A Suggestion for Senator Bernie Sanders' Campaign Staff, Volunteers and Supporters
Based on my limited observations, we're failing to do something that is one of the most potentially politically powerful things we can do to continue building support for Bernie every hour of every day.
What is it?
Get a Bernie shirt and wear it. Everywhere. All the time. OK, maybe not at weddings and funerals, some workplaces and job interviews. But certainly when you're out walking, biking, camping, shopping downtown or at the mall, and informal social gatherings.
Can you imagine what it would mean if half, or even 10 percent, of those who have attended Bernie rallies, are volunteering, or paid staff were doing this?
It's multiples more effective than a yard sign, poster in a dorm room or apartment window. Why? Because there is a person inside that shirt. You. It humanizes a message otherwise drowned in commercial, paid advertising chatter. At a minimum it's additional Bernie name identification for everyone who sees you, a reminder he's running. More significant, it may produce a positive comment or question, an opportunity for a conversation. It's kind of a continuous, walking opportunity for canvassing.
Obviously, if you just put it in a dresser drawer with your collection of political shirts it will no more help elect Bernie than merely purchasing a diet book will help someone lose weight. Similarly, if you only wear it at your local campaign headquarters, or when attending Bernie rallies (although that's better than not doing so).
Here is a random sampling of my experiences with my shirt.
Walking with my bike in a parade didn't provide opportunities for conversations, but it produced a number of shouts of "Great shirt!" smiles and thumbs up.
Iowa City is a college town where walking or biking is often the most efficient way to get around. The other day, downtown at the credit union, while parking my bike, a woman shouted from her car, "Go, Bernie!"
During a recent trip through portions of Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina, I wore the shirt everywhere.
Mary and I found a quaint coffee shop about two blocks from where we were staying in Chattanooga. The cashiers changed from day to day, but one morning a young woman looked at my shirt, and did a double-take. She said excitedly, "Oh, Bernie Sanders. That's a coincidence. Before last night I'd never heard of him. But last night I decided to check out the candidates on the isidewith.com Web site, and it turns out he's the one who most agrees with me!"
Of course, not everyone you motivate to comment is so enthusiastic. But even the rock solid southern Republicans we encountered were not hostile. The most common comment, among many? A smile, and "Anybody but Hillary!" Sometimes you have to settle for what you can get.
I could go on, but you get the idea.
But here's a suggestion for, and appeal to, paid campaign workers at national, state, and local headquarters:
Please don't let fundraising get in the way of this most effective campaigning strategy.
Of course, whatever these shirts cost the campaign, you can't afford to be giving them away to everyone. But I'm just talking about those who are volunteering substantial amounts of time and effort to the campaign, for whom the price of the shirt would be a significant budget item, and you are convinced they would wear a shirt everywhere, as I do, if they had one and it was suggested they do so.
Considering shirts as nothing but a fundraising item, and denying them to those who would wear them everywhere, is the ultimate example of "penny wise and pound foolish." I can think of no campaign expenditure that would return as much positive campaign impact for the dollar.
No comments:
Post a Comment