Announcement: This is My Last Muth’s Truths

(Chuck Muth) – Check, please!

Since this is gonna be my last Muth’s Truths, it’s gonna be a beast. But I wanted everyone to know exactly why and how I came to this decision.

Now, to be honest, I don’t know if this is going to be a just a sabbatical or a permanent life change.  But lemme ‘splain…

First, it’s not for health reasons.  I feel great.  Have lost 35 pounds over the last year or so (that Crystal Meth Diet works like a charm!) and never felt better…other than old age and occasionally needing an afternoon power nap.

But I DO have an addiction…

“Hi, my name’s Chuck, and I’m a political junkie.”

Now, before talking about the future, let me share something I’ve never shared publicly about how I’ve been feeding my addiction for almost three decades.

Many of you have written over the years asking how in the world I’m able to crank out so much material so often.  And there are two main reasons…

• I only work half a day. But by that I mean I work 12 hours a day, not 4.  And I work 7 days a week, not 5 – though usually only the traditional “half” a day on Sundays, holidays and while on “vacation.”
• Over these many years, I’ve learned exactly where to find the best juicy political gossip and the best sources of conservative current events through news sources, social media and subscriptions to conservative publications.

But that takes a LOT more time out of my day than most people realize.  It’s kinda like “show prep” for talk-show hosts.

Contrary to popular opinion, I don’t just snap my fingers and the words magically appear on my laptop. For those who don’t write for a living, Stan Dahl – a master copywriter for businesses – explains…

“A-list copywriters spend relatively little time ‘writing’ and relatively a LOT of time doing ‘research.’  Yes, you still have to know how to write the copy. But most of great copy is knowing how to stitch together what you learned while researching.”

And that’s no less true for how I write columns, blog posts, press releases, social media posts, etc., for Muth’s Truths and my clients.  I spend a LOT of time reading and researching before I ever start tapping out the words in Microsoft Word.

And here’s the routine I follow almost religiously every day…

I usually wake up around 5:00 or 5:30 a.m. (alarm clock not necessary) and do my version of “meditation.”  I’ll lay in bed for a half-hour or so and think about what I plan to write for the day.  This pre-dawn time is often when I come up with some of my best writing inspirations.

Let’s say I have a candidate/client I need to write something for.  And I decide to write a piece on, say, school vouchers.  I don’t know why or how it happens, but in those early morning hours before the spit hits the spam I come up with some interesting or controversial “hook” that I think readers will relate to.

And that becomes my #1 writing objective for the day.

At that point, I get out of bed and take Snowball – the little white mini-Alaska Eskimo we rescued off the street ten years ago – for a walk in the desert behind our house.

Snowball

Good exercise for me to start off the day – a habit I unfortunately got out of during the Sisolak Shutdown – and also helps me further develop writing projects in my head.

I re-started the daily walk just last week after Snowball was diagnosed with some kind of kidney disease.  Vet said he has less than a year to go.  So I want him to ENJOY his final time with us, sniffing dog butts on the trail and peeing all over the place.

Good times.  Good times.

When I get back, I pick up the Las Vegas Review-Journal from the driveway.  I grab a cup of coffee (trying to quit).  And Snowball and I retreat to my private home office in the little casita behind the house.

The War Room

I check text messages and then read the paper to see what else is going on that I might want to write about.

When I find things, I circle them and put the paper aside for later.  Then I fire up the ol’ computer and check emails.  And on any given morning, I’ll have well over a hundred sitting in my inbox that came in overnight.

Some emails are the usual things that need to be taken care of.  Such as getting my phone, water, electric or credit card bills.  I go through ‘em, pay and move on.  I also respond as often as possible to reader emails.

Then I go through a boatload of news emails from sources such as Breitbart, FOX, the Wall Street Journal, etc.  If I see something that might be useful or interesting, I save the email.  Everything else gets deleted.  And that usually takes at least an hour or so.

Then off to Social Media World!

Twitter is my drug of choice…though I also follow some folks on GETTR and Trump’s Truth Social.  I try to avoid Facebook like the plague.  Once I go down that rabbit hole I might not come back out until lunch time!

Around 9:00 a.m. I’m ready to start putting words to paper for the project I’d settled on when I woke up.  However, I also suffer from another ailment…

Shiny Object Syndrome.

While writing, a new email will pop up.  Or I’ll get a notice about some new post on Twitter or Facebook.  Or the phone will ring.

“Squirrel!”

At that point my concentration is broken and I end up heading down another rabbit hole.  Yes, that variety of multi-tasking means I get a lot done every day, but it also means I often lose focus on my primary objectives.

