What CT's Democratic Gubernatorial candidates can learn from Gov. Schweitzer of Montana

by: Larkspur

Mon Jun 01, 2009 at 02:15:28 AM EDT

I first heard about the good governor of Montana in 2004 from my favorite progressive journalist, nationally syndicated columnist, blogger, and cable TV guest commentator, David Sirota.  David's article in The Washington Monthly titled "Top Billings" was written in the wake of John Kerry's Presidential loss to give Democrats hope and ideas on how to defeat Republican and Right Wing strategies.  Sirota, who served as senior strategist on Schweitzer's successful 2004 gubernatorial campaign, used Schweitzer's campaign as a model that Democratic candidates should study.  

While Connecticut is labeled a "blue" state by the national media because it has voted Democratic in the last handful of Presidential elections and because its state legislature is controlled by Democrats, it has a Republican governor and one with an extraordinarily high popularity.  Just like in 2006, Gov. Rell will not face a primary opponent, so her public image will not be marred by a brutal battle and she will have plenty of time to plan for the general election.  The Democratic gubernatorial candidates, on the otherhand, will face-off in a tough primary battle in 2010.

So what should CT's Democratic Gubernatorial candidates learn from Gov. Schweitzer of Montana?

Another  major difference between Schweitzer and Connecticut's gubernatorial candidates is that the incumbant Republican governor, also a woman, decided not to run for reelection due to a local scandal, but the Republicans were still strong in Montana and along with Right Wing radio shock jocks had successfully smeared Democrats for decades.  This smear campaign was so successful that Democrats hadn't held the governorship, any other major state office, nor the legislature in 16-20 years.

The only other major difference between Schweitzer/Montana Democrats and Connecticut's is that Montana Democrats had spent about a decade rebuilding and with little or no help from the corporate-centric Washington Beltway Democrats.  Montana Democrats rebuilt their party to suit the ideas and values of their state.  Connecticut Democrats have controlled the state legislature for a long time and the problem with that is it builds a sclerosis of the imagination and conflict-averse nature in our elected officials.  Long-time elected Connecticut Democrats suffer from a deep sense of complacency because elected Democrats are more concerned with keeping their fiefdoms  or staying in power as opposed to boldly and smartly taking chances that are risky but worth the effort.

So how did Schweitzer overcome the odds and a nearly 2 decade smear campaign against Democrats to win the governorship and help fellow Democrats take 4 out of 5 statewide offices and the state senate in 2004?  

First, Brian Schweitzer has a lot of natural talent as an populist politician and understood or learned quickly how to appeal to his fellow Montanans.  He's a grandson of a Montana homesteader and at a burly 6-foot-two, clad often in denim, a guilded silver belt buckle, a bolo tie, and followed by his trusty dog Jag, he looks like an authentic Western rancher.  Unlike George W. Bush, he worked his way through college mopping floors at sororities, and got a master's degree in soil science from Montana State.  After returning from 8 years working on irrigation projects in the Sahara Desert, he built a farming and ranching business from scratch.

When he decided to go into politics, Schweitzer began by doing an amateur study of right wing radio and their strategies.  He learned to use those strategies to promote progressive and economic populist views.  With that study and his knowledge of Montana values and issues, he developed a 3 prong strategy:

1. casted himself as an outsider and took advantage of the public dissatisfaction with how Republican control of all branches of Montana's government had not made life better for ordinary citizens,
2. rallied small business to his side by opposing deals, especially taxation deals, Republicans had cut in Washington D.C. and at the state capital in favor of large or out-of-state corporations against local entrepreneurs, and
3. he figured out how to win over a solidly Republican voting block - hunters and fishermen - by neutralizing the gun issue AND opposing Republican efforts to restrict land and stream access by privatizing or selling off state parks and restrict the state's Stream Access Law, which required private land owners to allow non-commercial fishermen to fish on streams crossing through their property.  Even the libertarian-leaning Montanas who fish and hunt can join with left-leaning environmentalists by supporting good government stewardship of public lands.

Since Connecticut Democrats control the state legislature and all 3 of the Democratic gubernatorial candidates are either serving or have recently served in state government, it will be ridiculous for them to cast themselves as outsiders.  What they need to do is SHOW Connecticut's voters how Gov. Rell's policies, decisions, and actions/lack of actions have harmed them.  Another clue for Connecticut's Democratic gubernatorial candidates from Schweitzer comes from a talk he gave at David Sirota's book signing in Washington D.C. in 2006.  When Democrats govern well, voters will elect/reelect them.  What our Democratic leaders need to do is SHOW how the policies and laws they passed have helped improve ordinary citizen's lives.  When I mean SHOW I mean show evidence of the affects of those policies/laws.  Don't TELL, SHOW!!  When Schweitzer was running for the US Senate seat, one of the events he did was hire armed guards to spill a suitcase full of cash on the floor of the rotunda of the state capital to illustrate how much out-of-state corporate money his opponent was receiving from Big Money interests.  These hyperbolic or bold stunts/events send clear signals to your audience.  Boldness is one of the traits most lacking by previous Connecticut Democratic gubernatorial candidates.

