The Democracy Owners’ Manual
A Practical Guide to Changing the World
By Jim Shultz
Another false notion in initiative politics is that initiative campaigns are
grand opportunities to shift public opinion to your side, even in the face
of special interests opposing you. In fact, initiative campaigns are a poor
time to educate the public, especially while you are being outspent ten to
one or more. Initiative campaigns are often big-money battles of quick sound
bites and images aimed at manipulating voters, not educating them. Most
experienced initiative campaigners will tell you that if an initiative
doesn’t start out with support (as measured by serious polling) in the range
of at least 65 to 70 percent, it has very little chance of maintaining 51
percent by election day. In almost every case, the “yes” vote for a measure
only falls as the election approaches.
Some advocates learn this lesson the hard way. In 1994, California health
care advocates qualified an initiative to establish a state-run health care
system, despite many polls showing the public’s strong skepticism about such
a move. Instead of the grand public education effort that proponents hoped
would sway voters to their side, they were crushed three to one following a
multimillion-dollar ad blitz by health insurers that set the cause backward,
not forward.
For information on “The Democracy Owners’ Manual”:
http://www.democracyctr.org/resources/manual/index.htm
Comment: Ā Most of us are uncomfortable when we read Jim Shultz’s words. But
reality often creates discomfort. We’d much prefer to live with our
fantasies of utopia.
But, as long as Jim Shultz has shocked us into reality, let’s look at what
he has to say. He says that it is absolutely essential for us to understand
the processes by which policy is translated into action. Without that
knowledge and understanding, many of our efforts are for naught.
Jim Shultz is a veteran of the California political scene. He understands
how the process works. We don’t like to hear about our past mistakes, but we
definitely must understand them. We must understand the processes that are
likely to bring us success and those that will assure our defeat. “The
Democracy Owners’ Manual” is must reading for those of us that want to
change the world.