Movers & Shakers: John Anzalone
Politics: But given the environment, even the most conservative of your Democratic clients are in some tough races now. Do you have to run them differently?
Anzalone: It’s interesting when people ask me that, because truthfully, the way that Bobby Bright runs in 2010 is not that different from how he ran in 2008. It’s a conservative district. Now, you will find in more moderate districts, the races will be a lot more about creating a branding for the individual candidate and making that person more independent. But that’s something that has already happened for a lot of the members we work for—Travis Childers and Bobby Bright are good examples. They very much have a branding and it has nothing to do with the national Democratic Party. It has everything to do with them being conservative and independent and the things they do parochially for their districts. So those races will actually be more similar to their races in the past than some members out there who now have to distance themselves from Washington.
Politics: The GOP seems to think that like 1994, they can knock a lot of these Southern Democrats off just because of the D in front of their names.
Anzalone: The big difference between 1994 when that happened and now is that all of these guys are prepared. In ’94 there were Democratic Southern congressmen who barely got TV ads up before Election Day. Too many of them just didn’t understand they were in actual trouble. So it’s all about being prepared, having a connection with the district and having something to say. And in a lot of cases, it’s about not being vulnerable to the attacks. In the case of people like Bobby Bright or Travis Childers, they aren’t. It’s just tough to make an argument against them just because they’re Democrats, and saying they voted for Pelosi just doesn’t cut it. Bobby Bright is one of the safest incumbents. Republicans will try to tell you he’s one of the most vulnerable, but it’s just not that way.
Politics: How do you message around healthcare this year? I imagine Mike Quigley says something very different than Travis Childers.
Anzalone: We have been talking with a lot of our candidates about this, and people like Travis Childers have been really clear that they’re not into trashing the president’s plan. But we want to continue talking about what they want to see in this bill. So it’s talking about the common parts of reform that everyone agrees on. Now, someone like Mike Quigley has more room to talk about the positive components of the bill, whereas someone like Childers I don’t think is going to lead with his chin and may never even talk about healthcare if he’s voting against, because his opponent may just go somewhere else.
Politics Mag
5/23/10
Magnolia Tribune
