KCRR Prez: An election is a war
Kootenai County Reagan Republican President Jeff Ward doesn't beat around the bush in his recent political newsletter, comparing elections to war.
War without violence, the weekly letter states, but wars nonetheless.
"Representative democracy is the greatest triumph over the barbarity of rule by sheer force. That being said, political campaigns still retain the structure and terminology of warfare," Ward wrote. "The candidate with the biggest and smartest ‘army' wins."
The letter compares front-line infantry soldiers to door bell ringers, and direct mailing to shots.
"Direct mail is the artillery of campaigns that can constantly pound the opposition with unrelenting shells," Ward wrote.
Read the rest yourself below. Question for readers when they're done: Did Ward nail the comparison or was it over the top hyperbole? Or was it something in between?
The guys that wars can't be won without:
"If you have read my columns in the past you know that I make a lot of allusions to warfare when talking about electoral politics. Before any liberals lose their heads about me equating politics with violence, understand that I see campaigns and elections as war without violence. We have replaced the violent struggle for power that has dominated most of man's history with a way to decide who will rule without bloodshed and turmoil. Representative democracy is the greatest triumph over the barbarity of rule by sheer force. That being said, political campaigns still retain the structure and terminology of warfare. The candidate with the biggest and smartest "army" wins.
We can look at aspects of campaigns as arms of the military, each with specific weapons and tactics. Broadcast media, like radio and television are like air power; expensive, powerful and devastating. It is hard to win if your opponent rules the air. Like military technology, modern technology like the Internet allows campaigns to send drones and pin-point targeted weapons never imagined decades before. Direct mail is the artillery of campaigns that can constantly pound the opposition with unrelenting shells in the form of mail pieces, weakening your adversaries' strongholds. The speed and surprise of phone banks can catch your opponent of guard like the cavalry or armor; tough to counter and hard to pin down.
All the various tactics are important but in campaigns like actual battle, the burden of success lies in those warriors on the ground: the infantry. The famous World War II war correspondent Ernie Pyle said to best, "in the end they are the guys that wars can't be won without." Like the infantry in war, it is the door to door, voter to voter, contact by the campaign volunteers that elections "can't be won without." The single most effective tactic it precinct canvassing. This is how we win elections.
This November election will be decided by how we do in the field. Will the Reagan Republicans field a better trained, more motivated and larger canvassing force then our opponents? The answer to that question is up to you. The door knocking starts this Saturday and how many voters we can reach depends on each of us. We have one chance to change local government in Kootenai County. It will require a lot of miles walked and driven with our candidates' literature in hand. How many Saturdays and evenings can you dedicate to the ideals we share and the futures of our communities. We are the "guys that wars can't be won without."