« BACK  |  PRINT

RS

MEMBER DIARY

GOP Needs To Change Communication Techniques

By: Bob McDonnell (Diary)  |  January 26th, 2009 at 04:43 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

I want to first thank RedState for giving me this opportunity and for the wonderful work Erick and the other contributors do. RedState is a place where conservatives across the country can work together to shape and mold policy. Never has this work been more critical, or more necessary.

November 2008 marked a new beginning for the Republican Party. Leading up to the 2008 elections, I think we all recognized that our party needed to make some changes to the way we do things. The sweeping victory of President Obama and the Democrat majorities in Congress made that fact crystal clear. As the Republican nominee for Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia I know our race this year will be the focus of conservatives all across the country. People will be watching us to see what lessons we have learned, and if we can help start the process of bringing conservatism back. I believe we can, but not without your help.

I want our campaign for Governor to provide an example for Republicans across the country to follow. With that in mind our campaign will have a few defining traits that I hope will both set us apart from our opponent, while putting us ahead on Election Day. I would like to mention two of them today.

I’ve said time and again that our campaign will reach out to every single voter in the Commonwealth. I’m not ceding a single vote. We are going to take our message of fiscal responsibility, low taxes, personal freedom and opportunity to every voter. And we will do it in a way not employed by enough Republican candidates. That brings me to what will be the second defining trait of our campaign.

I want our campaign to revolutionize the way we do voter outreach. I know the majority of Virginians share the same conservative, common sense values that we believe in. But the way our party reaches voters with our message has become stagnant over the years. You see the same tactics employed rover and over again, and they no longer work. We need to change the way we communicate with voters.

If I know one thing, I know that people are interacting with media in a way that we have never before seen. I recognize this and I believe that people will see us as the techno-savvy campaign this year. We understand younger voting demographics, we understand new media technologies, and we understand the remarkable power of successfully reaching voters with our common sense, conservative message.

I am very excited about an article published this week in the Weekly Standard that  profiles our campaign, and how we are talking to all Virginians, right from the start.  If you have a free minute or two I hope you will check it out.

This will be an exciting campaign as it takes shape over the months ahead. I am excited, I know Virginia voters are excited, and I hope that as you learn more about what we are doing you will be excited, and you will get involved. 

Today, I want to invite you to come be a part of our online community over at www.bobmcdonnell.com. Learn more about our campaign, and see how you can stay in touch with us, and help us win this race. This is a critical election for the Commonwealth of Virginia. But it is also an important election for our Party and our conservative philosophy. We are going to win this race, and this will mark the beginning of the return of conservatism in this country.  I hope you will join us in this effort.  

Tags:

COMMENTS

POSTING RULES  |  LOGIN TO COMMENT  |  REGISTER TODAY
  • Bob_Frazier

    I read the weekly standard piece, and it reminded me of the McCain campaign. We try to win by appealing to liberals, and hiding our social conservatism. Pander to various minorities (of course, without promising all the goodies the democrats promise to dieliver).

    This is a recipe for sure defeat. What we need are real conservatives who will preach true conservatism, not just “common sense conservative principles” (I had flashbacks to “compassionate” conservatism.)

    All conservative principles work every time they are tried. It’s time to convert those liberals in Northern Vriginia, not pander to their liberalism. It’s time to stop the indoctrination of our young in government schools and universities. It’s time for republican office holders to proclaim what WE believe, and to ask for their vote.

    • Vegas_Rick

      And saw little if any, evidence of pandering to liberals. I saw no softening of principles.

      What I saw was a conservative Republican trying to engage voters in his state with conservative values and principles.

      One doesn’t need to be overbearing and uncompromising to be a conservative. I wish Mr. McDonnell the best and will help any way I can.

      • Bob_Frazier

        Guess you have to read between the lines……

        Republicans, he contends, are in danger of approaching Whig status, “talking about issues less and less relevant” to the average voter.

        An influx of minorities and urban professionals into Virginia was another problem because the Republican “message doesn’t address or invite the newcomers.”

        They have had trouble nominating candidates that can appeal in both parts of the state

        Jerry Kilgore emphasized the death penalty, illegal immigration, and social issues but spoke little about bread-and-butter Virginia issues like education and transportation. Others point to a spate of embarrassing public gaffes by rural Republicans as evidence the party is too extreme or unwelcoming to minorities.

