By Jackson O
There is no doubt that CORD can pull mammoth crowds to its events, however, if the goal is to solidify the base and make political hay out of the crowds in readiness for the big dance, they must take it a notch higher. Dancing and getting high out of ecstatic crowds has never added a single vote in anyone’s column.
The Uhuru Park Madaraka Day function was graced by a sea of humanity and you will be hard pressed to find any campaign literature that were disseminated in the rally or any new campaign volunteers that were recruited to help spread the message.
That was a missed opportunity and we have seen several rallies clocking higher decibels in attendance but with zero take-home data by way of human resources for the campaign. This is a trend that is bound to have an anticlimactic ending.
The ENIGMA is a leader who is endowed with an unparalleled political mobilization prowess but he can’t do it alone. His name will draw crowds and its the responsibility of his staffers to harvest the political low hanging fruit that routinely come their way. I submit that his campaign operatives have been a major let down! They seem to be more interested in being seen with the boss at the various political podia than actually getting down to work.
Real political consultants work behind the scenes, they are the silent operatives whose work is seen by the masses but their faces largely remain unseen. Any political strategist who seeks the limelight is not a professional and must be shown the door. The rules of the trade dictate that the stage belongs to the leader not the strategists.
CORD must now use future rallies to recruit, ensure that attendees are served with campaign literature and asked to sign up for future events. ID and voter registration verification must be the key objective of such endeavors. This will enable CORD to have a solid national network of volunteers and staffers who will be tasked with nationwide campaign initiatives.
Slogans and bragging rights can take you so far. But realpolitik requires more than that. CORD must also realize that they will face an incumbent with deep pockets with the benefit of incumbency to boot! It’s time to talk to and recruit any living thing around you. It is clear that RAO will and continues to do his part but its now time for the secretariat or whichever body that is responsible for ensuring a CORD victory to do its part. So far, they have been sleeping on the job. Time is of the essence.
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