Bumper Stickers

In this morning's edition of the Frederick News Post, Cliff Cumber wrote an article entitled: "Political Notes — A sticker on every bumper" (you can read the article below). In it, he observed that, at an event for Maryland Attorney General candidate Scott Rolle, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett commented that "each bumper sticker was worth $250 in advertising."

Apparently Mr. Bartlett didn't reveal how he came up with that figure, and it seems somewhat overstated to me. If you wanted to have a little fun with it, I suppose a good analysis would have to account for how long the bumper sticker was on a car, how much the car was driven around the county, where it was usually parked, and so on. A real stickler for details might even wonder what sort of car it was, or whether it was in the hands of a polite driver or not, or even what other bumper stickers were on the car with it!

But...seriously...there's no denying that the overall name recognition aspect of a local campaign is important. I don't think that's a good thing, and I wish it weren't so, but woe to the candidate who decides to ignore it, and simply focus on the issues.

As I noted in the March 19th blog entry:

If most people were reasonably interested and informed, it would be possible for candidates to put together an informative website, produce and distribute a modest amount of written materials, participate in some public forums and debates, respond to the question and answer pieces for local newspapers, reply to individual emails and phone calls, and that would suffice. It wouldn't cost a great deal, and anyone who wanted to know a little or a lot would have easy access to all the information they needed.

Alas...that's not the way things are.

I wish I could speak with every voter in the county individually. Since that's not remotely possible, I wish every individual voter was willing and able to take the time to inform themselves about the issues and the candidates. If they did, billboards and slogans and yard signs and buttons and bumper stickers wouldn't matter.

But they do.

And since they do, I don't want to cede any unnecessary advantages to candidates I wouldn't vote for myself. That means the campaign has to make an effort to get a lot of yard signs out there, when the time comes for that, and get a lot of bumper stickers out there - as soon and as many as possible.

Beyond my criticism of the name recognition game candidates must play, I should note one of the positive elements of yard signs and bumper stickers. Anyone with enough money to spend can pay for big billboards, an abundance of television and radio spots, multiple mailings of slick brochures and so on. But every yard sign in front of a house and every bumper sticker on a car is a personal endorsement from a real person in our community. That means something.

In the end, political campaigns should - and do - amount to so much more than the 30-second soundbites, yard signs and bumper stickers. An election for county commmissioner is about the issues that matter to you, and the future of our communities.

There are all sorts of ways you can help the campaign. Bumper stickers are just one small way. But it's an easy thing to do, and it will help. So, if you support me, please consider placing a bumper sticker on your car.

If you don't usually put bumper stickers on your car, consider making an exception. If you don't want to put one on your painted bumper, consider taping on in the rear window, as a number of folks have done. We've tried to make it easier by designing a very nice bumper sticker. You can see a small image of the new sticker below, or click here to see a larger version in a new window.

Help send the message that people in our county are supporting Kai Hagen for Frederick County Commissioner, a lot of people.

From the FREDERICK NEWS POST:

Political Notes — A sticker on every bumper
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/notebooks/display.htm?storyid=48861

Friday, May 12, 2006

by Clifford G. Cumber

The secret to winning campaigns, apparently, is not how much money you can raise, or how many doors you knock on. Nor is it the candidates' forums you attend, or how many times you appear in the media. Forget putting signs in people's yards, too.

It's all about the bumper stickers.

We have it on the good authority from Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-6th -- now in his seventh term, so he knows a bit about campaigning -- that bumper stickers = winning elections.

So, while boosting a crowd that came out for Frederick County State's Attorney Scott Rolle's announcement he would run for Attorney General, Mr. Bartlett threw out a challenge: Put a Rolle bumper sticker on your car.

"If we did nothing else in this state except put bumper stickers on every Republican car for these six people, they'd all win," he said, indicating the three people behind him running for office: Gov. Robert Ehrlich, Lt. Gov. Michael Steele -- who's running for U.S. Senate -- and Mr. Rolle. Mr. Bartlett's office also is up for election this year.

Each bumper sticker was worth $250 in advertising, Mr. Bartlett went on.

"I tell this to every audience, and I don't see people universally doing it," he said.

People want to vote for a winner, he said, more so than the issues, or whether a candidate is Democrat or Republican. And what will convince them is to see on every third car on the road a bumper sticker proclaiming a candidate's name.

"That sends a perceived message: 'Gee, this guy is really rolling,'" Mr. Bartlett said. "If you don't have a Scott Rolle bumper sticker, you get one on there. If you don't want to put it on the paint, you put in on the back window."

Mr. Bartlett even had some advice if we're pulled over because our vision is blocked.

"If the sheriff says anything to you about that, tell them you ... noticed that an 18-wheeler can see back through his truck because of his two side mirrors, so can you do that? I've no idea if it's against the rules or not," he said.

Hang on a second. Did Mr. Bartlett, a sitting congressman, just advocate arguing with a law enforcement officer during a traffic stop -- at the announcement of a staunch law-and-order Republican running for attorney general, the state's top prosecutor?

Well, we'll leave you to judge.

Mr. Bartlett was so focused on bumper stickers, he left the microphone without the traditional ego-massaging of the candidate. Realizing the omission, he jumped back in front of Deputy State's Attorney Charlie Smith before he could announce the next guest (the lieutenant governor, we note). Everywhere Mr. Bartlett could be to help Mr. Rolle, he'd be there, he said.

"I'm not sure I would be useful in southern Montgomery County," Mr. Bartlett said. "Or Prince George's County, or Baltimore City. But anywhere else in this great state that my presence would be helpful to Scott, we'll put our schedules together, and I'm going to be there."

As Mr. Ehrlich urged the crowd to step up and support Mr. Rolle's campaign, he asked, "Who's willing to put that bumper sticker even on a late-model automobile? As we like to say in the Ehrlich-Steele world, it does increase the resale value of your vehicle."

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WHY I'M VOTING FOR KAI!

Carolyn Franklin
Frederick, MD

I love Frederick! I have high hopes for Frederick County's future with the expectation that Kai Hagen will become one of its commissioners. I respect Kai's experience and trust Kai's ability to thoroughly weigh the appropriateness of how decisions might affect all of us. Frederick County deserves someone who will evaluate pending items carefully, objectively, and with energy and knowledge to explore options. I believe that Kai will do everything...

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