Hey, it's over. I'm snorkeling now as I swim under the weight of the GOP tsunami. Also, in addition to catching up with the errands at home, I'm trying to analylize the previous year--it's successes and failures, and I'm preparing a game plan for the next two years. In other words...no rest for the old guy.
Candidly, I expected to lose, but Holy Insignificance, Batman, less than 5 per cent? Is it my hair, my breath, my message, or my perceived Constitutional radicalism? It was probably my anonimity. Although I was the Libertarian candidate for Ohio's Secretary of State, I was merely another nameless face, faceless name in the grand scope of Ohio's power politics. I spoke with thousands of people, but it required hundreds of thousands to penetrate the "membrane of silence." It was vital that I speak directly with many thousands to escape the "also running" pigeonhole constructed by many of the mass media.
To lay the blame for my anemic totals at the clay feet of the mass media is not productive and not accurate. There were two glaring errors in my campaign for which I, alone, am responsible. The first was my failure to engage a campaign manager who would be responsible for organizing and deploying our volunteers. We made an early attempt to do so, but when that situation did not work out, I continued to forge on without taking the time to fill the gap. That weakness was deadly because our ground game was haphazard at best and nonexistent generally.
The second major chink in my candidacy's armour was my reluctance to solicit funds. A couple of my supporters offered to have fundraisers for me, and I waited for them to go forward rather than doing the planning and scheduling myself. As a result, when we got to the final days, we had insufficient financing for mass media purchases. I'm not certain if its pride or stupidity that drives my unwillingness to plead, cajole....and beg for bucks.
While there are numerous other contributing factors for my tiny total of votes, I believe those two are the most obvious. Let me be clear. I have no regrets. Sharing the message of Liberty and Constitutional government is a mission that I have and will embrace. If I had worked smarter, then the cause could have been advanced somewhat farther.
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The reason for these returns is due to the anti-Democrat sentiment in the country right now. No amount of media buys can overcome the disgust people feel for our current administration.
ReplyDeleteEven though you know - and I know - that voters chose the wrong solution, it was that anger that swept the GOP in. I truly believe it had very little to do with how you think you ran (or did not) run your campaign.
I'm proud to say I supported you, and if you ever decide to run again, I'll support then, too.
Being the ONLY Libertarian candidate in Ohio (by my count) to be in a race with more than one Minor Party which ended with the Other Minor party candidate receiving more votes than I did, as well... I can pinpoint exactly where my decisions went awry... It was when I opted to buy yard signs rather than a motorcycle... I'm pretty sure I'd be feeling much happier, now, if I had the bike.
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