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Run the Other Way: Fixing the Two-Party System, One Campaign at a Timeby Bill Hillsman
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Bill Hillsman is simply, in the words of Slate.com, "the world's greatest political adman." With his groundbreaking consulting work on Paul Wellstone's senatorial, Jesse Ventura's gubernatorial, and Ralph Nader's presidential campaigns, he was the first to publicly challenge the conventional strategies of political campaigns, the inefficiency of campaign spending, the desultory, banal, and insulting political ads. As Hillsman says, "I don't believe you can annoy someone into voting for your candidate." Hillsman first rocked the political establishment during Wellstone's 1990 Senate bid, with witty, sharp political ads that had audiences glued to their television sets and talking about the commercials for weeks afterward. In the end, he helped Wellstone overcome a $7 million campaign spending disadvantage to win the election. And the risk taking continued when he ran Jesse Ventura's Reform Party gubernatorial and Ralph Nader's Green Party presidential campaigns. In one Nader ad, a child looks out at the viewer and says, "When I grow up, I want politicians to ignore me." In an ad from Ventura's campaign, a boy playing with a Jesse Ventura action figure ("New, from the Reform Party!") takes on Ventura's voice to growl, "I don't want your stupid money!" With bold and brilliant ads like these, Hillsman helped two underdog candidates become senator and governor, transformed Minnesota politics, and showed the country that it has viable and appealing options outside of the two major parties. Run the Other Way offers fascinating and disturbing insights into the shadowy, cronyistic world of political consulting: the grossly overpaid consultants, incompetent and inaccurate pollsters, fundraisers who take a dollar for every dollar they raise, and strategists who use negative advertising to intentionally keep people from voting. But it also gives us a from-the-trenches look at how Americans can turn the weapons trained on us back against the master propagandists, and in so doing revitalize our badly damaged democracy. Fleshing out his case with real-life stories from his involvement in numerous campaigns, Hillsman takes us behind the electioneering scenes of old Washington hands and trouble-making independents, including Ross Perot, Warren Beatty, John McCain, Arianna Huffington, and Colin Powell. An outsider with an insider's vantage point, Hillsman sees America at a crucial historical moment defined by the continuing decline of both major political parties and the rise of independent voters. Edgy, controversial, and often humorous, his political ads have energized voters and revolutionized election campaigning over the last fifteen years. This is a book for everyone who's ever run for office, thought about running for office, or voted for someone running for office. Run the Other Way investigates the many imperfections in the greatest system of government in the world and challenges all of us to make it better. Review:"Regardless of November tallies, the real winner of this year's presidential race will be 'Election Industry, Inc.,' says Hillman — voters and qualified candidates will lose out. While political reporters, pundits and professors often prescribe treatments for ailing democratic processes during an election year, Hillsman, a seasoned political marketer for such candidates as the late Paul Wellstone, Jesse Ventura and Ralph Nader, brings a unique and righteously outraged perspective to the mix. In this volume — part memoir, part campaign handbook — he attacks the den of Washington, D.C.-based political consultants and party officials ('an inside-the-Beltway collective of toadies, fakes, crooks, character assassins, racketeers, party apologists, false scientists, phony experts, self-aggrandizers, backscratchers, and backstabbers') and recalls his own strategies for promoting candidates and enfranchising voters. Third party challengers (or even outsider party members like Howard Dean and John McCain), Hillsman says, face incredible obstacles from the Republican and Democratic elite: an onslaught of 'toxic' political advertisements, character assassinations and sound-bite responses to real issues. Sometimes Hillsman's forceful prose, embellished with sardonic zingers, turns from entertaining to repetitive. For instance, after citing a poll of political professionals that revealed 37 percent of them thought it acceptable to use negative advertising to hold down voter turnout and focus on insult rather than on issues, he adds the coda: 'Political consultants think that's smart. I think it's despicable.' Ten pages later, he cites the same poll and repeats the coda almost word for word. Flaws aside, though, anyone who shares Hillsman's ire at the current state of electoral politics will enjoy this maverick tract and its wicked upbraiding of establishment campaigning." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Book News Annotation:A marketing communications and political and public affairs
consultant, Hillsman ran Paul Wellstone's Senate campaign. He
combines a memoir of his efforts with a guide to combating what he
calls the Election Industry, Inc. Among his topics are why good
people won't run for office, how to win without big money, learning
from commercial advertising, how negative advertising is used to
inhibit voter turnout, and the best use for political polls (buy them
by the roll).
Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Synopsis:Bill Hillsman has masterminded some of the most effective and innovative election campaigns of recent years. Hillsman first rocked the political world when he helped elect the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone in 1990 in one of the biggest political upsets in decades. He later shocked everyone by helping Jesse Ventura become governor in 1998. When he joined Ralph Nader during the 2000 election, his inventive campaign, created on a tiny budget, had the whole country talking and rethinking how we sell our politicians. Hillsman maintains that our current party-dominated political system works very well for everyone except two groups: candidates and voters. His ultimate goal is not just to revolutionize political campaigns, but to also end party politics as we know it. He believes that the days of the two-party political industry are gone, and that it is just a matter of time before a third-party president is elected. Given his unerring instincts, this is essential reading for everyone interested in the future of American politics. With a cast of characters that includes Colin Powell, Ross Perot, Donald Trump, and Warren Beatty, "The Two-Party System is Broke--Fix It! is an eye-opening and acutely funny book--an insider's expose written with an outsider's honesty. About the AuthorBill Hillsman is CEO and Chief Creative Officer of North Woods Advertising, a marketing communications and political and public affairs consulting company based in Minneapolis. His work for Paul Wellstone's U.S. Senate campaign won the 1990 Grand EFFIE, awarded by the American Marketing Association for the most effective marketing and advertising campaign of the year. His work for Jesse Ventura's gubernatorial campaign in 1998 and Ralph Nader's presidential campaign in 2000 received many more accolades. Bill has been named one of America's top 100 marketing people and one of the 50 media people in America who most influence our world. Hillsman's commentaries on marketing, advertising, and politics have appeared in the New York Times, NBC's Today show, National Public Radio, CNN, C-SPAN, Slate and Salon online magazines, The Nation, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), and Japanese and German television. He has been profiled in Newsweek, BusinessWeek, and the New York Times Magazine. Minnesota Law & Politics listed him as one of Minnesota's 100 Most Influential People, as well as one of Minnesota's 100 Most Intelligent People, something he says people find truly amazing once they meet him. Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Chapter 1 Election Industry, Inc. Chapter 2 Wellstone 1990 Chapter 3 Political Advertising vs. Real Advertising Chapter 4 Effective Political Campaigning Chapter 5 The Unbearable Dumbness of Polling Chapter 6 People for Perot 1992 Chapter 7 Wellstone 1996 Chapter 8 Getting Under Your Opponent's Skin Chapter 9 Negative Campaigning and Rapid Response Chapter 10 Let Them Stay Home Chapter 11 DFL Gubernatorial Primary 1998 Chapter 12 Ventura for Governor 1998 Chapter 13 Secrets of Three-Breakfast Polling Chapter 14 My Dinner with Warren and Annette Chapter 15 Presidential Follies Chapter 16 Nader 2000 Chapter 17 Third Parties in America Chapter 18 The Internet and Politics Chapter 19 Money in Politics and How to Overcome It Chapter 20 Looking Forward and Moving Ahead Afterword
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