        There is no drawl, no cowboy boots, and virtually no talk about hot button social issuesThere is certainly nothing “Old Virginia” about McDonnell. He appears to be the quintessential Northern Virginia businessman. Trimly built and slightly graying, McDonnell, 54, is a departure from recent Republican candidates in Virginia. He looks much like the urban and suburban voters he is courting–polite, soft-spoken, and surrounded by an array of electronic gadgetry which allows him to keep up on paper work and communicate with his office during long days on the road. He is dressed neatly in a gray suit as he travels from stop to stop on a typical day of retail politics. Only a slight accent ever peeks through: There is no drawl, no cowboy boots, and virtually no talk about hot button social issues. He reiterates his strong pro-life record, from which he insists, “I will not deviate one iota,” but stresses, “You gotta connect with voters on what they care about.”

        • Vegas_Rick

          As I said, I don’t feel a conservative has to be overbearing, uncompromising or unwelcoming to be a conservative.

          We can be reasonable. We can talk to people who wish for unfettered abortion without preaching. We can talk to the open border crowd withour sounding racist. We can support the second ammendment and still realize that those who worry about gun violence have a valid concern.

          I don’t think we can dilute conservative values and principles and still be a valid movement. But I think we can send the message in a more reasonable tone.

          Fire and brimstone doesn’t seem to be getting the job done.

          • DGaines

            read the full article and it sounds like you are on exactly the right track. Even the title of your article gets it. So many of our problems in the last few years have been failures to articulate a coherent and simple enough message for people to catch why conservative principles remain the best approach to government.

            Unlike so many Republican leaders who think pandering is the answer, you have taken the opposite tack – undertaking the labor of trying to help a variety of voter groups understand how conservative principles are the best answer for their particular issue. That’s a winning approach and I applaud you for it.

            A couple suggestions for you to take or leave: You might put a few casual pictures of yourself on the site. You still come across a bit as a white establishment guy. The young and urban voters like to feel you can go casual like them.

            Second: The commercial on your home page seems a bit too complicated. I thought one of the most salient comments in the WS article was the following statement:

            “After the meeting, Sergio, a professional in his mid-30s, tells me that Republicans’ errors boil down to a “messaging mistake.” He explains, “You ask people what Obama’s message was? ‘Change.’ McCain’s? You get 13 answers”

            We need to keep it simple. You could always have the full commercial on a secondary page.

            God bless and good luck.

          • MetaCosm

            DGaines–

            I could agree with you (and the article) more. Obama’s message was absolutely short, to the point, and without any meaning. But maybe that is what it takes to win elections in the current age of over-saturation.

            Bob McDonnell suffers under the weight of everything he has done, and wanting to cram it all into a commercial. It ends up being far less effective than “Hope and Change”. I think he crammed more content in his commercial than Obama’s 30 minute campaign ad contained.

            McDonnell will have my support in NOVA, I am interested in seeing how well he can connect with the state voters.

        • DGaines

          than Vegas Rick but I have to tell you Bob Frazier. The article wasn’t written by the McDonnell campaign so they can describe him however they chose. In fact he sounds perfect for the job. I don’t see anything in the article that the candidate says that denigrates conservative principles or conservatism?

          It’s about leading with your left rather than starting with the headbutt. Changing the method not the message.

        • JustLeaveMeAlone

          What does a drawl and cowboy boots have to do with Virginia?

          I lived in Richmond most of the first 40 years of my life. I never saw a pair of cowboy boots until I moved to Texas. I saw lots of gray suits, though. I suppose you could call a Virginia accent a drawl, but to my ears it’s quite different than that of Texas, or Georgia, or even North Carolina.

          A statewide VA candidate does have a tough row to hoe: the commonwealth suffers schizophrenia. There’s the genteel old south contingent: primarily white, from the Tidewater region, rooted in Southern culture, episcopalian, and wanting to know who your “people” are (“who was your mother before she was married?”). There’s the good ole’ boys: white, blue collar and farm-based, primarily in the southern and western parts of the state. There are huge “minorities” such as inner city blacks, who demographically outnumber white voters in many cities. There is the NOVA Volvo-driving, latte-sippers, viewed as carpetbagging and resource-hogging invaders by much of the rest of the state. Then there are the growing new minorities: Hispanic and Asian, primarily.

