Politics, up close and personal

As we gear up for the upcoming election, I have been thinking a lot about the different campaigns I ran throughout the years. While campaigns can be stressful, I have to admit, one of the things I enjoyed most about campaigning was getting the opportunity to meet and visit with residents. I enjoyed attending the many local events in my neighborhood, the youth games and the community fundraisers. I enjoyed campaigning at the local markets and stopping in the local coffee shops where I could talk with owners and customers about the local issues of the day.

Although I didn’t know it at the time, there is actually a term for this form of campaigning. It is known as retail politics. It has an actual definition, too – according to the dictionary, this form of political campaigning is when “candidates focus on local events and meet individual voters. It involves the old fashioned shaking hands and kissing babies.”

OK – I thought that definition described just plain old campaigning. Isn’t that how it is normally done? Why is there a whole different word for it? I never realized it was called retail politics. I just think of it as up-close and personal politics.

So, the next thing I wonder about is, how important is it for candidates to meet voters? Do we expect to actually meet the candidates? Well, I haven’t done a survey, but I feel pretty confident to say I think the answer is yes. We want to get to know and like the people who represent us. We want to connect with them. We want to establish a rapport with them and their ideas. And, just as importantly, we want to feel that they understand the issues that concern us, that they understand our community and that our issues are their issues.

That’s why we see pictures on social media of candidates having coffee in a local shop or candidates shopping along a local market. Even in this high-tech age, it’s still important for us to feel that the people who represent us know and understand the local flavor of the different communities they represent. We want to feel that we share a common understanding and interest in the local issues. And, when we see that person shopping alongside us, getting that morning coffee with us and cheering on the same youth team, we feel more confident that there is a connection and understanding.

We certainly are lucky in R.I. that our small size allows for this up-close, personal type of campaigning. I have spoken with people across the country who are amazed that we actually see our elected officials and candidates at neighborhood activities, at the supermarket. And, because of our small size, we have grown accustomed to this and we expect to see our officials and candidates around.

That’s why even in a day when much of politics is given to consultants, up-close and personal politics remain important. It can be interesting when national consultants get involved in a local race. These individuals are usually very smart, highly educated and top in their field. They may know numbers, statistics and averages. They can pour over data and make predictions about outcomes. They can name the top 10 national political consultants and tick off the names of the largest winning campaigns throughout the country. But sometimes, when discussing the campaign plan, they may be stumped when trying to pronounce the cities and towns, never mind knowing exactly where they are on a map. And, ask them how to pronounce a local name or favorite food, and they could be at a loss.

National consultants bring a unique lens to local politics. They usually see politics through the lens of the last campaign worked on. And, to that end, they can provide important, objective perspective. When this perspective is coupled with the local understanding – the retail politics – it can be a winning combination, because running for office is very much about the local issues and understanding the unique qualities of a community. Remember the famous Tip O’Neill quote – “All politics is local.”

A community in R.I. may be the same size as a community in a state across the country. But a community is not made up of buildings and structures and tax codes. Communities are made up of people. And, through our actions and laws, we create the kind of community that our children will grow up in. We decide through community action and legislation how our community will be defined. It’s important that we have the opportunity to get to know the people who want to represent us. And, it’s just as important that candidates get the opportunity to get to know us. When political candidates take the time to come to our community, attend local events, get to know the residents, participate in our community, then they are better able to understand our needs, our desires, our hopes and our dreams. And, then, we can start with this basic understanding and work together to find solutions to the problems we face.