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would otherwise have stayed at home or voted the other way) no matter how good his ward leader
thinks he is. The enthusiastic volunteer is good for at least fifty, if coached and supervised, but probably
not more than a hundred and fifty because of time limitations on most amateurs.
The district has a population of more than 300,000 but in the break-down given earlier it was shown that
our real interest was in 3,000 selected votes. Thus your candidate will turn out by personal canvassing
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about
one-third of the votes you are after, over and above what accrues from conventional campaigning. He is
equal to about forty paid workers, or at least a dozen volunteers and he can get votes that cannot be
gotten by any other method.
If this method of campaigning is used, the task of your precinct organization is only that of equalling the
efforts of the rival precinct organization - quite a task in itself, but a volunteer can equal an opposing
volunteer and exceed a professional. The candidate himself can tip the balance heavily and even make up
for deficiencies in your field organization. He is a one-man gang, if you keep him punching doorbells.
(Free bonus: Doorbells give immunity from candidates - and help to create statesmen!)
Ineffective Methods: In general they are shot-gun methods; take another look at the touchstone rules.
An example-one of your warm supporters calls up, full of enthusiasm. There is, he says, a mammoth
Elks Club ball Friday night at the Gigantic Auditorium. There are lots of Elks in the district-he knows, he
is an Elk. And this is going to be a big affair, 4,000 tickets sold already. Now here is the angle: The
program chairman is a member of our party and he can be persuaded to let the candidate pin the prize on
the Queen of the Ball - not strictly political but you can get his name mentioned four or five times over the
loud-speaker. The rest of the time the candidate and your eager beaver friend will circulate around
meeting people and getting votes. No rule saying you can't talk politics in private conversation.
Furthermore (this is the clincher) the rival candidate, Jack Hopeful, will be diere-we can't let him get
ahead of us, now can we? Your friend will supply the tickets and drive the candidate to and fro; it won't
cost a dime and it's a wonderful opportunity to pile up votes. How about it? It's a natural, isn't it?
Your only problem here is how to turn it down
153
Robert A. Heinlan
152
TAKE BACK YOUR GOVERNMENT!
without hurting the feelings of your loyal but unmath-ematical friend.
The meeting is worthless when compared with the effort it entails. Even if your candidate has no other
scheduled date, it is better to let him go to bed early than for him to make an appearance. Here is why:
Four thousand persons present for a meeting held outside the district - Let's apply an arbitrary factor
which you will vary to suit your own actual conditions; let's say that 1,000 live in your district. The ages
will run from 18 on up; nevertheless the registered voters will not exceed 800 out of the thousand. Four
hundred will be of your party (or apply your own registration ratio). That's ten percent of the crowd. If
Mr. Upright stirs around all evening he can meet about fifty people - if he spreads himself any thinner he
can't be effective. Five of them will be registered in your district and your party; two of them will vote in
the primary; one of them would have voted for him in any case; the other is a new vote.
Let the poor fellow stay home and rest. His feet hurt now!
But how about the announcement over the loud speaker? Of the 400 at least half will not listen; of the
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remaining 200 most of them will either not catch the name or will forget it before the evening is over. The
ones who will remember, associate it with a name on a ballot, and be affected thereby, can be counted
on the fingers of one thumb.
Speeches made over the radio are usually ineffective except when made by very prominent persons on
issues statewide or nationwide in importance. If you can get a popular local news commentator to plug
your man, fine! If your organization has a regular program which has been established for some months
and you have reliable figures to show that it has a sizable audience, then it is worthwhile to put your man
on it.
But don't just buy a radio spot during the campaign and have him make speeches, for he will be talking
to himself. Most political programs are simply turned off.
Most meetings held outside the district are useless to the campaign even if they are political rallies. If an
appearance seems necessary for diplomatic reasons, send a stuffed shirt to represent your candidate.
Signs are not worth even the cost of printing unless displayed in the district. Again some enthusiastic
supporter will urge the merits of display at beaches, race tracks, junctions, and other crowded spots
outside the district but which do in fact draw crowds partly from your district. Agree in principle but let
him operate on his own; insist that every dime and every piece of display printing is already rationed.
Border-Lme Methods: Your district has hundreds of public and semi-public meetings in it during a
campaign, most of them non-political. All of them are a possible source of new votes - but an attempt to
cover all of them will result only in physical collapse.
Businessmen's luncheon clubs are worth the trouble if they can be fitted into the program. Your man has
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