          My sister, one of those Tidewater republicans and a citizen of Eric Cantor’s district, says “the problem with the RNC is that it seems to only be full of old white guys.”

          Rather than “pander” to other groups, the RNC needs to learn Marketing 101: how to sell conservative values (and their BENEFITS) to people other than the aforementioned old white guys.

          It’s my belief that the Conservative message stands up, but this is the 21st Century, and you have to market, market, market — market the benefits to groups that have not heard these principles, that have been indoctrinated into the welfare state perspective. That’s the challenge.

          • Scope

            I live in Eric Canotor’s district, and we are nowhere near Tidewater. I do agree with your summation of the makeup of the Virgina Republicans. Unfortunately, the Republican districts are mostly rural, and therefore don’t have the votes necessay to override the northern populated districts (NOVA). Mr. Frederick asked some northern virginians to start a website dedicated to “bringing all virginia GOP party members together.” Again, unfortunately for the conservatives in the state, the site is decidely run by 11th commandment northern republicans who worked for McCain in the election, many many exhaustive hours. I had posted comments against McCain, saying that I thought that the candidate this past election was a factor in our losses. No no no, you either get on the train with the republican who is running, or we don’t need your type in the party. Not only do you need to vote for the republican, whoever it is, you will send money, and you will be excited about him, and pound the streets for him. That is why VA is where it is. The old white republicans rule the roost. That is fact. Now, I suspect I will be kicked off the site because I broke the 11th Commandment. Oh well!

          • JustLeaveMeAlone

            is still considered Tidewater. I was born there and lived there 40 years. It’s also part of Cantor’s district. In fact, I believe it is where he and his family live.

            And Scope, they can kick me out too if they think because I’m conservative I have to vote Republican. Maybe it isn’t that party doesn’t need us — it’s we who do not need them!

      • smagar

        You win elections with the voters you have, not the voters you wish you had.

    • its_a_right_wing_thing

      Virginia has gone to ahem– (crap) especially Northern Va affectionally referred to as “NOVA” by progressive Southerners in name only. They are the ones who voted for Obama. I’ve talked to many of them.

      The troublesome counties are Facquier, Fairifax, and Alexanderia counties where Yankees, DC liberals, and other retirees are moving in and changing the electoral landscape.

      I worry about the youth voters who so blindly, and cult-ly voted for Obama. This is only the beginning. This is just the first generation of what I can “GEN P.C” (politically correct). They are the ones who got “moderate” Jim Webb in at the expense of real Southerner Allen, idiot though he was and they are the ones who voted for transplant Kaine to the Gov. seat.

      Virginia disappoints me perhaps like no other with a close exception to the putrid that is North Carolina liberally (no pun intended) electing women to office (first ever Gov. and a woman senator who is holding Jesse Helms seat. That is all you need to know about how much that state has changed-for the worst.

      Mecklenberg (Yankee territory) is the problem there. I had a friend who worked there and said he could walk down the street and ask 10 people where they were from and they’d all say NJ, OH, NY or NH. We always joke that if he stayed there long enough he might meet and marry a pretty girl-from New York!
      or “What do you call a Meckenberg resident? A New Yorker! and we’d do “Charlotte accents” but with the tough sounding “Wha-you doin’ Brooklyn accent known on TV.

      Remember VA is a state that once had Howard W. Smith has House chair for decades and now they are so P.C. so progressive I don’t even consider them a Southern state any more. Take a tour to Richmond and the bus drivers will tell you “Welcome to the South, it doesn’t really start until you get down here” (With a laugh)

      Funny as it is they are still wrong. Richmond has a lot of Yankee industry and its a changing city too. I work with a guy from there who has no Southern accent (not called a drawl by the way, only to outsiders who “love” to hear it. The city went through a long public battle about what to do with the Museum of the Confederacy and wanted it moved to a lesser known location because of “upkeep” problems (i.e. too visable) and their mayors are always cancelling SCV and other Southern events.

      Don’t take just my word for it:

      Here explains perfectly what I am saying about VA:

      The Vanishing Republican voter (google it if link asks for paid subscription, it will work then)

      http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/07/magazine/07Inequality-t.html

      Or how about NC?

      New blues for North Carolina’s Republicans
      http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27315545/

      I said on election night repeatedly “We have lost NC and VA for a generation (because of poltically correct voters, especially the youth)” I was reprimanded some GOP friends who thought this was ” just a bad/Democratic year and no one would have beat Obama” (they were right). But I stand by that. NC has changed.

