The Sanders Strategy

Bernie Sanders conveys a strong message of good will. During debates and events, Sanders's message is that he is going to make America work for the people. He always talks about how he will work for equality and better opportunities for the people. Truly, his entire platform is built around the idea that he cares about the American people and that all of his policies are for the purpose of making America better for the people.

Sanders's campaign website, like all others, has sections for his issues, events, biography, etc. However, what is unique about Sanders's biography is that it not only has a few paragraphs about his life and experience, but it is separated into decades so that one may follow his entire life by the year. This seems to be an effort to instill a sense of familiarity, and in turn, trust. This is another prevalent aspect of Sanders's campaign- trustworthiness. He already has the fact that he is an older, sort of grandfather figure working for him. He naturally comes across as an honest, well-meaning person; and he plays up that aspect heavily. 

Another thing that one would notice should one spend even a small amount of time on Sanders's website or reading his tweets is that Sanders makes it seem as if he is a super hero sent to right all of America's wrongs. By this I mean that Sanders cites all kinds of problems which face America, and states that it is our responsibility, moral or otherwise, to solve these problems. Then he offers astonishingly simple solutions to said problems, and moves on, leaving one to ponder whether he is delusional or a genius. Also by making these sort of quick, catchy statements, Sanders is able to catch the attention of his followers, as well as voters who may still be undecided. They see that this candidate is identifying problems and offering solutions that are simple enough for the average person to understand.

Sanders’s good will and trustworthiness seem to work well for him. This image is fitting for him, and it seems to be effective. However, the oversimplification of highly complicated policies likely serves to breed skepticism in many constituents, rather than gain support. A certain level of hope and optimism are healthy and necessary in order to take on the task of being president, but addressing every issue with such simple and easy solutions just makes it all sound too good to be true.

Trump Trumps Promotion

A quick Google search of "Donald Trump" brings up a plethora of information on the potential Republican candidate, whether it be his Twitter profile or recent stories in the news. Trump really knows how to publicize himself successfully to persuade and mobilize the public.

Mark Leibovich wrote an article for The New York Times back in September 2015 on Trump and his political adventure, citing many of his speeches and his Twitter account among many other things. Leibovich stated Trump was the "single most self-­involved yet least introspective person [he has] ever met in [his] life, in or out of politics." After studying Trump's Twitter and recent speeches, this certainly rings true.

Trump is known for his outrageous quotes within his speeches, most recently about his tiff with Fox News, Megyn Kelly, and the Republican Debate tomorrow evening. Whether right or wrong, this certainly brought attention to himself. Trump successfully conveys his message that he's not here to mess around, and many people seem to respect him for his outright personality.

Through his Twitter, you can see he has consistently criticized his contenders week after week, and his 5.86 million followers doesn't tell a lie. Trump is a popular guy, even after being extremely blunt time and time again. It's no wonder he's been in the lead for so long.

Keep on keepin' on, Trump. What you're doing is working.

Marco Rubio's communication methods

Marco Rubio has consistently been a front-runner in Republican polls, typically falling short behind Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Ted Cruz. Perhaps in recognition of this fact, Rubio has taken it upon himself to engage constituents a little more directly by utilizing media, both mass and social, to his advantage.

For instance, Rubio started a podcast this month in order to push out opinions and agendas in digestible sizes. Rubio has already demonstrated his ability to utilize Twitter and Facebook, which is how he announced the most recent podcast entry, but by providing his own voice unfettered by media and political events, the effect feels more direct and personal.

Just as importantly, an ad was released yesterday in Iowa emphasizing Rubio's stance against lobbyists. This comes at a crucial moment as the Iowa caucus quickly approaches within the coming month. Ads from candidates are not uncommon, but the timing of the ad in addition to his other methods shows how the senator wishes to finally step up to the plate.

Ads have been crucial to Rubio's campaign. Recently, he posted ads on his website stating that he is gaining momentum in key states. This comes in handy as he prepares to square off with his Republican opponents and attempts to give more steam to campaign, while reducing Trump's, Carson's, and Cruz's.