The second and third prongs of Schweitzer's Montana strategy can be duplicated by Connecticut's gubernatorial candidates.  Schweitzer didn't fixate on defending the need to tax.  No one likes paying taxes but what really angered Montana's buisnesses were the large or out-of-state corporations who got tax breaks that small businesses did not get.  Schweitzer turned the Right Wing anti-tax meme into a big corporations should pay their fair share of taxes and not shove the burden onto small business and workers meme.  He also brought in Education into this discussion by showing how the Republican controlled state government was hurting small business development by letting tuitions at Montana's colleges become among the highest in the nation.

In mid-April 2009, The Huffington Post reported and printed a link to the 2008 US Senate report that documented that the United States was losing $100 billion a year to off-shore tax havens.  The U.S. Public Interest Research Group broke down that report to  a state-by-state cost to taxpayers of tax revenue lost to "shell companies and sham headquarters" report. According to the US PIRG report, Connecticut is losing just under $2 billion a year to off-shore tax havens.  This loss translates into higher taxes for the rest of us and what angers voters more than paying higher taxes is paying higher taxes because fat cats and big corporations won't pay their fair share.  Tax fairness needs to become the mantra of the Democrats.

While the gun issue is not as big in Connecticut as it is in Montana, hunters and fisherman in Connecticut want their streams and public hunting grounds available and toxic free just like tourists and environmentalists.

I'm not sure what the major voting block is in the state of Connecticut, but Schweitzer barnstormed the state of Montana as an old fashioned economic populist to listen to and discuss what voters were concerned about.  And as I mentioned before, he did not just meet and greet fellow Democrats or politica junkies.  He went to places were the low-info voters gathered.  Our Connecticut Democratic gubernatorial candidates need to barnstorm Connecticut and not just go where Democrats or political junkes hang out but visit places where the low-info voter goes.  In his talk at Sirota's 2006 book signing, Schweitzer said that it is 15% of the voting electorate, the low-info voters, who put you over the top to win.  Right now Gov. Rell has a monopoly on those low-info voters.  The Connecticut Democratic gubernatorial candidates need to break that monopoly.  It will take a lot of effort and more importantly wit to crack that monopoly.  Getting an innovative PR strategist will be key to helping Connecticut's Democratic gubernatorial candidate against Gov. Rell.

There's just a few more points to make and reempahsize some already given.  Based upon articles and books by David Sirota and Matt Singer's 2005 article, The Progressive Frontier, for "In These Times," Gov. Schweitzer's 2004 victory should teach Connecticut's gubernatorial candidates:

1. Fight for progressive values and ideas! Only robber barons love bilking the public and shipping jobs overseas. Progressive values promote healthy families, communities, and fair business values.
2. Make your points colorfully! Don't ever confuse common sense with mealy-mouthing or bipartisanship with timidity. Speak plainly and boldly about values shared by voters and that shaped you.  And more often than not, Show!  Don't tell.  And Never ever whine.
3. Fight everywhere! Schweitzer ... campaigned statewide, winning two counties typically lost by Democrats and narrowing the margin in dozens of others.  Gov. Rell's popularity is in the stratosphere.  That is a huge hurdle to overcome, but she has not been smartly and boldly challenged.
4. Fight back! Schweitzer cultivated a "don't-push-me-around" Democrat image["Dems look to Big Sky", Denver Post, Nov. 26, 2006].  When Schweitzer got "Swift Boated," his campaign staffers hit back fast and hard.  Voters may not like "dirty" campaigns but they dislike wimps more than aggressive fighters.  Voters want someone who will fight for them and if the candidate can not defend him/herself, than voters won't have confidence that the candidate will fight for them.  But fight back with a bit of humor and never ever whine about unfair attacks.   Offense is the best defense.
5. Actions speak louder than words! Unlike other Democrats who revel in meta-analysis or theorizing over values, Gov. Schweitzer simply did it. Rather than saying he was a real Montanan, he talked about his homesteading ancestors.  Rather than whine about how much corporate cash his opponent was getting, he staged a creative stunt that SHOWED how much money his opponent received from Big Money Interests, who acted as parasites on Montanans.  Be bold, witty and plain-speaking!

FYI, I'll be attending the JJB dinner tonight.  Anyone else going?