Click on the thumbnails for a LARGER image.
Posted on 08/25/2002 10:55:44 PM PDT by RonDog
As you may know, a handful of FReepers from the Hollywood Resistance Force was VASTLY out-numbered last the weekend at the anti-Bush/Simon counter-FReep in Los Angeles.
IMHO, we now need to adopt a NEW political strategy to reflect our current status as “guerilla fighters” trapped behind enemy lines, and we could use some help from our fellow FReepers to rapidly develop and implement an AGGRESSIVE grassroots PR campaign to re-define the media image of incumbent California governor Gray Davis as...
"The Devil that you DO know."ALL ideas are welcome.
Perhaps we can learn a little from our opponents. At the anti-Bush/Simon rally, the great unwashed rent-a-mob did have us PHYSICALLY out-numbered, but their message was weak, and un-focused. Attempts to portray Bush as Hitler and Simon as a convict did not ring true, but their protesters dressed in those costumes DID get fairly good press, as they provided memorable IMAGES.
We can do BETTER.
What we need to fight Gray Davis is a similar, but very simple and effective, VISUAL metaphor that will resonate strongly in the minds of the "dumb-decided" Democratic swing voters, and get them to vote AGAINST Davis. We need to encourage their well-justified FEAR that Davis will abandon them and their agenda as soon as he is re-elected. And then we need to focus our efforts with laser-like precision to hammer home that powerful image EVERYWHERE – in the print media, on talk radio, and particularly on TV.
I propose that dozens of FReepers dressed in "Devil" costumes should start to aggressively hound Gray Davis EVERYWHERE he goes between now and the election, and confront him EVERY time he appears in public. We must capture the imagination of newspaper editors, TV news producers, and political commentators all across the country. The lead news story EVERY DAY must include some reference to the "Davis Devils" who doggedly follow the beleaguered California governor’s every move.
This will work.
EVERYONE agrees that Gray Davis is a money-generating machine – even his supporters.
Davis may be corrupt and incompetent, they admit, with virtually NO charisma or personality. And, he has certainly been a DISATROUS chief executive while in office, grossly mismanaging the state’s recent "power crisis," and squandering the $30 BILLION budget surplus that he inherited.
But, say his supporters, he knows how to raise money.
And no one can deny Davis’ prowess at strong-arming political contributions. It is breathtaking. Gray Davis’ record-breaking fund raising efforts have been particularly successful, though, because he has demonstrated conclusively that graft can be very cost-effective to potential donors. Davis believes to the very core of his being in "pay to play," and he has blatantly exchanged political favors for campaign donations – on MULTIPLE occasions.
From sweetheart deals for prison workers (who paid him), to buying over-priced software from Oracle (who paid him), and from ignoring health concerns about Metabolife (who paid him), to allowing dioxin to be dumped into San Francisco bay by polluters (who paid him), Gray Davis delivers.
Big money interests know that in California you get what you pay for.
Even so, they say, "Gray Davis is the Devil that we know."Davis staffers have moved into the vacuum provided by the Simon campaign’s INACTION, and defined Simon in the media so successfully as an Enron-like "corporate crook," that even President Bush has had to "keep him at arm’s length," visiting him last week in California for a few fundraising events "the way an uncle reluctantly visits his nephew in jail."
And, "Bill Simon is the Devil that we DON’T know."
This has been particularly damaging to Bill Simon, as he has been running as a "Boy Scout." A clean-cut, religious, All-American farm boy who made good by enforcing the law like his squeaky clean alter egos, Clark Kent and Eliot Ness. That was then. This is now. After a jury handed down a $78 million "fraud" verdict against his family firm, even the "conventional wisdom" from the GOP elite says, Bill Simon is toast.
Balderdash.
We MUST not let Gray Davis win.
And IMHO, FReepers can (and WILL) make a difference.
It seems that the Simon campaign does not seem to want to "go negative."
No problem. WE can do it for them. A wise man once said, "You do not need to bark, if you have a dog."