      With exception of the rural folk Urban NC is gone to the Democrats much like VA. If you listened to CNN’s John King leading up to the election with that interactive map he talked about how West-SE VA the “L” is conservative, church going, RED state but the North and NE is blue and “big voter turnout expected here for Obama” etc. He was right.

      The best NC and VA can do is win local and state elections back little by little and kick them damn Yanks out. But seriously, the loss of Kaine to the DNC is huge.

      Without him in every corner of every Democrat whose up for re-election in 2010, cannot be understated as he was a very young, popular Gov. and would have easily, easily been re-elected himself. They must focus on winning the Gubernatorial race 1st.

      Gov. Cantor anyone? He seems to be the lone true conservative (note I didn’t say Republican) left.

      • Martin Knight

        VA Governors are only allowed non-consecutive terms per the state’s Constitution.

      • Scope

        The Yanks have moved here in droves, not only in northern VA, but in the Albermale County area probably more so. We used to have low personal property taxes, not anymore since the Democrats/Liberals have literally taken over the local government, voted in by the very same yankees that moved here to escape the high taxes of the northeast. They brought their Liberal policies with them, and guess what, we now have higher taxes because they wanted all the northern tax payer benefits. Holy Crap, we are screwed in VA.

        • Scope

          Now we have Tom Periello for the Rep. in the Charlottesville area. He moved from VA to New York (for 10 years), got his law license in NY, moved back to the area, hired mostly NY firms to run his campaign, bought his supplies from NY and hired a NT firm to do his phone calling for the campaign. He got a $7,000 donation from Charlie Rangle, and I believe the major part of his campaign contributions came from out of state, mostly from NY. The election was very close, and guess what, some of the counties forgot to send in some of there votes on election night. There was a recount, Virgil was ahead, Periello was ahead, Virgil was ahead and then came the recount. Periello won, I wonder why.

          • AceInTX

            it’s only a matter of time till there are no liberals left up north and we’ll have conservative governments attracting them back north again.

            I can see NY, PA, MN, VT, NH, NJ etc painted RED and the deep south BLUE as BLUE can be with the influx of northern liberals and socialists from south of the border

  • phxg

    this statement:

    The danger is that the damage may persist, Sabato explains. “The new voters, first-time voters, and young voters may be lost to the GOP for a lifetime.

    Considering that it was 1994 was the last time real conservatism was on display is there any wonder voters were confused by the Obama (conservative-lite) rhetoric?

    Perhaps it’s time for our governors to step up and assume a greater leadership and directive approach to the national GOP. Lord knows our Senators and Representatives have failed at it.

    • Jack

      I live in Virginia and I love my home state but no matter how much I argued with these buffoons that you had to fight and attack they continued to just be whipping boys.

      Virginia should have been in the GOP ranks for the next 100 years but the State party, the media, and the individual politicians blew it. We get what we deserve. We get massive losses and this time there is no Ronald Reagan to inspire us to make us feel proud. What we do have is an endless series of STUPID politicians apologizing for being conservative and promising if you vote for me I will never to do it again.

      Mr. McDonnell if you want my help. my money, my support earn it. What you wrote just makes me want to sit this one out.

      • DGaines

        do you object to?

        • DGaines

          I don’t see any problems with what he wrote. There are a few with the WS article. So I don’t see how the anger helps get us down the road when there is nothing to object to?

          • http://beaglescout.wordpress.com LJ “Beaglescout” Miller

            “He is conservative on social issues, but known for his bipartisan, workmanlike approach as AG and for his attempts to forge a deal on Virginia’s knottiest issue: transportation.”

            And one problem word.

            Does anybody know more about his record as AG? What is a bipartisan AG, and how would that differ from a partisan AG?

        • Martin Knight

          That’s good.

          That’s encouraging. And so is what I just read in the Weekly Standard article you (or a staffer of yours) linked in your diary.

          Remember the following and I think you’ll be fine;

          [1] Retail politics. Use technology (i.e. live streaming video) to help you be in more than one place at a time while physically visiting as many places as possible. Do not, I repeat, do not, ignore the black or Hispanic community. Visit Churches, Mosques and Temples. Visit as much and as often as possible – half the battle is simply showing up. Get on as many local black, Hispanic, urban, rural, suburban, exurban (and of course Conservative) radio stations for interviews as you can from now until Election Day.

