Posted on 1/10/2008, 3:56:23 AM by RebelTex
Fred Thompson and Duncan Hunter are the only conservatives in the Presidential race. Their message, policy positions, and experience are exactly what the vast majority of conservatives believe and want. Yet neither one is the current front-runner. Why not? Many conservatives are focusing on only their own hot-button issue, dividing conservatives into separate groups of fiscal, social, or defense/foreign policy advocates, i.e. single issue voters.
Elections are, in reality, marketing campaigns, a national advertising effort which ultimately demands salesmanship. The sale of any product or idea depends on emotion. Either ‘desire for gain’ or ‘fear of loss’ is essential for motivating the ‘buyer’. The strongest message includes both.
That is the reality; it is what it is. So far, (from my limited observations), all the candidates are only using ‘fear of loss’ by promoting themselves as the only one that can effectively promote one or more conservative issue. Thus, the message is ‘vote for me’ or this conservative issue will lose ground or be lost.
Where is the positive message? What about:
The future of America is bright. Technological and scientific breakthroughs are happening every day right here in our country. Inventors and entrepreneurs have the most fertile environment to develop their ideas in America.
The United States of America is and will continue to be the most prosperous nation in the world.
America has brought freedom and democracy to more people around the world than any other country in history.
I trust the American people to do the right thing and make the right choices.
America is strong and you help keep it that way by remembering and adhering to our conservative roots and the principles embraced by our forefathers.
The United States of America is the leader and defender of the free world, and the most generous country there has ever been.
I believe in the character, honor, and integrity of the American people to choose the right course for the future of our great country.
Each of you, with your individual vote, has the power to shape the future course of America, to keep if free, safe, and prosperous with the freedom to enjoy all that life offers by maintaining all of our core conservative values. God speed, and God bless America.
We are winning the ‘War on Terror’.
Our economy is strong.
We value life and trust in God.
We refuse to be bound by the chains of economic slavery that socialism promotes.
We love our country and our way of life, and we stand ever ready to defend it.
These are only some of the positive and inspirational messages that could be conveyed. I’m sure you can think of many more.
I hope that Fred and Duncan can learn to become master salesmen in a very short time. People buy on emotion, rarely on logic. Logic only helps rationalize their emotional decisions. An old sales axiom is: ‘KISS - Keep It Simple, Stupid’. That’s why sound bites (that appeal to emotion) work and lengthy logical reasoning mostly doesn’t. Those sound bites must contain both 'desire for gain' positives and 'fear of loss' negatives and capture the emotional effect quickly. Remember, use logic (and the sound policy statements) to help the voter rationalize his emotional decision - don't rely on it alone to make the sale.
RT
The harsh reality (and I emphasize “reality” rather than political fantasy based on “what I want to happen”) is that any candidate strongly supported by the majority of Free Republic not only would have zero chance in a general election in 2008, nor in any general election for the next 20 years, I suspect.
The bible thumpers hold all the cards.
You don’t think Reagan would of been supported by Free Republic if we existed in 1980???
You may be right. It sounds like the majority of the country is being courted by candidates with certain personality traits or “charisma”, while we on this forum concentrate on our candidates and their accomplishments and positions on various subjects.
Seeing the media gushing all over Obama and then McCain all week is quite disturbing. And I’m sorry to see that our fellow countrymen are so shallow when deciding who they’ll elect as POTUS. It’s an awesome responsibility, and to think people will vote for someone just because he’s “dreamy” or whatever, or she cries at a media event, is just pathetic.
You really hold your FR peers in high regard. LOL
Why do you believe that?
Do you believe that FR is perceived as ‘radical right wing’ or are you suggesting that it actually is? Please explain.
We are screwed!!
I believe the people who post and “bicker” at this site use aurgumentation, logic and rationals to present a case for whatever is being discussed at a posting.
In other words, the majority who visit here are smart and string two thoughts together. We don’t just drag our emotions and feeling to the forefront as our reason for believing something.