Cruz's Social Media Weapon

     One of the more prolific social media users amongst the Republicans, Ted Cruz and his staff have been working to saturate the political battlefield with information. Not only have they used Twitter, Facebook, and their own website but his campaign is the only one that has a downloadable app to monitor information coming out from his camp. In an article from the Washington Post, Cruz’s campaign has taken research to the next level. Using psychological data from polls and responses, the Cruz campaign can tailor the information sent to individual voters in order to match their personalities and improve their chances of gaining support from those voters. Along with other data collection, Cruz has been using geo-fencing, a method to use technology to tailor information to arbitrarily selected geographical areas. He has used this method at National Rifle Association meetings, sending campaign info to only those who were in attendance at the meeting venue.

  

          Cruz has also taken to openly attacking and criticizing Donald Trump on social media. Whether it is retaliation over Trump’s attacks on Cruz’s citizenship or regular political sparing; Cruz is on the attack. Over the last 24 hours, Cruz has referenced Trump directly four times, bringing up Trump’s unwillingness to attend the upcoming Republican debate and challenging him to a one on one. Cruz’s campaign has also been quick to create merchandise calling out Trump for abstaining from the debate. Though not as popular overall on social media, Cruz’s campaign wins points for their thoroughness and speed.

Trump's Triumph with the Media

When it come to how a presidential candidate persuades and mobilizes the public, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are great examples because both of their campaigns are really going strong with supporters.  Although they are great examples, Donald Trump really takes the cake with me.  Not because I support him or anything but because he can say damn near anything that comes to his mind without any preparation or guidance and it seems to help instead of hurting his chances of becoming the GOP nominee. 

Donald Trump is everywhere.  He uses Twitter heavily, not only to reach out to his supporters but also voice his opinion about certain issues and how he feels towards other presidential candidates whether positive or negative.  Many Americans feel like Donald Trump lacks the credentials needed to hold the highest office in our government including other candidates and politicians within the GOP party.  Well, since he has announced that he would be running for president, no other candidate in the GOP party has been able to stop his incredible surge in the polls and clearly he is in the driver's seat heading into the Iowa Caucus on February 1st.


Donald Trump is a billionaire business man.   In his opinion America is in steep decline.   His campaign slogan is "Make America Great Again" and it resonates with supporters around the country because they share his same feelings about the direction in which the country is heading.  Another reason he is so popular with audiences is because he's not a politically correct guy.  He's not a career politician that knows how to clean up what he is saying to manipulate the American people.  He tells it like it is and for the most part people love that.  He knows that the American people are sick of the career politicians and their political rhetoric and he uses that to his advantage to reach more undecided voters.  Trump is so popular that you wonder is there anything that he can do wrong.  Whether he engages in cat fights with Fox news anchor Megyn Kelly to pointing out Senator Ted Cruz's citizenship status or even Jeb Bush not being a strong leader, the fact remains that he whatever he is doing in any aspect of persuading and mobilizing supporters whether it is right or wrong...it is indeed working.

Clinton's Last Minute Iowa Push

Hillary Clinton’s campaign to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for President utilizes numerous mediums to reach potential voters. One form, her Twitter account, has recently increased its get out the vote efforts. Followers are reminded that the Iowa Caucuses are less than a week away and encouraged to give their email address to the campaign, committing to vote for Clinton. Clinton’s campaign tweets in Spanish at times, hoping to attract Latino support. Her campaign also tweets about gender equality in an effort to solidify female support for Clinton. In addition to this, Hillary Clinton’s campaign uses her twitter account to make broad policy statements about economic equality, hoping to convey her empathy for the poor. All these fall under appeals to emotion, which I believe is an effective method to mobilize voters to support a campaign.

