Archives for campaigns

Don’t Quit

November 5, 2025 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

What happens when you quit?  Nothing.  Or at least not anything that you’d want to happen.

It’s one of the few guarantees that we have in politics: if you quit, you’re usually guaranteed not to like the results.

When you’re not involved, it’s more likely that things will not go your way.  You’re giving up your seat at the table to someone who probably doesn’t think like you do, or who doesn’t have the same priorities as you.

The Law of the Jungle says that, if you sit still long enough, something’s going to eat you.  Others will take advantage and gain ground against what you believe, or possibly even undo something that you’ve been able to accomplish.

We quit too easy

The problem is that too many conservatives have a lot of “quit” in them.  We get upset, get involved, ramp up, make a difference, then quit and go home and leave things up to someone else.  Or maybe we lose, get mad, then quit and go home.  Neither is a recipe for long-term political success.

Quitting leads to the additional problem of having to spend too much time ramping-up, rather than staying engaged and being ready for the next battle.  It wastes time, resources, opportunities and potentially any previously hard-won gains.

Ramping-up is expensive.  Staying engaged is cheaper and more productive in the long-run.

The question is, do we want to make a difference and have an impact, or just complain?

Proverbs 12:24

Years ago I adopted Proverbs 12:24 as a political motto.  It tells us that “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule; but the slothful shall be under tribute”.  If we feel like we’re “under tribute” politically – and there are a LOT of reasons to feel that way – it tells us why.  Someone, at some point, got lazy and quit.  Maybe that was us or someone else, but that’s spilled milk at this point.

One of the great things about scripture is that it not only diagnoses our problems, but it also tells us how to fix them.  To make a difference, we have to be diligent.

So don’t quit!

You Can’t Beat Somebody With Nobody

September 25, 2025 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

It’s one thing to get engaged in public policy and shed light on what liberals are up to, but it’s another thing to beat them at the ballot box and take away their power to do what they do.

Elections have consequences. And if nobody runs against them, the consequences are more years of them doing the things that make conservatives complain in the first place.

As the saying goes, you can’t be somebody with nobody. You have to have a candidate. Someone – preferably a good, well qualified and equipped someone – has to be willing to put themselves out there and run.

Someone who has a “fire in the belly”, the talent and the potential resources to do what’s necessary to run a good campaign, not to mention do the job if they get elected. Someone with the ability to unite everyone in the Party to work in the same direction and to turn out the votes necessary to WIN.

Preferably NOT the perennial candidate who wants to run for anything and everything, but demonstrates none of those necessary qualities.

The fact that so few (good) people are willing to run is a big part of the reason why our government is in the shape that it’s in today on so many levels. But, we have to remember that politics hates a vacuum, and it will continue whether you (or someone else) steps up to run or not.

What are you doing to help recruit someone? Are you letting them know that you’re willing to help if they’re willing to run? Or, are YOU the “somebody” who needs to run?

Talk to like-minded people at work or in your church. Who do they think would make a great candidate? Someone in the business community? Someone who has already been elected to a lower level office?

Good campaigns – and good elected officials – start with good candidate recruiting.

So recruit good candidates!

You Can’t Govern If You Don’t Win

August 29, 2025 by Drew McKissick in Grassroots Tips | Leave a comment

When it comes to public policy, elections have consequences. And when it comes to elections, WINNING is all that matters. Not your opinion, the candidate’s opinion or the Party’s opinion.

It should go without saying, but it still needs to be said. You can’t govern if you don’t WIN.

The only people that get to govern are people in the government. That’s why it’s called “the government”. And you’re not a part of the government unless you get elected to it.

Losers don’t get asked for their opinion when the government sets budgets, tax rates, immigration policy, education policy, etc. The winners don’t care what the losers think. They’re losers. By definition, they couldn’t get an Election Day majority that shares their opinions to show up to the polls when it mattered.

Focus On Winning!

That’s why good candidates – and good political parties – spend so much time, effort and resources focused on winning elections.

It’s why political parties in America were formed. It’s their mission and definition of success. Because, if a large enough coalition of people with common beliefs and goals get together and support specific candidates, they have a better chance of making sure that those candidates WIN.

If you can’t win, then you need to find a reason “why” that doesn’t involve blaming the opposition.

Was it an unwinnable race to begin with, resulting in a waste of resources? Could we have communicated a message that was more relevant and resonated better with voters? Could we have organized better to turn out more voters. Could we have raised more money to better afford to communicate and organize? Did we do enough to unite the Party, or was it divided?

Winning brings opportunities for change. Losing brings more to complain about.

If you care about policy, focus on winning. Period.

← Older posts