 |
Campaigns, Crises and Communication: Crisis Management in Congressional Campaigns
| |
| | Unformatted Document Text:
Garrett 28
and the job of the team has been done well, then we’re anticipating the crises, we’ve got the money put away to respond.
22
However, even subjects adopting the “constant crisis” view concede that some situations
are more severe than others. Another Democratic pollster nicely summarized this sentiment in
defining campaign crises:
Well, the truth is, almost everyday there’s something that someone is calling a crisis because…everybody worries that anything you do or don’t do right could be that which will eventually lead to enough of a vote loss to lose the election, if not necessarily a substantial vote loss. So what we say to this reporter today, what are we going to say tomorrow, and even that little stuff feels like it’s a crisis. What the ad is going to say, does it have the right picture? Does it have the right words? Campaigns are almost constantly, when they’re engaged, are almost constantly in crisis mode, or so it seems. Now having said that, clearly, there is a difference in the level of crisis that exists when, on the one hand, you’re trying to worry about do you use the words “tax breaks” or “tax cuts” when you respond to the reporter or do you get a fact wrong when you respond to the reporter on the one hand, versus some discovery that you killed your mother with an ax, and that’s being revealed for the first time on the evening news. I mean, that’s a different level of crisis.
23
Furthermore, when asked about the “constant crisis” view in informal probe questions,
many political professionals quickly dismissed the idea that crises never occur.
Although there is broad agreement exhibited in the “organizational” frame that
campaigns should take measures to be prepared for potential vulnerabilities, political
professionals argue that the stakes are so high in House and Senate campaigns, modern
campaigns are so contentious and because people are human, crises will always occur,
despite the best planning.
22
Consultant 22 telephone interview with author [cons22and23-81303: 317 - 328].
23
Consultant 20, personal interview with author, 30 July 2003. Washington, DC. [cons20-73003: 109 - 133].
|
| | Authors: Garrett, R. Sam. |
|
| |
|
|
Garrett 28
and the job of the team has been done well, then we’re anticipating the crises,
we’ve got the money put away to respond.
22
However, even subjects adopting the “constant crisis” view concede that some situations
are more severe than others. Another Democratic pollster nicely summarized this sentiment in
defining campaign crises:
Well, the truth is, almost everyday there’s something that someone is calling a
crisis because…everybody worries that anything you do or don’t do right could
be that which will eventually lead to enough of a vote loss to lose the election, if
not necessarily a substantial vote loss. So what we say to this reporter today,
what are we going to say tomorrow, and even that little stuff feels like it’s a
crisis. What the ad is going to say, does it have the right picture? Does it have
the right words? Campaigns are almost constantly, when they’re engaged, are
almost constantly in crisis mode, or so it seems. Now having said that, clearly,
there is a difference in the level of crisis that exists when, on the one hand, you’re
trying to worry about do you use the words “tax breaks” or “tax cuts” when you
respond to the reporter or do you get a fact wrong when you respond to the
reporter on the one hand, versus some discovery that you killed your mother with
an ax, and that’s being revealed for the first time on the evening news. I mean,
that’s a different level of crisis.
23
Furthermore, when asked about the “constant crisis” view in informal probe questions,
many political professionals quickly dismissed the idea that crises never occur.
Although there is broad agreement exhibited in the “organizational” frame that
campaigns should take measures to be prepared for potential vulnerabilities, political
professionals argue that the stakes are so high in House and Senate campaigns, modern
campaigns are so contentious and because people are human, crises will always occur,
despite the best planning.
22
Consultant 22 telephone interview with author [cons22and23-81303: 317 - 328].
23
Consultant 20, personal interview with author, 30 July 2003. Washington, DC. [cons20-73003: 109 - 133].
|
|
 Convention | | All Academic Convention makes running your annual conference simple and cost effective. It is your online solution for abstract management, peer review, and scheduling for your annual meeting or convention. | | Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. | | Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! | | Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! | | Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. | | Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! | | Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! | | Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
