Thursday, May 24, 2007

Shrum eight time loser

Politics is the only profession where losers continue to get jobs or book deals. Why on earth would ANYBODY hire a strategist who hasn't won an election?

It befuddles me why so many strategists get air time and are gainfully employed. Earlier this year I attended an ethics conference in Vegas sponsored by Campaigns and Elections. 98% of the speakers and attendees were old white men. Throughout their presentations, many dropped names such as Ronald Reagan and Howard Dean. Are your kidding me?

Needless to say, their message were as dated as the names they dropped. One gentlemen who owned a direct mail company opined the "web" was not a relevant tool.. How do you respond to that statement? Members of the audience did not contain their laughter.

I was amazed how many participants came from different countries. I had coffee with a gentleman from Dublin. I dined with a campaign manager from Trinidad. Both men were stunned by the voter apathy in our country. Bush frightened them. Despite our "issues" our country is the gold standard. We have managed to transfer power without bloodshed for over 200 years.

I left the conference with one key lesson. The reason politicians don't speak to people like me, a gainfully employed, educated black woman is because their consultants don't reach out to the working middle class. Race is a factor but CLASS is the primary issue.

When will they learn? Maybe when the LOSING consultants are sent to the unemployment lines.

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