The "Permanent Campaign" and the 2000 Election
Background
The results of
the 2000 election could not have been closer. Albert Gore, Jr. won the popular
vote over George W. Bush by a margin of 50,996,116 votes. Bush however,
prevailed in the count that mattered, winning the electoral vote by the slender
margin of 271 to 266. In Florida, the final tally was so close-2,911,872 for
Bush to 2,910,942 for Gore-that "third" party candidates made the difference.
The position of Reform party candidate Pat Buchanan's name on the "butterfly"
ballot in Palm Beach County led Buchanan receiving at least 2,000 votes that
were intended for Gore. Green party candidate Ralph Nader received 2 percent of
the Florida ballots, or 97,419 votes.
Assignment
Imagine that
you are the campaign manager and for either a Republican presidential or
Democratic presidential candidate (Obama, Romney, etc. Your assignment is to
develop and defend an electoral strategy for the 2012 national convention and
presidential campaign. Your strategy and therefore primary goal is to decide
which voters and which issues your candidate (and party) should target for the
campaign in addition to other kinds of considerations you will have to grapple
with. For instance, what will your candidate have to do to sustain strong
support from the multiple wings of the Republican Party? Will your candidate
have to be more "mainstream" and conservative to stand a chance, or will he
pursue a strong "progressive" (liberal) vision for America?
You will be
evaluated principally on your ability to explain how you would apply the key
strategies and tactics of a primary and presidential campaign such as
A) solidifying
support from your party's "natural" supporters (ex. minorities, women, unions
for the Democrats; business interests, white males, religious conservatives for
the Republicans, choosing the "right" Vice Presidential nominee for the
Democrats)
B) portraying
and "selling" the personality of your candidate
C) identifying
issues and themes that will generate interest among the voters (ex. national
security, Iraq, economic issues such as the "jobless recovery", the deficit,
"outsourcing" of jobs, trade protectionism versus increased globalization,
character and credibility of the candidates, the increasing costs health care,
"wedge" issues such as the proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw same- sex
marriage, plus using "focus groups" and polls to determine which issues to
emphasize, etc.)
D)
demonstrating your understanding of the demographics of America (ex. race,
gender, age, ethnicity, region, religion, etc.)
E) using the
media to your advantage
F) explaining
the role of the political parties in the electoral process
Your paper
should average between 700 -1,000 words. You will then team up with any other
people in the class who "managed the same candidate" and present your strategy
to the class. You will need to use visual aids to help explain your key
strategies and tactics and how you expect them to work. Charts, graphs, etc are
all usable.
A presentation
by the group will be required. You
may use power point to demonstrate the strategy of your group.