Working a political campaign

[kristie_m]

Hello all

I wasn’t sure where to put this. I’ve been feeling a push toward volunteering for the campaign of a particular candidate, and was just wondering if anyone here had ever done that, and if you wouldn’t mind sharing your experience.

I think we definitely have a moral obligation as Catholics to vote, but this is the first time I’ve ever been drawn to actually participating in the campaign itself. I think this is going to be a very tight race and want to make sure that I’m doing everything I can to promote and protect Catholic values.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

 

[Wirraway]

Hello all

I wasn’t sure where to put this. I’ve been feeling a push toward volunteering for the campaign of a particular candidate, and was just wondering if anyone here had ever done that, and if you wouldn’t mind sharing your experience.

I think we definitely have a moral obligation as Catholics to vote, but this is the first time I’ve ever been drawn to actually participating in the campaign itself. I think this is going to be a very tight race and want to make sure that I’m doing everything I can to promote and protect Catholic values.

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

I’ve been involved in local and statewide races from the ground up. to do it well, you have to have a taste for total win at all costs competitiveness. its a self-centered and dirty business. if you think of it as a game, you can do ok. if you actually Believe in what you’re promoting, good luck but you’ll probably be disappointed at how the system works when viewed from the inside. the only think you’ll be protecting is your candidate and his or her party.

 

[kristie_m]

I’ve been involved in local and statewide races from the ground up. to do it well, you have to have a taste for total win at all costs competitiveness. its a self-centered and dirty business. if you think of it as a game, you can do ok. if you actually Believe in what you’re promoting, good luck but you’ll probably be disappointed at how the system works when viewed from the inside. the only think you’ll be protecting is your candidate and his or her party.

ouch. Sounds like prayer may be a more effective route.

 

[Wirraway]

ouch. Sounds like prayer may be a more effective route.

or money. they always like money.

 

[stbruno]

or money. they always like money.

that’s if you do things status quo…
but be a maverick…maybe your volunteering will be just the thing we need to turn the tide to honest electioneering…

 

[Wirraway]

that’s if you do things status quo…
but be a maverick…maybe your volunteering will be just the thing we need to turn the tide to honest electioneering…

no, I can assure you that doesn’t happen. we always had a steady stream of volunteers who were naive about the process and it never made the least difference. american politics is designed to play off this terrible self interest with the result being a workable compromise of ethics and efficiency. just bein’ honest with you.

 

[stbruno]

too cynical for me…we did have honest Abe once. It can happen again…remember Joseph and the Amazing color dreamcoat.

Anything is possible with God! Anything…

 

[kentuckyliz]

Kristie, I volunteered for a campaign for a friend/colleague who was running for state office…and she won. Several of us volunteered. We didn’t have to get too close to seeing how the sausage was made as described here. You can stuff envelopes, go door to door, make phone calls, register people to vote, take people to the polls, etc., without having to become a crass cynic.

A couple of us were really talented with computers and data management and contributed those skills to that campaign at a time when it wasn’t very common. It might have made the difference.

In fact, I wasn’t even a citizen of the U.S. at the time. It was a great experience and one of the things that led me to decide to pursue naturalization. I became a US citizen in 1999. So it can be motivating and energizing to work a campaign too. Don’t let the nattering nabobs of negativism getcha down.

 

[Wirraway]

too cynical for me…we did have honest Abe once. It can happen again…remember Joseph and the Amazing color dreamcoat.

Anything is possible with God! Anything…

Abe wouldn’t have made a very good candidate for Catholic approval. he said he would have saved the Union even if it required preserving slavery; between that and the concept of total war employed in georgia and virginia in the the civil war …

 

[stbruno]

Abe wouldn’t have made a very good candidate for Catholic approval. he said he would have saved the Union even if it required preserving slavery; between that and the concept of total war employed in georgia and virginia in the the civil war …

Good thing history proved different Wirraway.

 

[Wirraway]

… We didn’t have to get too close to seeing how the sausage was made as described here. You can stuff envelopes, go door to door, make phone calls, register people to vote, take people to the polls, etc., without having to become a crass cynic…:

and managers like me thank people like you for being the cogs we needed. the only way to avoid becoming a cynic is to close your eyes. there is nothing crass about the truth of how the game is played.

 

[rwoehmke]

The Political Process is always a drive for what is possible and it is rare for one to completely follow only the good and win. Candidates cannot do it alone. They need an organization behind them and that means a lick and a promise for the values of each individual in the organization. Those with money and power get a better lick and a promise. Those lower down the totem pole may get zip. To be a successful politician requires compromise and at least some shading of the truth. It can get very dirty, but there is no better system available. Stay idealistic, but join in and learn. It can be exciting sometimes and sometimes a real downer, but to push for what one believes in is important, even if good and justice is only partial.

 

[tomarin]

Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

You also might want to consider joining a local political club in your area, if one suiting your convictions exists. The people in these clubs are often the same people who volunteer for campaigns, often working very closely with the candidates.

 

[kristie_m]

Thanks everyone. This has been somewhat enlightening. I do hope I can find a way to make a difference without becoming too disillusioned about the whole process.

 

[Kaninchen]

Thanks everyone. This has been somewhat enlightening. I do hope I can find a way to make a difference without becoming too disillusioned about the whole process.

I know that this might be a bit irrelevant but working in a political campaign can actually be fun as well as satisfying a need to feel a part of something important!

Sorry for introducing some levity but I rather enjoyed it when I was younger.

 

[tomarin]

Thanks everyone. This has been somewhat enlightening. I do hope I can find a way to make a difference without becoming too disillusioned about the whole process.

Also keep in mind, if you don’t get involved someone else will – and they will make the decisions for you.

 

[kristie_m]

Also keep in mind, if you don’t get involved someone else will – and they will make the decisions for you.

Fari point. I always tell people that you can’t gripe about the government if you don’t get out and vote.

 

[Dale_M]

I know that this might be a bit irrelevant but working in a political campaign can actually be fun as well as satisfying a need to feel a part of something important!

I found it was a bit like joining with others to cheer on your favorite sports team. Being a bit light-hearted helps. And yes, treating the campaign as a game is probably a good approach - you don’t want to be too serious.

 

[IrishAm]

The biggest abuses that occur in our system take place because so few citizens participate in the process.

Get involved. The more the better!

 

[Wirraway]

The biggest abuses that occur in our system take place because so few citizens participate in the process.

Get involved. The more the better!

no, the biggest abuse is an institutional defect, there is a saying, money is the mother’s milk of politics. if you write a campaign check big enough, the candidate or office holder will return your phone call.