One of my very first political clients had no idea what she believed in, but she knew she was a conservative. It was about 20 years ago and I was new enough in political consulting that I’d take whatever clients I could get. The woman was a first-time candidate running for an office with enough prominence that she was going to be interviewed by a local TV news crew. She was terrified, and she became my client because she needed someone to help her prepare and then to run her campaign.
I did a mock interview in front of a video camera and tried tossing her softballs in the beginning just to get her comfortable. I just asked her to tell me what she was in favor of — what she believed in.
“Well, I’m a conservative,” she said confidently.
“What does that mean? What do you believe in?” I asked.
“Well … I’m a conservative. I believe in … well … conservative things. … So I’m … conservative.”
Things went downhill from there. Keep Reading