For Coakley: How to Campaign

By Wade

In case you're curious about some of the reasons behind Martha Coakley's political nose-dive, here's an edifying Boston Globe article:

Campaigns are an opportunity for candidates to hear from the public they want to represent, but Coakley doesn’t seem to believe this is necessary. At a rare meet-and-greet with voters Wednesday, she worked a room of a couple of hundred senior citizens in Dorchester in under 10 minutes. Then she turned her back on the crowd as she spoke to reporters, leaving the seniors to awkwardly applaud remarks they weren’t meant to hear.

As she quickly made her way to the exits, it took an outreach worker at the senior center to insist that she address the crowd, which she did, and well.

*insert resounding forehead slap here*

Seriously, this is campaigning 101. I know this, because this is exactly what Dave and I did when we campaigned for his position on city council in Lafayette. Dave was a 22-year-old unknown at the time. We had people tell us he was a "loose cannon," we had old men yell at us, and we faced those who distrusted his youth and enthusiasm, perceiving it as naivete.

So what did we do that earned Dave a four-year spot on council (meaning he got the third-highest amount of votes while facing several established candidates)? We took lists of registered voters around the entire town with us. We went door-to-door as much as we were able, starting early in the morning and finishing when it got dark. We specifically traveled to areas of Lafayette where we knew people would disagree with him. Because even if they disagree with you, even if they don't like you, most people will still respect that you took the time to present yourself and what you stand for to them. I was amazed at the number of times a person's expression went from distrustful to enthusiastic, from dour to interested, from annoyed to amazed.

A famous Michael Jordan quote comes to mind: "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." This applies to everything. If only Coakley had watched a little more basketball.