Politics, like baseball, is simple. Welcome to Spring Training
Turf wars and clinging to contracts is out for the Team Democracy. It's time to get back to basics before the season kicks off, because it could be our last.
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A year from now, the 2026 midterms will be well under way (God willing.*) Last year’s results require an honest, open, and painful review. The donor community is demanding it. The activists are demanding it.
But two groups that most need to understand what happened, candidates and their consultants, are stuck deep in “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,” hoping to keep their jobs and their commissions.
We must get back to political basics.
Between now and when active campaigns ramp up, we must remember the great Bull Durham: “Baseball is a simple game: You throw the ball. You hit the ball. You catch the ball.”
Politics, like the National Pastime, need not be complicated. You find the voter. You talk to the voter. You ask the voter to show up on Election Day. The rest is logistics.
The Goal
There is one goal: Win elections. That’s it. Anything that distracts from the goal needs to be stripped away in this moment. We don’t have time to wrestle over “high roads” and “low roads.” American politics has always been a rough and tumble endeavor. If you don’t have the stomach for it, step aside.
The Fundamentals
If you’ve played any sport at any level, you’ve had a coach stress the fundamentals. You’ve done endless, boring drills long after you’d proven you could shag a fly ball, complete a flawless kick-turn, or make a free throw. Only after proving to the coaches that we knew the basics could we get to the fun part: Playing the game.
The first best way to win a contest, any contest, is to be the best team we can be.
Understanding our goals and objectives, doing our jobs as an efficient, well-oiled machine will make going up against the Republican Party (which I grew up in and in which I worked for many years) a winnable endeavor.
The GOP has no compunction about doing what it takes to win. They will assemble competent campaigns and provide them the resources they need to win. If we’re not at our best, as we’ve seen, how can we expect to defeat them?
The Team
Team Democracy has some bona fide Hall of Famers. And it’s time they put in for their plaques.
We have too many people on the backside of their careers, too many who’ve risen far beyond their skill level, and too few star recruits. The movement must identify and rapidly promote up-and-coming talent even if that means passing over others that have been working in politics longer.
We must put star players on the field and ensure those players fit. Someone ideal for North Carolina may not be suited to campaigning in Massachusetts. Those that excel should be given more responsibility. Those not succeeding should be given opportunities to succeed in a different place, but not at the expense of the entire endeavor.
I’ve personally witnessed dozens of individuals and numerous groups doing incredible work in states across the country; all of them outside the official party structure. Far too often, when they do well, or innovate, entrenched interests make their lives and work more difficult. This turf-guarding must be exorcised.
If a team member has a fundamental problem with the way the campaign is operating or a stance the candidate has taken, appropriate outlets should be available. The answer is not to post open letters in Politico. Campaigns are about electing candidates. If you want to be the candidate and make the decisions, put your name on the ballot.
Please RSVP here, we look forward to seeing you.
Leadership
Not everyone will get along. This isn’t a Montessori School. There are multiple theories of leadership.
Some believe fervently in the “No Asshole Rule.” Others believe that teams have no time for or space for prima donnas. There is no perfect mix, nor will we know the right collection of skills and personalities immediately. Teams have to work together, know each other, and run gauntlets together.
The effort will determine what’s working and what isn’t. If it works, even if it’s something new to the lineup, do more of it. If we try something and it fails, stop doing it.
Leadership ultimately devolves to making decisions. If you’re unwilling to make a decision because of an uncertain outcome, you can’t be the boss. Perhaps my most concerning observation is how few people are willing to take risks or deploy a new tactic out of fear.
We passed the exit for Indecision miles ago.
Being the boss is not a popularity contest. It is a responsibility, either as a candidate or a campaign manager, to all the people working for the campaign, all the donors, all the volunteers, and ultimately the voters you wish to convince. It means doing what’s in the best interest of the overall, even if it’s not popular.
High expectations are not unfair, they’re essential. Discipline is not mean, it’s critical.
Ticking Clocks
The first filing deadlines for 2026 arrive this December ahead of Texas’ March primary. We have a short window to do this work and no time for reindeer games. If the Trump Administration is as dangerous to individual Americans, our country, and the entire world, it’s high time we start acting like it.
All of the work above, and so much more that I haven’t, is well within our capabilities. The question now is one of will: Do we have the constitution to what’s necessary? Or will too many of us once again hope that fickle American voters deliver a narrow-band victory?
Why We Do This
Politics is a means to an end. At its best, democracy is a system that elects those truly dedicated to serving their constituents and doing the best for the largest number of people. At its worst, it’s zero-sum game of self-interested groups, interests, and cyncial politicians looking to do nothing but secure their own reelection.
If we’re going to be the better option for American, we have to better. That starts with the basics. Who runs for office? How do we run their campaigns. How do we organize? How do we maximize efficiency and minimize bureaucracy? How do we insure that the right messages get to the right people in the most effective way, because they work, not because they ‘test well.’
There are a bunch of sacred cows on the chopping block. Unpleasant? Yes. Essential? Absolutely.
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Generally agree with this, Reed, with one small but significant edit.
In an age of fascism, authoritarianism, Trumpism, or some other nefarious ism, it’s not enough to say “Win elections.”
Winning narrowly won’t eradicate MAGA populism, because narrow wins beget narrow losses and another generation of swing elections + status quo.
My mantra:
“WIN LANDSLIDES.”
Win by landslide numbers for a generation or so.
Set the bar high, brother. Broaden the tent. Deepen base outreach. Disrupt and renew the game. Kick ass with a Generational Movement, a 60% coalition.
Anything less is more of the same
I’m in! BUT…..where are the marching orders for the worker bees …what should we be doing? Where’s the handbook with the list of steps????? I need to see that!