Clinton’s television ads are designed to show her experience fighting for America. One recent ad airing in Iowa features clips of Clinton speaking about the importance of fighting for the next generation of Americans. The clips, taken from throughout Clinton’s long political career, are meant to display her vast experience in politics. To reinforce this, the ad ends with a voice over from Clinton stating, “I’m Hillary Clinton, and I’ve always approved this message.” Another ad from Clinton’s campaign focuses again on her experience, highlighting the fact that she is fighting for all Americans, including specific references to the poor and to women. Finally, Clinton is airing ads in Iowa that are meant to paint her main rival for the Democratic nomination, Bernie Sanders, as an idealist who cannot achieve all he promises and herself as an experienced politician prepared to make good on her campaign promises. These ads focus more on appealing to voters’ reason, using Clinton’s experience as a selling point. 

Bernie Sanders Rhetorical Appeal and Mobilization

Bernie Sanders calls for a political revolution, bringing with him millions of young people. His advertisements and slogans like “Feel the Bern” and “Bern Down for What” are aimed at young, hopeful Americans, and, accompanied with presidential goals like free education and a higher living wage, it’s working.

Sanders, or whomever pens his Tweets, is clearly gifted in the art of persuasion, using rhetorical appeals and a strong, unfaltering opinion on right and wrong to attract attention and voters. He makes few statements beginning with a passive “I believe” or “I think,” opting instead for strong and active persuasive statements that read as fact.

Bernie Sanders appeals to low involved individuals through simple, decisive statements on twitter like “One of five people in this country that get a prescription from a doctor cannot afford to fill that prescription. That’s wrong. #BernieInMN.” or “The fact that on any given night there are fifty thousand homeless veterans on the street is a national disgrace.” These short but emphatic statements appeal to the pathos of the reader, with little need for further evaluative cognition (perfect for a 140 character limit and a short attention span).

While Bernie does not ignore the “tough” and highly partisan issues such as gay marriage, abortion, wage equality, et cetera, he also includes statements that could appeal to undecided voters, or those with barriers to persuasion. These appeals are intended to inspire citizens to examine the policies that allow these situations to occur, and to vote for him to solve the issue. The statements are mobilizing in nature; he is speaking directly to people who believe that protesting will make a difference, and change is a worthy cause.

As much of Bernie Sanders’ voter base is comprised of first time or inconsistent voters, he needs more than a persuasive and powerful tweet to achieve turnout. The campaign has plans to ensure maximum mobilization, such as "Go Home for Bernie", a plan to help young people from Iowa return home to cast a vote for their main man. 

Cruz On the Defensive

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz speaks to supporters inside an airplane hanger at McCollum Field during a campaign stop in Georgia. BRANDEN CAMP/ZUMA WIRE

All the news channels have been on the Donald Trump kick since he announced he was running for the Republican nominee.  Talking about him boost the ratings.  Now, Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz is even using Trump's name on a regular basis.  It looks like he is trying to drive up his ratings by throwing Trump's name in the mix.

He’s even used images along with it.   His two most recent tweets are about challenging Trump on an one-on-one debate.  Cruz held a campaign speech where he joined potential voters in what looks like a barn.  He is clearly trying to appeal to these potential voters by stepping down from the podium and “meeting the people where they are.”  I think these techniques can be extremely effective if done properly.  However, you can see in the photo that the people are clearly freezing.  I would imagine that the people were probably distracted by the weather.

On Cruz's website, he posted a blog post about honoring those who died in the holocaust.  This is away to appeal to a different demographics.  Though Cruz's views on immigration are pretty strong, appealing to those who died in the holocaust could show he is indeed sympathetic to those outside of the U.S.

How The Old Man Is Getting The Young Votes!

Bernie Sanders is the oldest candidate running for office today and he has achieved a mobilization of Millennials unlike any other candidate running today. Candidates on both sides use inflammatory words, negative advisement, and political and racist rhetoric. Meanwhile Bernie Sanders has spoken against this type of advertising of his campaign. He prides himself on having a campaign run based solely on fact. Then how is he persuading the young millennials, who are said to be the generation which is most swayed by popular culture. If these conventional forms of advertising and persuasion are not working on the new generation of voter then this could mean a dynamic shift in the way politicians advertise themselves to the general public.

