And Politicians Still Wonder Why No One Trusts a Word They Say?

(Chuck Muth) – On September 28, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt sent out the following pitch for donations…

“We are only 2 days away from the FIRST End-of-Quarter deadline of our campaign. Chuck Schumer and his allies will be closely watching every dollar we raise, waiting for ANY sign of weakness.  We just checked with our finance team, and we’re $24,792 short of our goal.”

Here’s the problem:  The campaign doesn’t tell you what the actual “goal” is/was.

If the goal was $500,000, that’d be one thing.  But if it was $25,000…well, that’s a horse of a different color.  But we don’t know.  Because he doesn’t tell us.

Now, to be fair, Laxalt isn’t the only candidate using this disingenuous “goal” pitch.  I’ve seen plenty of other candidates on both sides of the aisle use something similar.

For example, here’s one from Democrat Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak earlier this week…

“Fortunately, we’ll have a better chance of preventing this possibility if we’re able to reach our end-of-quarter fundraising goal.  We’re calling on Steve’s strongest supporters to step up and help defeat Republican prospects by hitting our goal.”

But exactly what IS the goal?  Naturally, they don’t say.

Regardless of what candidate is using this tactic, they’re not playing it straight with you.  It would be more honest and credible if they told their audience exactly what the goal was up front, as without telling your audience what your goal is you can always claim you reached it.

When the reporting deadline approaches, these candidates simply tell you how short they are of reaching their unstated goal in an effort to manufacture fake “urgency” so you’ll whip out your checkbook right then and there.

I’m guessing this shady, disingenuous tactic must work at some level, or so many candidates wouldn’t keep using it.  But if you’re willing to mislead donors like this before you get elected, what’s that say about how you’ll act once in office?

No wonder politicians are considered less trustworthy than used car salesmen.

Guns, Red Flags and Congressman Amodei

I’ve received some angry phone calls and emails about a vote cast by Republican Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) bill related to gun rights and red flag laws.

However, it seems folks jumped the gun, so to speak, in jumping down Rep. Amodei’s throat.  Here’s the statement he released on the criticism voiced after the vote…

“It’s always nice to be reminded how little some of those who report on legislation really know about the legislation on which they pontificate. There is a gun law provision in the House passed 1,362-page National Defense Authorization Act. That it’s in there is no surprise, as the House Majority Democrats have placed this showboat provision in every NDAA since Nancy Pelosi was elected Speaker. The missing context of today’s ‘analysis’ on my NDAA vote is that this provision is always stripped out in the Conference process with the Senate. What they also didn’t bother to tell you is that a nearly 2:1 majority of Republicans voted for the NDAA, as we always have.

“For more that they didn’t bother to tell you, which are important contextual facts, is that the bill contains a 5% increase in topline funding for the Department of Defense, a 2.7% pay increase for our service members, authorization for the procurement of over $1.3 billion in new aircraft, equipment, and weapons, $250 million to conduct counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan, and the funding necessary to counter Chinese and Russian military hostilities, just to name a few of the many important provisions in the NDAA. I’m sure as heck not going to vote against all of that out of fear that somebody takes issue with a provision that will never make it into the final law. Simply put, this year’s NDAA support does not equal red flag gun law support.

“Misrepresenting the context of the majority of Republicans’ vote on the NDAA is incredibly irresponsible. Seriously, someone with a lifelong strong Second Amendment voting record has somehow morphed into a red flag idiot? This is sadly another example of how a lot of good people get misled.

“Sorry you had to be the victim of being misled by those whose attention spans are clearly not long enough to give you an accurate report in context. Nothing has changed as far as this Member of Congress’ Second Amendment views or the need to keep our warfighters fully funded. Have a nice day.”

MUTH’S TRUTHS

* President Donald Trump lost Nevada by around 33,000 votes in November 2020.  In that same election, some 112,000 active registered Republicans statewide – including some 69,000 in Clark County alone – sat home and didn’t show up to vote.  Yes, there were a ton of problems with how the elections last year were conducted, but that doesn’t excuse the fact that Republicans failed to fully get their vote out.

* The city of Las Vegas took a big one in the shorts yesterday after a judge ruled the city was guilty of snatching – “taking” in legal terms –  a developer’s land, the old Badlands Golf Course, without just compensation.  This is a major victory for property rights; however, Vegas taxpayers could now be on the hook for upwards of $1 billion in damages.  For more background info on this fuster-cluck, click here.

* On a sad note, Cindy Ellison – ying to Nevada Assemblyman John Ellison’s yang – passed away this week.  Anyone lucky enough to ever witness John and Cindy playfully go back and forth at each other over dinner or drinks know what a wonderful person she was and what an amazing relationship the pair had.  Cindy was a true jewel.  Our deepest sympathies to John and the entire Ellison family.

Upcoming Campaign Boot Camps

In the first campaign boot camp, I went through the 15 worst mistakes many candidates make that result in them losing races they could have/should have won.

In last night’s second boot camp we went through the step-by-step process of writing a campaign plan that provides candidate with a “road map” to victory.  And again, GREAT folks in the audience with GREAT questions.

Next week I’m going to hit on one of the biggest failures of conservative candidates and campaigns: Communicating compelling campaign messages that actually persuade people into your corner.

You see, it’s not that conservatives are wrong on the issues.  It’s that too many stink on ice when it comes to explaining and communicating their positions and message.  We’ll fix that next week.  Be there, or be square.

October 6 in Las Vegas
Ahern Freedom Hotel | 6:00 pm (second floor)
Messaging 101: Copywriting Secrets

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FAMOUS LAST WORDS

“Welfare recipients aren’t mandated to get the (COVID) vaccine, but 100 million American workers are.  What has America become?” – Graham Allen

Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views and blogs at MuthsTruths.com