Blessed Experiences: Genuinely Southern, Proudly Black by James E. Clyburn

Author:James E. Clyburn [Clyburn, James E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: African American & Black, Personal Memoirs, Civil Rights, Biography & Autobiography, Political Science, History
ISBN: 9781611173383
Google: vcu7BwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 20920073
Publisher: Univ of South Carolina Press
Published: 2014-04-22T00:00:00+00:00

21

Adventures in Campaigning

A lot of the time spent in election campaigning runs together like something of a blur. It seems to be one continuous string of dinner speeches, “meet-and-greet” gatherings, fund-raising phone calls, long automobile rides, and power naps.

There’s no way to avoid those experiences. I had learned from my earlier campaigns that there is no good alternative to the grind of hard work. Some candidates believe they can escape the ordeal by raising a lot of money, buying a lot of technology, and engaging in mass communication—things such as flashy television advertising, automated phone calls, heavy direct mail, and so on—believing that these things substitute for hard work. I guess I never raised enough money in my early campaigns to indulge in that kind of luxury. Local politics is personal. And your approach to obtaining voter support had better be personal as well.

So what I did indulge in was a heavy application of “retail” campaigning, the old face-to-face style that leaves your throat sore, your right hand aching, and your jaws tired from too much smiling. But amid all that marathon activity, certain moments stand out in my memory, especially as I worked my way through my first campaign for Congress. I had gotten a good boost from important friends and colleagues, and I was starting out in a good frame of mind. But there were several defining moments.

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