          [2] The VA media is as liberal as they come. Do not, under any circumstances take positive mention today as any form of indication of how they’ll treat you tomorrow. They will oppose you, they will come after your family and friends and they will blow any gaffes of yours wildly out proportion to help the Democratic candidate. Have a media response team ready to wargame the coverage of events as they happen and keep your campaign one step ahead of the curve.
          Hold regular press conferences to inform the public and to forcefully correct the record when distorted. Face every problem or so-called controversy head-on. Record every interaction with the Press and every interview and upload as soon as possible.

          [3] Be brave. Do not be afraid to offend – the surest path to failure is that which seeks to please everyone. Figure out now who it is you can please/those you can convince and those that you cannot please by standing on principle … and write off the latter. Focus instead individuals instead of groups i.e. teachers instead of teachers’ unions. Republicans want a fighter – they’re hungering for one. They want a person who stands on principle no matter the hue and cry. They’ll not only crawl through fields of broken glass to vote for you, more importantly they’ll market you to their friends, families and colleagues. That’s how you build a winning coalition.

          [4] Be at the forefront of recruiting Republican candidates for every office on the ballot and campaigning together with them. The healthier the GOP brand, and the more enthusiastic the base, the healthier your campaign. Encourage the GOP VA House of Delegates and Senate leadership to independently come up with agendas addressing the major issues as perceived by every voter demographic – not the issues we’re comfortable with.

          [5] Know the ins and outs of every one of the major issues i.e. start reading now, get people from every think tank that can help and get it down pat. Educate Virginians. Have your staff come up with multimedia presentations featuring yourself and other experts (incl. Nobel Laureates if you can) on solutions, on how they’ll work and why they’ll work and upload them on YouTube, LiveLeak, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.

          [6] Take the debates seriously. Practice, practice, practice. And when its time to face your opponent, do not pull your punches. Hit and hit hard. If you need coaching from professionals to establish a more convincing debating style, do so and let it sink in. Do not underestimate the importance of something as mundane seeming as getting the cadences right.

          Substance and style Mr. McDonnell. It’s important that you establish the perception with Virginians of all colors and creeds that you’re their Governor in waiting.

          Good luck.

          • smagar

            ..especially the part about videotaping every interview you give them.

            When they protest, saying “Hey, don’t you trust us?”, smile at them and say “After what I saw you do to Sarah Palin, not in a million years!”

          • itrytobenice

            I’d like to bottle you up and distribute you. As a matter of fact, I’d force feed you (into them) if I could.

          • Martin Knight
      • its_a_right_wing_thing

        Last year PE county passed a “get tough” immigration stance and guess who opposed it? It was really made more controversial than it actually was-i.e. to enforce or not enforce the law. Immigration is the second reason VA and the rest of the conservative South is changing. Latinos have shown they will vote Democratic.

        One poster noted to me in the past on my threads that “they live as conservatives, but vote as liberals” I’d like to disagree. There is nothing conservative about them. Should they be conservative because of their Catholic upbringing? Sure, but that doesn’t stop the Northeast Democrats in R.I, NY, NJ, MA or CT from ALWAYS going blue or Catholics like Tom Dashle, Harry Reid, Pelosi, or Tom Harkin from ALWAYS voting against Pro Life issues. Its all BS.

        • Scope

          N/T

          • its_a_right_wing_thing

            I was simply taking what I had heard from friends and no one ever stepped in and said the opposite. However, that doesn’t change anything about Reid. If anything shouldnt he be MORE conservative since he is Mormon?

            Replace Reid with Chris Dodd and Patrick Leahy-VT both of whom I know are liberal Catholics.

            Also can anyone from NV answer me this question? How do you get one Senator so liberal in Reid and one so conservative in Ensign in the same state? I assume Sin City really is just that and its a liberal bastion but still, shouldnt the rest of rural NV be like any rural place in any other state? Cities are the blame. Seriously we need more countryside/folk.

    • Scope

      It is very well known that Sabato will get in front of the camera anywhere and anytime he can. He almost wet himself when H. Clintn came to town.

      • JustLeaveMeAlone

        on his head, that is.

