Borg Wet Cigar:Both parties are worn down and compromised and have no genuine directionJune 28 2007
(1)The goal would be to persuade voters to vote for Bloomberg for President.
Sub-goals include:
[A] -- attacking the two party system in such a fashion as to show that it has degenerated into uselessness
[B] -- giving substance to his "third leg" ideology so that people can feel that he is not just a hyped up "anti-vote". Citing genuine stances and actions taken by him as Mayor.
[C] -- of course, informing the voter as much about Bloomberg as possible
(2)Target Audience:
[A] -- People who feel social conservatives intrude too much with government in people's lives and shouldn't make moral decisions (Bloomberg is for same sex marriages and is pro-choice) This can be an assertion that with a certain expansion of government size that it becomes a moral arbiter, like a Church-State of some sort, and many people may be turned off by this. It would be a great point to capitalize on.
[B] -- People who feel the Federal government has become too big and intrusive and inefficient (Bloomberg is for less government and making a small government work more efficiently) This can bea fine point as well, for those who say that a smaller government means that you are left out in the cold. He does not say that everyone should do without any help, but government should be made to work with less bloat, so this can be a more mdoerate appraoch between big voernment liberals who say that we need government to help people and small governemnt conservatives that say we need less bloat and more efficiency. This stance can cross ideological lines and make a blurr, and thus a hybrid ideology by taking a point from each side, as Bloomberg states is non-partisan.
[C] -- people who feel that ideological warfare has become superficial as gang colors with no genuine results in site (Bloomberg has said that politicians hold on to defending their side instead of achieving genuine results and says that his ideas are not owned by the Republicans or Democrats)
(3)Market Strategy
Quote from Bloomberg on political parties:
There's nothing wrong with belonging to a political party - about two-thirds of us do. But joining a party doesn't mean you should stop thinking for yourself! Neither party has God on it's side, a monopoly on good ideas, or a lock on any single fiscal, social, or moral philosophy. And anyone who says their party does, and the other party doesn't, is either a fraud or just not a good student of history.
Here he warns that there is a danger of losing your autonomy by getting to
entrenched with party identity and warns that we should not make angels
or devils out of either political party. This could be construed by calling a
truce to the notion that one party much be vanquished and the other is
infalliable. Being an indepedent, he can assert that he has no allegience to
high ranks and will not arbitrarily demonize a good platform because it is
not on his ideological side. He also seems to say that your party affiliation
should be a SUBSET of your ideology, not the other way around. This
would imply that you have a meaningless label (political party) while any
genuine stances on issues or buried under the affiliation.
Quote on getting the support of the masses:
My experience has been that if you have the facts on your side, and you've taken a common sense approach - even if you must admit you're not sure it will work, even if you have to tweak it as you go along, and particularly if you accept input from others - well, pretty soon, people will be lining up to join you because they'll respect your willingness to try and your openness as to the risks. But it's up to you to have the courage to go out on that limb first.
Here he is citing experience. He implies that politicians put their vision ABOVE the facts. And he also asserts the importance of listening to others.
Quote on Partisan thinking:
But today, in Washington, instead of using data to make decisions and manage, the data is manipulated to justify ideological positions.
Here is a stance that says that politicians have reality in front of their face but they choose to alter it to support a previous assertion. This can be a warning that when power in conentrated at a higher level, that partisan politics develop and the interests of the people are ignored.
Quote on partisan government fiscal policy:
Too often, failing government agencies get bigger budgets, while successful agencies have their budgets cut - because government caters to those screaming the loudest, regardless of what they're screaming about. In business, it's exactly the opposite! You invest more in the most successful departments, and less in those that aren't performing.
This is a big point. Here he can cite a blatant example where Washington is backwards and partisan politics is about yelling for your side. Here he can assert that he is NOT part of the traditional Washington politicians and running as an independent that he will not be a compromised bureaucrat pushing government bloat and will listen to logic instead of who yells the loudest.
Quote on action taken by him in eduation:
When we announced that we would end social promotion, when we pushed to lengthen the school day to provide extra help for struggling students, when we worked to expand the number of charter schools, when we cut the bureaucracy and re-directed that money into the classroom, - at each point, we were met with resistance from politicians and special interests. But in each case, we succeeded.
We even raised our teachers' salaries 43% - thereby winning union support and cooperation on critical issues, including a new program of merit pay for our principles. Change is hard, and I understand that. But you can't solve problems by wishing them away, or studying them to death, or deferring to ideological advocacy groups.
He cites here action previously taken by him and yet another instance where ideology is put over reality. He cited specifics that he has done in the education system and cites the flaws of previous actions taken, such as "studying them to death".
Quote on role of government:
But we learned a lesson from the 1970s: when you stop investing in the future, you begin a downward spiral - and we refused to let that happen. So we made the hard decisions to cut the budget without gutting it agencies do more with less
Again, a compromise between the small government conservatives and big government liberals. Making government work wiht less size. This "third leg" can be a new refreshing stance for people that feel they have to choose between drip dry conservatism and bleeding heart liberalism. Again he can promote himself as a new choice.
Quote on broad view of government inefficiency:
They just keep expanding programs and services and helping themselves to more and more pork barrel grants. instant gratification
This cites good old fashioned government bloat. Here he is asserting that there is something inherently flawed with the power structure in Washington. This can be another great point for people that feel they are fed up with conventional politicians, and that Bloomberg is a new choice.
Quote on non-partisanship:
We can't wait for Washington to come riding to the rescue. We've got to take the bull by the horns and do it ourselves. That means embracing pragmatism over partisanship, ideas over ideology, and results over rhetoric.
Here he cites that we need not be depedent on Washington. This is a libertarian stance of self sufficiency. He can campaign that he is pushing for substance to the political process and true thinking instead of arbitrarily holding on to your political side like a savage territory struggle.
(4)Logos and Name
Bloomberg: True Choice
Don't be a late "bloom-er"! Vote now for Mike!
Bloomberg: Send a message
(5)Planned Media Use
I would say at least half on the internet, to show that he is dynamic and innovative and it being an interactive medium and more grass roots. I would say five percent for billboards, fifteen for newspapers, fifteen TV and fifteen magazines.
(6) 30 second spot:
Mike Bloomberg wants your vote. He is not a Republican or Democrat, and wants you to be as independent as his party affiliation is. He has common sense non-partisan solutions to our problems such as tax cuts and reduction in government, but wants our government to WORK for the people; not the other way around. Leaving no one alone, he has improved education by getting rid of social promtoion and increasing teachers salaries. Mike Bloomberg has reached across party lines and wants you to do the same. Let's tell the two party system in Washington that no one can copywright America! Bloomberg, and YOUR side; not on Washington's!!
Borg Wet Cigar:Both parties are worn down and compromised and have no genuine direction