WE can be Bill Simon’s dog.
It would be NICE if the Simon team could AT LEAST make the case for "lawsuit abuse" concerning this verdict, and compare this wildly improper jury conduct to the much-maligned multi-million dollar "hot coffee at McDonald’s" verdict.
Or remind California voters that this same flawed jury system acquitted O.J.
In any event, WE can attack Davis, even if they will not.
IMHO, California REPUBLICANS do not need to be encouraged to vote against Davis. They just need to be reassured that there is a CHANCE for Simon to win, and they will go to the polls in droves.
So, here is our message, which will be directed at lukewarm registered Democratic voters:
Beware of "the Devil that you DO know."That is our message to Democratic "swing" voters:You KNOW Gray Davis.
As soon as he is re-elected as Governor of California, he will begin campaigning for President in 2004.
And, while it is certainly expensive running for GOVERNOR, imagine what it will cost to run for PRESIDENT.
If you thought that Gray Davis was a money-grubber BEFORE, you ain’t seen NOTHING yet.
And, the REALLY big donors of Presidential cash will have a different agenda than the little people from California who helped Davis get where he is.Guess whose agenda Davis will start promoting as soon as he is safely back in Sacramento?
Yours, or THEIRS??(We can reassure these undecided anti-Davis Democrats: At least Bill Simon is a man of principle, and he will be prevented from implementing any radical changes by the predominantly Democratic California legislature. He may be "the Devil that you DON’T know," but how bad could he be?
Particularly, when compared to Davis.)
Bill Simon may be a POTENTIAL threat.
But, Gray Davis is a PROVEN danger.
FReeper applications are now being accepted for the position of "Davis Devil."
I volunteer. Will anyone ELSE here join me?
If you choose not to put on a Devil costume and haunt the governor, perhaps you could post your ideas on this thread about how to help us DUMP DAVIS?
How can we sharpen our message?Thanks in advance for WHATEVER help you can provide.
What do YOU think will work?
Nothing we can do EXTERNALLY will work.Perhaps. But Sore/Loserman was "external," and THAT worked fairly well...
Simon's problems can only be solved by Simon directly...
I also wish that the Simon crew would get moving, but IMHO, we cannot wait any longer for them to act...My patience has limits. :)
First of all, bringing this thread up is commendable. Hopefully you'll get some great ideas for street theater. The devil message might not be easily broadcast, and might make others think of Simon as the "devil you don't know" which would be counter to your goal. As the saying goes, "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know."Thanks. I agree that the traditional quotation favors the INCUMBENT, but I think that the "devil" image will be memorable, and at least get people THINKING...
"Do I really want to vote for this "devil" (Gray Davis) that I know???"Davis' negatives are still off the chart. That is critical.
If they are having to do this now, Simon is toast!THEY don't appear to be doing squat.
This trial balloon is MY idea.Politics is too important to be left to the politicians. :)
As for RINO Riordan, I remember all the gloom and doom about Bill Simon during the primaries, too:
"Riordan is unstoppable.Rumors of Simon's demise are STILL too premature, IMHO.
Riordan has the President's support.
Riordan, etc."
But California conservatives must DO SOMETHING. Gray Davis must NOT be allowed to win.
calgov2002:
 calgov2002: for old calgov2002 articles. calgov2002: for new calgov2002 articles. Other Bump Lists at: Free Republic Bump List Register |
I am curious why you would want to be his "barking dog"Politics is the art of the POSSIBLE.
We cannot allow the PERFECT to become the enemy of the GOOD.
Given the current electoral realites of California, the IDEAL conservative candidate probably cannot be elected at present. Getting rid of Davis is a noble goal, in and of itself. The fact that Simon's campaign has been lackluster to date is no excuse to surrender, and allow Davis and his leftist minions free reign for ANOTHER four years.
Think of the damage that they could do.
Besides, with a screen name like mine, canine metaphors come naturally.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
