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The Democratic Strategist

Political Strategy for a Permanent Democratic Majority

Three Million Reasons We Lost

Garance Franke-Ruta has an interesting and in-depth article on the Democratic Party’s creaky minority outreach efforts up on the American Prospect site. By way of emphasizing the Democratic habit of underinvesting in targeted media and messaging, as opposed to more mechanical GOTV efforts, she passes along this factoid: “Kerry spent less on targeted Hispanic media–$3 million–than he did on political strategist and consultant Bob Shrum.” Well, just about any way you look at it, had Shrum’s fees gone to targeted Hispanic media, Kerry would be president today.Of course, some might argue that Kerry would be president today if Shrum’s fees had been stuffed in a paper bag and tossed into the Potomac River, but there’s no question more targeted Hispanic media would have been helpful as well.

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