1980 was an incredibly different time and place.
{people get a bit misty-eyed over reagan nostalgia. I suspect during the 1980 primaries there would have been the usual fierce debate and flamewars between supporters of Reagan and Bush, with the usual crowd of people supporting no-hopers like Pressler or Stassen. Most of FR might well have backed Reagan, i’ll grant, during the primaries.
But in the reality of today, a candidate that would successfully jump through ALL and ever-increasing of the social con hoops to get a majority FR blessing couldn’t get elected nationally.
Mostly for the simple reason most of the country doesn’t want the brand of social conservatism to the level espoused by most here, even a lot of Republicans, and you have to get ALL the republicans and most of the independents to win nationally.
It's the people that based political analysis on fantasy I hold in low regard.
It's not that I don't hold FR peers in high regard, it's just the consensus here is of a VERY small group of people that are somewhat on the margins of general US political opinion.
People keep forgetting this and then you get nonsense like the loonjobs expecting Katherine Harris to have a chance in Florida for Senate last election. for example.
The main thing is people have to get over the notion that if you just nominate a full-blown conservative (and by conservative most people mean social con) you'll just magically get this myserious base that would ONLY come out to vote for him, to vote, and the Republican party would magically roll to victory.
Reagan had charism. We all thought Fred did too. He hasn't shown it. He had less than expected. I think W has has whetted the average republican's appetite for a communicator because he is such an embarrasment in that category. I voted for Bush twice and would vote for him again if necessary, but please God give us a communicator. Fred may be a great conservative but he comes across as a gruff old professor, older than his years. I don't know why Hunter hasn't done better.
Yeah, I know what you mean. I was just jagging your wires.
I remember the Florida thing, too.
Sheesh. Give it a rest.
FR isn’t necessarly radical, it’s just many of the beliefs of FR (many of which are shared by a lot of people in the country) are just held to much further extremes than the country as a whole.
One problem is I think a lot of people on FR live in very conservative areas, have families filled with other Republicans, go to Churches filled with conservatives, etc. and have an inflated view of how much their own views are shared by the country as a whole.
I live in a left-wing suburb of Washington DC, most of my family are Democrats (but not flaming liberals), most of my friends are “South Park Republican” types - want low taxes, smaller government, big defense spending and bombing of evil foreigners, not religious at all, couldn’t care less about abortion or gay marriage, have less than no interest in further regulation of porn, gambling, etc., and make noises about being a libertarian theoretically but consider Ron Paul and the big “L” Libertarian Party as nutjobs.
People are generally uncomfortable with illegal immigration. They’re not obsessed with it like a lot or most people on FR.
The great mass of people are sort of vaguel uncomfortable with abortion, wish it didn’t happen, don’t really want to make it illegal, and generally ignore the issue and hope it goes away.
The key thing is to UNDERSTAND you have a minority view when you have a minority view, not kid yourself you are in a non-existent majority.
You are a manager,Nothing happens until something is sold.
"In other words, the majority who visit here are smart and string two thoughts together. We don’t just drag our emotions and feeling to the forefront as our reason for believing something."
I agree that the majority of Freepers are intelligent and can support their sides with good facts and analysis. My post was not aimed at Freepers or disparaging of the choices they make. I just point out how running for POTUS is like a national marketing campaign which, to be successful, has to motivate people to support the candidate - i.e. salesmanship. I'm not knocking Fred (whom I support) or Duncan (my 2nd choice), merely offering a suggestion that might inspire their campaign.
Yeah, I’m a Fred head too. He makes so much sense and can out think Huckabee, demonstrating that many times in debates.
It’s frustrating to see a slick empty package of platitudes rise like a helium balloon in the polls.
Yeah and if you really believed in the Fair Tax you would be supporting the Huckster .
The Huckster is the only one who supports the Fair Tax that has a chance of winning ...
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