Politics is an interesting game. A politician plays a constant battle of persuasion with his peers and constituency. A politician’s most important trait is being an effective communicator. It is a necessary skill. Sometimes it’s not what you say but how you say it. They have to be storytellers. They have to be advocates. They have to be stand-up people. America today confronts its democratic core. Where is the politician you might vote for and donate to? There is an underground and a curious interest in the America of yesteryear. It is racism, and sexism reframed and reconsidered. Rights are challenged. Laws change i.e., abortion and the banning of books.
The politician is always on. History can be revealing; something that you did as a teen and as a young person can come to haunt you in any campaign. Ask Hershel Walker of Georgia, a Republican candidate for the U. S. Senate. He speaks on fatherhood being a problem in the Black community, and then his neglected son appears, and the abortion he paid for comes forth. And his argument for Black men taking care of their children gets very real in his very own face as he admits he knows little about politics other than Donald Trump putting his arms around the football player. The Georgia contest is between the football player and Democratic minister Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock. They tied in the polls.
Darren Bailey, Republican Illinois governor candidate, said that the slaves were treated well and that women should not have abortions under any circumstance, including rape and incest. He’s a farmer from downstate with a southern twang accent, sounding like a white racist of yesterday who might come calling in a white sheet with a rope to hang somebody from a tree. If it sounds like looks like a duck, then it must be a duck, as Bailey plays attack politics that is racist at the core.
The politician of today runs a twofold campaign. The first and most important thing is the campaign. This is the politician stage, where promises are made, and the politician tells of his dream, goals, and how he will make the world a better place.
I call this the dreamy stage of the political process. This is the stage of persuasion where he addresses and appeals to the public and the press. And now we add yet another layer to the politico go-getter, and social media is looking for the magic algorithms.
This is the space where Donald Trump dominated and where the political process of messaging and imaging is critical. How does the politician look, and what does he do? What restaurant does he visit? What car does he drive? What sports game does he attend? What do his children do? How does he relate? Is he married? This is the space where the politician becomes relatable and also the space where the public responds directly with comments.
Social media has moved from being fun to a well-tuned machine. It is a powerful media with no regulation, so anything goes. This is the logical place where politicians appeal to the younger vote, that is, the one who tends not to vote because of relevancy. TV commercials provide a steady stream of quick views of the candidate and have proven to be the most effective medium for the candidate as they dominate the broadcast airwaves.
All politicos play the “running for office” game on the campaign stage, where he sets themselves apart from their opponents. The pundits write and comment and judge, and they, too, enjoy the art of persuasion. Now, what does that political person do after the election? Does he live up to the election, the promise, and the image, or does he assume power and forget about the campaign promises until the next time, the next election? This is where the game of politics moves from the ultimate polite state to the stage of promise to the moment of power. This is where the rubber meets the road. This is beyond the vote and we are now at the stage of running the government. How will you vote? What will you bring forth? Will you bring the bacon back home, or is the political garble full of promise without fulfillment? How many times and how much have we seen this picture?
The Promise Versus the Reality…
If I were your politician, what would you do? How do you represent? These are the stages of the political process as we begin to vote, as the world changes, and as the world turns.
Every politician faces on-the-job training. No one can predict the future or what will happen in his term. Presidents cannot predict wars and world crises. Who could have predicted the pandemic of 2021? So how do you solve the problems at hand, the fake ones, and the real ones? How does the news categorize and portray the political one as he assumes office for the Commonwealth? How does the public detect the lie and the truth from the elected one?
Politics is a dirty game and a noble one at the same time. The test is the candidate versus the office holder. There is fake news, but there are also fake politicians. They all walk on eggs and provide fake images as candidates.
Food for thought as we consider the candidates. In America, there is a revolution every election. And here we go again. Politics matters. Wake up, and be clear about whom you vote for.