      • phxg

        The GOP / Republicans / Voters / who ever on the right are being defined and packaged by the left and their talking heads.

        Sabato and his crystal ball isn;t so perfect and certainly not of enough clarity to predict what conservatives can do because he is a liberal. However, he is right in that respect if the national GOP and the elected leadership continue this moderate approach to conservatism. After all, a liberal knows a liberal when he sees one.

  • AceInTX

    Leading up to the 2008 elections, I think we all recognized that our party needed to make some changes to the way we do things.

    This is what burns my ample rear end!…it’s more what you are doing than how you do it that is causing problems for the party!

    I

  • http://www.fredmaidment.com Fred Maidment

    We spend so much time fighting social issues (which aren’t really a proper area for government, anyway) that we lose when talking about economics and individual liberty.

    Liberals will never vote for Republicans. They’re programmed to vote Democrat, Green or Socialist. They are a lost cause.

    The area to focus on is the moderates. While some of these voters, when pressed, would rather vote for a liberal, many are open to the ideas of a conservative or libertarian candidate. They see wasteful government spending and are just as frustrated as we are; they see eminent domain abuse and are equally concerned; they see unreasonable restrictions on speech, religion and other rights and become upset.

    But liberal politicians soothe these fears by telling them Republicans will hurt them socially by banning gay marriage, abortion or some other issue that should be on the fringes of our political landscape, not one of the central planks.

    It is the same reason why Libertarians (big “L”) cannot gain many votes: Their staunch position on drug laws, foreign policy and other areas can be demogogued with a majority of voters, even though most voters would probably agree with many Libertarian Party positions.

    It would be nice to overturn Roe v. Wade and return the issue to the states. It would be a positive step to reverse the policy of Affirmative Action. It would be nice to get some of other social issues reversed or at least in a more realistic place. But these issues are far less important than restoring sanity to our government balance sheet, Constitutional rights, our foreign policy, education and elsewhere.

    If we focus on the issues that matter most, maybe we can restore confidence in the Conservative position in other areas.

    • Martin Knight

      … At least not in numbers significant enough to matter much in most cases.

      More here

  • DONTREADONME

    Remember that you have to fire up the Conservative Base in this state to overwhelm NOVA. You will need a strong turnout in PWC, if you can fire up the Conservative base not the liberals or what they call the so-called moderates you will take VA. Three votes from PWC for you in ’09; VA is heading for some real trouble if we continue down the rabbit hole of the liberal in fiscal conservatives clothing. VA’s budget is in the RED, and the state turned blue, Gee I wonder why?

    • DONTREADONME

      Do not listen to this other posts on here, you need these voters fired up whether you like it or not. Ignore the SoCons, and you guarantee the rest of VA will not turn out. You need the rural counties to overpower Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Facquier and Richmond.

  • Praying

    Down in Lexington, VA, are two fairly conservative colleges – Virgina Military Institute and Washington & Lee University. My son is a freshman at W&L, and a member of the W&L College Republicans Group. Get the interest of the young people!

  • Jaded

    The game plan is quite simple for the youth. I have encouraged liberal youth at WWE parties etc. to look at the things like the blue book of Obama and of the religiousity of Obama (which kids with piercings in their noses) are not into they have an immediate and disgusted reaction to the Messiah! I do believe we can get to the youth…..they like to be individuals and when pointed out that they are just like everyone else they have a major aversion to that!

    I am just saying WE need to fight intelligently and with swiftness that the youngsters will never recognize! WE didn’t get where we are in our older lives by not learning the lessons of youth…..we can get to them and they are the one’s that will build this party back.

    For the Religious amongst you I would suggest you point out the adulation and almost false Christ of The One to turn them off! Kids are fun to play with :-)

  • DGaines

    someone who connects with them. (see the last election) So find a way to connect with them. i.e. Form a Young Americans task force or something and enlist the hippest, coolest young republicans and conservative leaning independants you can find to “advise” your campaign on the issues important to young voters.

    Of course use lots of technology and feature them in ads as well and take them seriously – don’t just pay them the lip service that older people often give to the young. They will be able to tell.

    Each demographic has a connection point that you can find and use to communicate. Identify what those connection points are and make them happen. It sounds like you have begun the process with hispanics so you at least have a good idea what to do but keep it up and I hope Republican candidates will learn from what you do right.

    Keep changing the marketing not the message!