Good talk, bad talk.
I thought I had a pretty good talk with the Hughes County Republican Group today on weblogs. I was nervous, because I haven’t done any public speaking in months, so this was good for me. Heck, I haven’t “called an auction sale” in about a year now, so I need public speaking to keep in practice.
Even more promising, I think everyone took home my handouts. That’s a pretty good gauge if you stink. You stink, the handouts stay. You make it passably interesting, and they’ll at least take your handouts to the office or home before they throw them away. So, I think I at least got a “C” on this effort.
What I provided was an extensive list of the South Dakota blogs for their review with a brief little write up on each. And I provided a page on terminology, and a couple of articles on South Dakota blogging. I originally had a handout ready that was 30 pages plus, but I edited myself down to about 10 or so.
I got through my disjointed discussion (yeah, ok, I could have been more organized), and had an outstanding Q&A session. One of the parting questions, which I’ve heard on more than one occasion, inevitably was “Don’t you worry about giving away too much good information to the Democrats?”
Well, I’m not sure how to answer that concern. What I talk about is no-brainer stuff, ridiculously apparent, or anyone can find it in a campaign manual. The only thing is that I might include an illustrative anecdote or tell a story that goes along with it.
On the occasion or two I did suggest a thing or two to the Dems, I was publicly castigated for it, and it was noted that I should not be so arrogant to presume to tell Democrats to be more like Republicans. And I thought I was trying to suggest they not be stupid about running elections, party be damned. (Silly me).
So, is it an offense to my party for my wanting politics to be better? Am I giving anything away to suggest people read the Art of War or The Campaign Manager? Or should they go learn that stuff in a stuffy, boring campaign seminar instead?
Beats me. But don’t worry. I still keep a few tricks up my sleeve for myself.
Hey, I see we have another potential candidate that I’ve added to the 2006 candidate Wiki. From Celeste Calvitto’s Article in the Rapid City Journal today:
Even more promising, I think everyone took home my handouts. That’s a pretty good gauge if you stink. You stink, the handouts stay. You make it passably interesting, and they’ll at least take your handouts to the office or home before they throw them away. So, I think I at least got a “C” on this effort.
What I provided was an extensive list of the South Dakota blogs for their review with a brief little write up on each. And I provided a page on terminology, and a couple of articles on South Dakota blogging. I originally had a handout ready that was 30 pages plus, but I edited myself down to about 10 or so.
I got through my disjointed discussion (yeah, ok, I could have been more organized), and had an outstanding Q&A session. One of the parting questions, which I’ve heard on more than one occasion, inevitably was “Don’t you worry about giving away too much good information to the Democrats?”
Well, I’m not sure how to answer that concern. What I talk about is no-brainer stuff, ridiculously apparent, or anyone can find it in a campaign manual. The only thing is that I might include an illustrative anecdote or tell a story that goes along with it.
On the occasion or two I did suggest a thing or two to the Dems, I was publicly castigated for it, and it was noted that I should not be so arrogant to presume to tell Democrats to be more like Republicans. And I thought I was trying to suggest they not be stupid about running elections, party be damned. (Silly me).
So, is it an offense to my party for my wanting politics to be better? Am I giving anything away to suggest people read the Art of War or The Campaign Manager? Or should they go learn that stuff in a stuffy, boring campaign seminar instead?
Beats me. But don’t worry. I still keep a few tricks up my sleeve for myself.
Hey, I see we have another potential candidate that I’ve added to the 2006 candidate Wiki. From Celeste Calvitto’s Article in the Rapid City Journal today:
District 35 updateAlthough I scour the newspapers and media, if someone sees a candidate I missed, or has a hot insider tip, post it on the Wiki.
A Rapid Valley resident and active member of the Pennington County Republican Party says she is thinking about running for Rep. Alice McCoy’s District 35 House seat next year.
Stacey Wollman, executive director of Crisis Pregnancy Center in Rapid City and the business manager of a conservative Web site, Dakota Voice, is discussing the idea with family and friends.
“I’m seriously considering a run, but I need to make sure that if elected, I can balance family life with the responsibility of being a legislator,” Wollman said.
McCoy will be term-limited in 2006 and may challenge Sen. Bill Napoli in a Republican primary in District 35.
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