By the way, I HATE taking phone calls…except from family, friends and clients.   But even then, I’m just not a Chatty Cathy.  Most phone calls could be better and more quickly addressed via email or text so I can respond during breaks.

Worse, some people ARE Chatty Cathy’s.  And what should be a two-minute call ends up keeping me on the phone for a half-hour or longer…time I could be spending researching and writing.

So to alleviate my Shiny Object Syndrome, I often turn off the phone completely and close my email system and social media accounts for hours, if not the entire day…which drives people nuts.

They expect me to answer or respond immediately, but I just can’t do it.  Not if I want to complete critical, time-sensitive work when I’m on a deadline.

I don’t eat breakfast.  And often skip lunch.  When I do eat lunch, it’s almost always the same thing: a Krakus Polish Ham sandwich.

I remember reading somewhere long ago that some writer – maybe it was Steven King – eats the same thing every day so he can stay “in the zone” and not have his mind distracted by having to make a decision on what to have for lunch.  Sounded like a good idea…and it works for me.

Now, bear with me.  There’s a reason why I’m telling you all this…

I love writing.  And over the years I’ve spent well over six-figures – FAR more than any poli-sci major at some prestigious university – learning my craft and perfecting it via “homeschooling.”

Oh, and without student loans that taxpayers are gonna pick up if Biden and the Democrats get their way!

But…the amount of time it takes me every day to write Muth’s Truths simply isn’t moving the ball down the field.

For example, I can write a great column on why school vouchers are the ONLY education reform that will actually make a difference…but if we don’t get pro-voucher candidates elected, it don’t mean beans.

Which brings me to my “part-time” job…

Now, while Nevada’s primary results still aren’t official and a handful of races are still undetermined, I can tell you this: A lot of good conservative candidates lost.  And, pardon my French, that really pisses me off.

Because they didn’t lose because they were bad candidates.  They lost because they (or their dumbass consultants) ran a bad campaign.

I’ve been training candidates and writing books, special reports and my “Campaign Hot Tips” e-newsletters ever since I graduated from Newt Gingrich’s Campaign Management College way back in 1996.  And not only am I good at it, I love it.

Here’s a “class photo” of the group of conservatives who attended my “Campaign Boot Camp” in Connecticut back in March.  What a GREAT group of people!

Many candidates who follow my teachings and advice, all over the country, have won races they otherwise might well have lost because they tried something I suggested or avoided a mistake their dumbass political “consultant” told them to do (examples are legion).

And THAT moves the ball down the field.

I mean, if I could get a “dead pimp” elected, maybe, just maybe, I know a little bit about this game, right?

On the other hand, here’s Muth’s Truths #3 from Campaign Boot Camp…

“There’s more incompetence in the field of political consulting than in any field other than TV psychiatry.”

Yes, there ARE some good ones.  But they’re the exception, not the rule. And they’re usually unaffordable for down-ballot candidates.

Anyway, I now have thousands of candidates all over the country who subscribe to my Campaign Hot Tips e-newsletter.  But I only write it once a week because…well, because Muth’s Truths and client work take up the bulk of my time every week.

I have four campaign-related book projects sitting on my desk that haven’t been finished – including a book on how Dennis Hof, the “dead pimp,” won his race for the Nevada Legislature in 2018 when no one except Dennis and I thought he had a prayer in Hades.

There are special reports I need to write on everything from fundraising to giving speeches that don’t leave the audience in a coma of boredom.

And I want to develop an online training course for candidates, especially first-time candidates, who can’t make it to my live “Boot Camp” training seminars.

Oh, and I probably need to raise a quarter-million dollars to fully fund this project by the end of the year so it’s ready for the 2024 election cycle!

So much to do; so little time. So something’s gotta give.

And as much as it pains me, because I LOVE writing Muth’s Truths – (it’s my form of therapy so I don’t end up at the top of a book tower with a high-powered rifle) (just kidding FBI) – I need to give it up cold turkey.

So, at least for now, this is the end of the line.

Over the weekend I began disconnecting myself from the political Matrix.  Unsubscribed to all manner of political newsletters.  “Unfollowed” all kinds of folks on social media (if I unfollowed you, please don’t take it personally).

And, BOY, was that hard.

I had my phone next to me while watching the Stanly Cup playoffs last night.  During commercials, I kept reflexively checking to see if anything new was posted on Twitter or if I’d received any new emails.  And practically nothing was coming in.

That’s when I went through my first serious withdrawal symptoms.  But as John Wayne said, “A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.”

