Coulda, woulda, shoulda—that’s not the title of Ed Gillespie’s new book, but in the aftermath of the Republicans’ failure in this month’s midterm election, it’s really the theme that resonates. One can only imagine the smiles on Democrat and Republican faces alike, for very different reasons, no doubt, as they crack the cover on this how-to manual of political success written by a go-to guy for political advice who rose to prominence as the chairman of the Republican National Committee.
For Republicans, “Winning Right: Campaign Politics and Conservative Policies,” opens with what must now sound as a somewhat cruel reminder of the good old days. Think back: The year was 2004, the season was a sizzling Bush versus Kerry presidential campaign, and the hottest emerging issues of the day included Abu Ghraib, Valerie Plame and Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11.”
Democratic Senators John Kerry (Mass.) and John Edwards (N.C.) as “The Sunshine Boys,” as a July issue of Newsweek so creatively dubbed them, were coming on strong. And the Democratic Party’s push for “policy change” at the executive and congressional levels was beginning to reverberate with voters.
“It was a tempting thought, but our strategy was to hold off announcing new policies until the President’s convention acceptance speech,” writes Gillespie, laying the groundwork for key point No. 1 in his treatise for Republicans.
Polls pleaded for otherwise, but “it’s at times like these that you have to trust your instincts and hope your strategic assumptions are correct,” Gillespie continues, in the chapter on how “A Good Plan Beats a Bad Plan, Any Plan Beats No Plan.”
So was his gut correct?
Recall Kerry’s convention acceptance speech and the “report to duty” that brought plenty of chuckles but little platform explanation—all detailed as brief refreshers to the reader—and the gut check proves affirmative.
“Kerry’s lack of policy detail in his own acceptance speech made our decision to hold new policy for our convention even more effective,” Gillespie follows.
With that, then, came Bush’s chance to seize control of the campaign reins and redirect focus from his sunshiny challengers onto his “new term” policy—a purposeful substitution for the phrase “second term” that not only combated any “Bush fatigue” floating about the campaign trail, Gillespie writes, but also provided the natural opportunity to redefine policy without apology for the past.
“Kerry’s lack of substance allowed the incumbent to be ‘new’ and to be the reformer, while Kerry increasingly seemed old and status quo,” according to Gillespie’s strategy. “Had we not resisted the tactical urge earlier in the summer to begin unveiling new policies, this opportunity could not have been exploited the way it had.”
The lessons are many, but an unintended one that comes through loud and clear is this: College-age politicos stepping toward like careers could just as easily forgo a couple of political-science classes for marketing classes.
Another unintended lesson, no doubt, was Gillespie’s early mention of loyalty—not honesty or even ethics—as his personal Cardinal Rule of Politics. This comes as a somewhat surprising admission, given the people’s trust in government has certainly been on the wane these past years, and one that marks the author as a political insider to the 10th degree. It’s a thought that could have been explored a bit more, especially since Gillespie’s next paragraph refers to the cynicism that has permeated America’s political system. But it is a book about winning, after all, and in that regard, is one Gillespie is more than fit to write.
Packed with political insights, backed by real-life cases and personal accounts, Winning Right definitely shows readers the minutiae involved in the planning of campaigns, and illuminates time and again the difficulties of maintaining the balance between instinctive maneuver and cold, hard factual action—and then stepping back and letting the candidate accept the success of what appears in public as natural and relaxed.
Pay special attention to the chapter on “It’s Not About You,” which includes the caveat that the “worst thing is to run as who you’re not on things you don’t believe in and lose.” The suggested point of truth serves as an interesting counter to earlier wonder about Gillespie’s loyalty-at-all-costs conviction, and thus gives more weight to his finishing chapters: How to keep Republicans in the majority.
Core Issues
First, he writes, recognize the core campaign issues of national security, the economy, health care and the culture. Second, he doesn’t leave the readers hanging, or in the position of nodding happy sheep heads, without offering brief but detailed explanation of each issue and what steps the party should take in policy and solution.
As a matter of fact, just knowing the details are there makes Gillespie’s advisements for future GOP actions seem almost shoo-in winners. The only missing ingredient, of course, is a Republican majority with the will to listen.
