimes productive to gently remind such voters is that, unlike the sources of their infection, the average voter has absolutely zero to gain by supporting the "statistically likely winner."
2) That being said, the manner in which I've had the most success in shaking people out of this semi-hypnotic state is to remind them that the primary is the time to go against the grain, to assert one's political independence. Primaries are the time to declare our personal, individual preferences. The primary is the time when we throw our support behind the candidate who most closely represents our ideal political philosophy. It's the time to be bold and to support the underdog.
When the primaries are over, and the dust has settled, let the chips fall where they may. If our guy doesn't triumph, so be it. The general election is the time for compromise, not the primary. The primary is not the time for picking the winner; it's the time for backing the guy we'd most like to win. The general election is the time for backing the winner, whether he's our ideal or not. [I personally have no 2nd choice, and have no intention of backing any other candidate, but I recognize that mine is a minority view, and that we need to attract party loyalist, if we are to win the nomination]
The thing to remember is that most primary voters will support the eventual party nominee, no matter who he is. Demonizing the other candidates, toward whom your prospect may already be leaning, isn't going to win many converts in a face-to-face exchange of ideas. Finding out toward whom your prospect is leaning and why will provide the best opportunity for conversion. If your prospect believes that McCain will protect gun rights, that Rudy is a "libertarian," that Huck's collar is a halo, or that Rmoney's business background translates into a sound understanding of economics, then do the hard work of gently setting them straight, and demonstrate to them how Paul is actually a better fit for them.
Liberating your prospect to express his true individual preference in the primary, and providing him with a personal reason to choose Paul is really our best primary strategy. This is a step-by-step process; at this stage, we must let our prospect know that pulling the lever for Paul in a primary is not a "suicide pact"; they should know that they have our blessings to support the eventual party nominee, whomever it may be. I am probably even guilty of letting my prospects believe that I intend to do the same. Making your prospects feel that their primary vote for Paul equals a commitment to vote 3rd party in the general election (if he were to lose the nomination) is not going to help get him nomina