Of course, being an addict I’m sure I’m gonna need a “fix” now and then.  So I’ll crank out a Muth’s Truths here and there when I can’t resist – but maybe in a different form.  Otherwise, I’m “all in” for campaign training and development for the foreseeable future.

And if that’s something you’re interested in, subscribe to my Campaign Hot Tips e-newsletter at www.CampaignDoctor.com.

We have a country and state to save. And it’s time to train the next generation of conservative activists and candidates so they stop losing races they should win.  And when you look at the state of our nation today under “Brandon” and the Democrats, nothing is more important.

Not even Muth’s Truths.

So thank you for reading.  Thank you for your support and kind words over all these years.  And thank you for your involvement in trying to protect The American Way for our kids and grandkids.

See you on the other side!

Chuck

P.S.  There’s a new generation of really talented conservative activists here in Nevada to fill the void.  Check these out…

1.) Courtney Holland.  If you’re not following her on Twitter, you don’t know what you’re missing.   She’s really got her finger on the pulse of both state and national politics.  Plus, she’s funny AND sarcastic.  No wonder I like her so much!

She’s one of the few I’m still following on Twitter, and this one came in during the hockey game last night…

“Gas is so expensive that $5 of gas will only get you from pump #2 to pump #9.”

With Courtney Holland around, who the heck needs Chuck Muth?!!  If you’re not already, follow her on Twitter: @hollandcourtney

2.)  Megan Barth.  Media bias isn’t so much what’s written, but what’s written about.

Megan (@ReaganBabe) is the founding editor of the Nevada Globe, which launched online last fall.  And she covers stories and current events that no one else in the state is covering.  Her reporting is professional and objective…but decidedly comes from the “right” side of the aisle.

And she’s a pistol.  Like Courtney, she can have a wonderfully acerbic (that means “sharp and forthright,” Mr. Ralston) way with words.  Like this from last week…

“Color us shocked that Monica Lewinsky (preferred pronouns: she/her) was paying close attention to the Nevada Secretary of State GOP primary race. A woman best known for her stained blue dress and a cigar is terrified of Jim Marchant, a contender who swept the primary in an often overlooked and under-reported position in state politics.”

If I’m lucky, maybe Megan will let me write for the Nevada Globe as a guest columnist when I relapse and need a Muth’s Truths fix!

3.)  Michelle Mortensen.  Society is steadily moving away from traditional mainstream news on television and seeking alternatives online.  The Michelle Mortensen Show is the best example I’ve found of this for conservatives in Nevada.

Michelle (@Tell_Michelle_) is an 8-time Emmy Award-winning journalist who gave up her television career on Channel 8 in Las Vegas in 2018 to run for Congress.  When that didn’t turn out the way she’d hoped, Michelle set her sights on taking advantage of the new online video options.

And damn, is she good.

I was honored when she asked me to do a little “color commentary” for her primary Election Night show last week – especially since she and I haven’t always agreed on politics.  But as the saying goes: No permanent friends; no permanent enemies.

And despite it being her first time out of the gate producing such an extensive live event, it went great.  And she’s only going to get better.

I gotta tell ya, knowing these three ladies are out there kicking arse and taking names has made it a little easier for me to step away from the political side of things and move into the candidate/campaign development side of things.

And you know what I’d really love to do?

I’d love to explore the idea of hosting a weekly conservative version of “The View” with all three of them…and maybe throw my friend Annie Black in the mix.  Now THAT would be “must see TV.”

I know, I know.  I’m not a woman.  But for this show, I’d “identify” as one!  I *think* you can do that now.

P.P.S.  It’s not enough to just train and develop candidates.

We seriously need to recruit and train more campaign support staff.  Not just campaign managers, but communications directors, volunteer coordinators, website designers, opposition researchers…and FUNDRAISERS.

So I’m thinking of developing an “incubator” program for grassroots activists so that when a promising new candidate decides to throw their hat in the ring, we’ll have a team of folks ready, willing and able to step in immediately and work on races the RIGHT WAY rather than get taken to the cleaners by incompetent, over-priced consultants.

Imagine if there was a “Campaign in a Box” program available for conservative candidates who, for an affordable price, would have their entire campaign foundation laid so all they had to do was the three things all candidate *should* be spending 90% of their time on…

Asking for votes.  Asking for money.  And asking for volunteers.

If this is something you might want to be involved with, stay tuned.  If/when it’s ready, I’ll announce it here via email. This could be a game-changer in Nevada.

See?  I’m not leaving you high and dry!  Just changing direction and focus.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

“I don’t understand much about politics.” – Liberal blubber-blogger Jon Ralston, 1/2/20

Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views and blogs at MuthsTruths.com.  His views are his own.