W
hen 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.
Social tagging: campaigns