All You Have to do is ASK!
In 2004, why did Jim Mergler, a Columbus Ohio resident who voted for Al Gore in 2000, make get out the vote calls for the Bush campaign? Answer: Because they asked him to!
No, this is not a joke, it is the true story of many Ohio voters. Well unfortunately the joke was on the Democratic Party.
The article "Fighting for Every Last Vote" from CNN.com reports on the efforts of the Bush and Kerry campaigns to reach voters in Ohio before the 2004 election. Both campaigns focused on using yard signs, leaflets, and GOTV phone calls, to spread their message to voters. But it was the Bush campaign that was ultimately successful in making their presence known throughout the state. They were able to get out the vote.
As the number of true battleground states continues to diminish, campaigns are putting all of their resources where they feel it will do the most good. According to the article, the Bush campaign had volunteers making more than 30,000 phone calls a night to Ohio residents. Jim Mergler received one of those phone calls and soon he was working for the Bush team. All they had to do was ask!
This made me think of a discussion we had in class about how campaigns could use Instant messaging. On many volunteer sign up sheets, campaigns asked for among a lot of other personal information the person's IM name. I think this could be a very useful tool for campaigns and here's how:
- Campaigns should IM people and ask if they would like to volunteer
- Campaigns should divide the screen names by regions. A member of the campaign can then IM everyone on their buddy list from a certain region when an event is coming up that is close to them.
- Campaigns can IM people before the election to remind them to go vote.
- Voters can then IM the campaign if they have any questions
IM could be a very useful tool especially to reach younger voters. Maybe more people will be like Jim and help out a campaign if they are just asked!
5 Comments:
Wow, I must say I too was a bit shocked by the success of the Bush campaigns' persuasion tactics on Jim Mergler. I guess asking is the new bribing.
As a native Ohioan, though, I'm not entirely sure that I believe in the Jim Merglers of the world -- those so-called Democrats who are swept up by the Republican machine just because Democrats aren't paying as much attention to him.
I've got a new idea for Mergler: it's called supporting a candidate on principle! But, wasn't it nice that Mergler got his story out on CNN.com as evidence that the Democrats in Fairfield County, Ohio (this place is so great, they're constructing a highway bypass so that drivers don't have to drive through its biggest town of Lancaster) don't have what it takes to compete with the Bush machine?
You make some interesting points. I think that the Kerry campaign could have used someone like you in order to get more people involved. You are proof that all it really takes is a few minutes to come up with original ideas to get people to feel a part of an election. It is a shame that the Kerry campaign was not able to pull through some of the ideas you came up with in this blog entry!
It's funny that Kerry forgot to ask people to make phone calls when he had no problem asking them for money that he didn't use. I know we all spend a great deal of time bashing the Kerry campaign, but when I read an article like this I realize that it is well deserved. Democrats need to remember examples like this next time around so that we stop losing elections that we should be winning!
I must agree with the Toaster on this one. It seems a little shady to me that Jim Mergler would switch parties because someone asked him too. Does he attend every Tupperware party and buy cookies from every girl scout in the world, too?
I love to bash the Kerry campaign as much as anyone, but I don't think any sane, stable person would suddenly decide to phone bank for the other side just because they ask.
You raise a very good point. Campaigns cannot just expect voters to be persuaded to volunteer, you have to ask them!
Post a Comment
<< Home