Issues Win Campaigns
By Drew McKissick
Whether you’re running a grassroots organization, a lobbying campaign or an election campaign, issues matter. As legendary South Carolina political consultant Lee Atwater used to say “Issues win campaigns”, and he was exactly right. Issues win campaigns because campaigns are about people…and people are moved by issues. Issues can be used to unite voters behind…
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Basic Political Negotiation Techniques
By Drew McKissick
Grassroots politics or lobbying isn’t always just about conflict. Sometimes it’s about negotiating and compromise. As Sun Tzu put it, “Better to take all under Heaven intact than to fight”. If you can “win” without having to fight, expend resources, or potentially make enemies that you might need as friends in the next fight, it’s…
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What churches Can and Cannot Do in Politics
By Drew McKissick
When it comes to politics in churches, there is a lot of confusion (especially on the part of pastors)about what type of political activities churches can engage in given their non-profit tax status. Some believe that all political activity is out of bounds and would put that status at risk. Wrong. Of course a lot…
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How conservatives can impact the political system
By Drew McKissick
So, you want to make a difference in the political system on the things you care about? But how should you go about it? When it comes to being effective politically, there’s no great mystery. But there are some time tested basics to successfully impacting the political system. Generally speaking, there are three keys to…
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How to Push Your Message
By Drew McKissick
Whether you’re pushing a single issue, a lobbying campaign, or working for a candidate (or you are a candidate), it doesn’t make much sense to develop and package a message and then not try to push it out the door. It’s sort of like having a better mouse-trap and not letting anyone know about it.…
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How to Create a Campaign Plan
By Drew McKissick
Before you get started on any campaign – whether it’s an election campaign or an issue based campaign – you NEED to have a plan. But just as the plan is important, so is the planning process itself. As former President (and General) Eisenhower once said, “Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable”. Over 2,000…
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Choosing the Right Grassroots Lobbying Methods
By Drew McKissick
As the old saying goes, “there’s more than one way to skin a cat”. So it is with trying to have an impact on your government. There are lots of ways to go about it, but there are tradeoffs between different grassroots lobbying methods that you should be aware of. Generally, the more personal and…
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How to Plan Grassroots Organization
By Drew McKissick
So just how DO you get started with creating a local grassroots organization? It’s simple and doesn’t take a lot of time, but action is critical. We all know the hardest part of “doing” anything is getting started. Having a plan makes it possible. Fail to plan, plan to fail Map out a plan of…
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How to Package Your Message
By Drew McKissick
In politics, it’s one thing to know what you want to say, but it’s another to put it all together in a way that helps you have an impact. And that means message packaging. It’s all about different techniques of “How” you will distribute your message in different formats for different purposes and mediums. Here…
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The Most Important Elements of Political Success
By Drew McKissick
Getting involved is one thing. Sticking with it is something else. Over two thousand years ago a Roman general wanted to prove to his soldiers that perseverance in combat was more important than strength. He had two horses brought before his men, one was a healthy stallion and the other was an old nag. He…
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