Until now, I have resisted advertising on this blog. But I just discovered a device I was told would make political campaigning easier. It is called the \u201cTwistcon.\u201d And it comes with its own avatar, called \u201cSavvy.\u201d Recently, I put it to the test. What follow is my dialogue with Savvy.<\/p>\n
Savvy<\/em>: Are you running for office? At this point, I stopped my test. For the first time I realized why the remaining candidates in the current presidential campaign have called an opponent a liar. Maybe Savvy is right about considering another profession. With that in mind, I decided to make Twistcon available for free to any candidate looking for campaign advice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Until now, I have resisted advertising on this blog. But I just discovered a device I was told would make political campaigning easier. It is called the \u201cTwistcon.\u201d And it comes with its own avatar, called \u201cSavvy.\u201d Recently, I put it to the test. What follow is my dialogue with Savvy. Savvy: Are you running […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-domesticissues"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3UqUK-7J","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=479"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":481,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/479\/revisions\/481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aculpableinnocence.com\/home5\/aculpabl\/anthony_blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMe<\/em>: Yes (I lied, but she can\u2019t see me)
\nSavvy<\/em>: Do you have a question for me?
\nMe<\/em>: Yes. Recently, I was asked how I would fight ISIS. How should I respond?
\nSavvy<\/em>: \u201cCarpet bomb Raqqa.\u201d Your answer shows strength and resolve. It taps into the public fear of terrorists invading the homeland.
\nMe<\/em>: Thanks Savvy. How should I respond to economic questions like about a shrinking middle class?
\nSavvy<\/em>: It depends upon whether you are a democrat or a republican. If a democrat, blame the rich and \u201ctrickle down\u201d economics. If a republican, blame the democrat in the White House for high taxes on \u201cjob creators\u201d and regulations that punish small businesses.
\nMe<\/em>: But aren\u2019t those answers too simplistic? I mean, President Reagan left office over twenty years ago and the current President isn\u2019t responsible for our current tax structure. Over time many politicians have created that structure.
\nSavvy<\/em>: Then blame the establishment. Nobody really knows who \u201cthey\u201d are. That way you build your case as an \u201coutsider.\u201d Never bring up the word \u201cpolitician.\u201d It connotes bad behavior.
\nMe<\/em>: Wow! I\u2019m beginning to really appreciate your wisdom.
\nSavvy<\/em>: Thanks. My code is based upon knowledge gained from many political operatives, campaign managers, pollsters, media pundits and the like.
\nMe<\/em>: Impressive. But I\u2019m really worried about my positions on things like abortion, religious rights, race relations, and, you know, things like that\u2014those messy ideological questions.
\nSavvy<\/em>: As a general rule, you should always tailor your answer to your audience. Tell them what they want to hear. But, be careful about being caught on tape.
\nMe<\/em>: What if the media is there with their cameras and mikes?
\nSavvy<\/em>: Now you\u2019re getting to the real difficult part: the part that separates you from your opponents. You have to be prepared to answer these types of questions with set slogans\u2014scripted lines that repel follow-up questions but reveal little. For example, if you are a republican, you might say \u201cI believe in the right to life and would fight \u2018Roe vs. Wade.\u201d Of course, you can\u2019t fight the law, so nothing is really required of you. If you are a democrat, you say the opposite, \u201cI believe in a woman\u2019s right to choose and support \u2018Roe vs. Wade.\u201d Your constituency would expect nothing else from you. In either case, you avoid nuanced questions regarding rape, incest, teenage pregnancies and the like. Just keep repeating the same line. Responding to questions about race and religion are easier. Just say you believe in God and are against racial discrimination. If pressed on specific policies, answer with a long discourse about the importance of your faith in your life or about the black friends in your life or, better, the black families you\u2019ve helped or supported in some way or another. Name-drop if you can, quote the Bible, or inject a well-known saying of Martin Luther King. The real goal here is to avoid having your sincerity questioned by outlasting your questioner with a drawn-out answer.
\nMe<\/em>: You\u2019re really good at this.
\nSavvy<\/em>: Thanks. My program has been certified as \u201cStandard Political Practice.\u201d
\nMe<\/em>: I\u2019m really worried about personal attacks. How do I handle them?
\nSavvy<\/em>: It depends upon the nature of the attack. But, in general, you admit nothing and steer the questioner to your opponent\u2019s weaknesses.
\nMe<\/em>: How do I do that?
\nSavvy<\/em>: Guilt by association. It works every time. Maybe your opponent was seen in public with a white supremacist. Another approach: you can demand he\/she release correspondence or records of meetings. Make sure your demand is unreasonable. Even failure to respond will imply guilt.
\nMe<\/em>: I used to . . . well, on occasion, I would hire . . . you know, my marriage had some rocky times.
\nSavvy<\/em>: \u201cI never had sex with that woman\u201d works, as long as the other woman never comes forth. Better, unless there are pictures, you can say simply \u201cI love my wife and would never do anything to hurt her.\u201d Just make sure she stands at your side and looks supportive.
\nMe<\/em>: She hates me.
\nSavvy<\/em>: In that case, maybe you should consider another profession.
\nMe<\/em>: Ouch! Politics is really brutal.<\/p>\n