For Shook Free Publicity Comes At A Price
When your campaign bank account is slim, getting your picture on the front page of the Sanford Herald with anybody has got to look like a plus. And when that person is one of the most admired in the world, the idea of associating campaigns with them has to nearly make one giddy. But there is no free lunch. The price for Linda Shook was speaking from the same podium as Senator Elizabeth Dole on the same subject. That leads to conscious and unconscious comparison between the two candidates. It is a price that many veteran politicians have had to pay. For Linda Shook, to the audience it was like going to a swimming exhibition between a unknown swimmer and Michael Phelps. Shook's presentation was fortunately more than the usual litany of the costs of illegal immigration with that strident tone that leaves one wondering exactly what she would do with the undocumented aliens already here. The message counts, and she may have her best issue with immigration. But more and more research is showing that it is the candidate's personality that has to do with voters willingness to support them. No doubt she would, along with most voters, like to see them leave the county, but she ignores the consequences to the employers who are employing them and overlooks the basic goodness of the American people who would not want to see an undocumented pregnant alien and her child die as a result of no emergency health care. The right to life is pretty sacred to a lot of people. Of course Shook had a tough assignment. She was somewhat upbeat in mentioning ways that perhaps counties and states could do more to make themselves less attractive, but it was all about proposals. Perhaps pointing out what states could be doing helps in her campaign against incumbent Jimmy Love, but pointing out what other counties were already doing raised the question as to why, as an incumbent commissioner, she had not made some of the proposals here. Don't misunderstand - Shook has mentioned some of these things, but not brought them into focus with resolutions and ordinances. (To see Linda Shooks position on illegal immigration click here and find the heading) More importantly, the folks had come to see and hear Senator Dole. Shook's tendency to go into tedious detail about the nature of problems wears thin on an audience that has already reached the conclusion that this country faces a crisis because of the failure to protect our borders and the prospect of tens of millions of undocumented aliens who cannot speak English remaining here. This was made all the more obvious by the introduction of Senator Dole by Sheriff Tracy Carter. (By the way, when he walked to the podium and said "I'm your sheriff, Tracy Carter" the audience jumped to its feet and gave by far the biggest reception drawn by either of the two speakers for the evening. Any body who doesn't believe he is the most popular politician in the Lee County probably still doesn't know that Bill Tatum is still chairman of the school board.) He immediately spoke of being brief "to yield his time to Senator Dole." Unintentionally, it sounded like Shook had gone too long. He did take about three minutes, but mostly spoke about how much support and interest the Senator had taken in helping remove those illegal aliens who were committing the crimes--especially smuggling drugs. Thanking the Senator for her help, he said we needed to elect her to get even more done. Shook can learn an important lesson: use half your time and "yield" to the one they came to see. It wins more votes. The the real pro went to work stepping down off the platform and walking the aisles and having more of a conversation with the audience. If you have never seen it, you have missed one of the wonders of the modern political world--Elizabeth Dole speaking and working a crowd unscripted from the floor. Far more experienced candidates than Linda Shook have had to endure comparison to that style. Not to come off well is no reason for embarrassment. Dole, in constrast to Shook, demonstrated concern without being the least bit strident toward the undocumented aliens. During her "floor tour" she made sure to shake hands with several of the Mexicans in the audience. She made it clear that the first priority was to get the border under control and explained how she had successfully defeated the so called "amnesty bill'. She made it clear that English should be the official language of this county and noted Congress had already passed such a law. Then she talked a lot about her pioneering work with sheriffs across the state, with frequent references to Sheriff Carter. (His reception by the crowd had not gone unnoticed by this pro.) So she made it clear that she wasn't just bemoaning the situation, she had actually taken action to do something and had plans to do more. (To read about Dole's stand on immigration click here.) More looking to the future in an optimistic way. "This is what we can do when I am elected" would have served Shook better. Dole's warmth and style clearly won her some votes and motivated her supporters. And by the time it was over, most of the crowd was probably beyond its reaction to Shook's tone and remarks. So the front page picture was probably worth more than the price. Editor's note: The Herald ran a lengthy letter to the editor from Linda Shook today complaining that most of what she said was not reported. This blog was written without knowledge of the letter. That is another price of appearing with a United States Senator; the U.S. Senators usually get the column inches. But the letter to the editor gives her the chance to get her points across so that improves her return on the event. Shook has contacted me to remind me that she had just returned from a conference and some of the ideas she presented were given at a Civitas Institute Conference. (To see the ideas from that conference (click here and click here.) One note of exception from her letter--several rows were open near the back of the room. Those standing were doing so by choice. Great attendance but not quite standing room only.
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