Bernie sanders has achieved great mobilization by creating a policy built on facts and a trustworthy narrative. “A political revolution is coming.” is the slogan he chooses to ignite a sense of urgency in voters. Voters must help with his campaign for it to succeed. Bernie sanders refuses money from many billionaires and all super pacs (unlike the campaign of trump and Hillary Clinton. Their copious amounts of funds have been vital in securing them a front running position in their respective parties). Millennials want to be a part of this revolution. Millennials feel like they have been tricked by conventional politics and demand a different way of doing things. They reach out to their fellow students and friends with memes and quotes on social media. "What keeps me up at night is trying to figure out how else I can help him and what else I can do." says one young prospective voter to Vice News. This mobilization is driven by a passionate youth.

His image has actually helped to create an image base on what some are saying is pure and simple “love”. He persuades his voters into believing that this Love is honest. Love does not manipulate ideas to gain votes. Love is not preaching hate and intolerance about minorities. And most of all Bernie has earned the love of his voters by having the credentials that seem to back what he believes in. He has videos dating back several decades, of him preaching this same tolerance and concern over the average American worker that he shows on the debate stage. Bernie sanders may have struck a chord with what millennials really want to be sold: a truth without emotional manipulation. But this is a time of fear and anger for many of the voters he is trying to reach. It’s hard to sell love when many feel so much hate.

Twitter, tough talk and (sorry) Trump again

As there is an abundance of attention on Trump and his various campaigning techniques, I wanted to avoid talking about him for a while -- I was going to talk Clinton this time. In light of his recent "Fox debate boycott," however, I cannot ignore -- for the purpose of discussing the mobilization of followers -- his decision. 

Sorry Hillary, you'll have to wait.

Picture from humanevents.com

Trump does two things very well: Make waves and -- for lack of a better term -- sling poo. He does these two things well in two ways: Tweets and speeches.

Using his debate boycott as an example, let's discuss the "make waves" and "speech" points. Trump has, no doubt, been quite a ratings booster for many news media outlets. He has made statements that have been made into headlines, made claims that have sparked impassioned debates and, for some, boosted debates' entertainment value. His lack of political correctness has appealed to the masses, who feel that Americans have become "soft" and who want to hear that extreme change will come about, right now. Trump gives his followers these extreme statements and gives them a call to action, which his slogan, "Make America Great Again" embodies. His latest call to action was sparked by his refusal to participate in Thursday's Fox debate over long-standing disagreements with network officials. He challenged after announcing his absence, "Let's see how the ratings do."

Many Trump supporters have taken this call to action to heart and are boycotting the debate themselves. Trump has doubled-down on his call by announcing the creation of a fundraiser for veterans and the Wounded Warrior Project to be put on during the debate -- Trump's goal seems to be to pull more attention away from Fox. Such seemingly irrational moves on a candidate's part have been consistently benefiting Trump, proving that he has created a high-spirited, highly impressionable and highly mobilized follower base.

In Joseph Tuman's, "Political Communication in American Campaigns," Tuman suggests, "[Speech] effectiveness will depend on the audience; we are not all affected by ethos, pathos, and logos in the same ways." Tuman also suggests that a speaker/candidate has to know his/her audience -- something that leaves a bad taste in my mouth to have to admit, Trump does well.

In the case of "slinging poo" on Twitter -- well, see for yourself. Trump, as I have mentioned before, does well to make himself more desirable by making other candidates less desirable. The content of his tweets are not the only part of his Twitter usage that has, thus far, benefited him. The amount of tweets that Trump puts out daily, praising himself, attacking others and relaying plans is stifling compared to the other candidates' pages. Typically, the candidate with the most coverage will receive the most support. 

So, a recap: Trump captures media coverage for free by making outrageous claims and statements, puts doubt in voters minds as to the reliability and ability of other candidates and mobilizes his followers with calls to action.

While Trump may have benefited immensely from his wild claims in the campaign season, I have to believe that voters will come to the conclusion that the same candidate who so skillfully "slings poo" at other candidates may not be the best choice to win the whole thing. 

So Mr. Trump, my advice to you is this: Unless you can handle quite a bit of global backlash, maybe you should quit while you're ahead -- some foreign leaders may not be so afraid to sling more than just "poo" back.