Lessons from the Election

by Richard Earle
Regis Affiliate


Well, all the pundits are weighing in about the meaning of Tuesday’s vote. I’ve absorbed as much as I could take, I learned a bit. and will now add my voice to the chatter.

Importance of Planning and Organization. I live and vote in Massachusetts, which went in a direction contrary to the national trend, by returning Democratic Governor Deval Patrick (thought to be a total lost cause just a few weeks ago), and voting in all 9 Democratic Congressional candidates. 

But I think there’s a very good reason for that, that we at The Regis Group should  applaud,  because it’s part of what we help our clients do. When there’s an obvious change in the climate, look around and carefully assess the situation; then make or change plans and organize accordingly. 

In a strange way, a well-publicized loss earlier this year was the best thing that could have happened to the state’s Democratic establishment. We are a predictably “Blue” state, so when Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat became suddenly available after his unfortunate demise, and it was being pursued by an articulate and generally popular Democratic State Attorney General, Martha Coakley, the state Democratic leadership relaxed and sat on their hands. And low-and-behold, an attractive but relatively unknown Republican State Senator named Scott Brown who had quietly been going door-to-door throughout the state and talking to the PEOPLE, was swept into office.

A Republican in Ted Kennedy’s seat?  What a wake-up call that was for the state’s Democrats. So they went to work and assessed the mood of the people and planned and organized very effectively (I’m told they knocked on nearly 100,000 doors,) with the country-surprising result (even Martha was re-elected A.G.).

Two more lessons learned:

The People are Angry, not Mad. I’m also always amazed at the ultimate sanity of our electorate. Amid a sea of angry anti-establishment candidates, none of the real “kooks” made it into office.

A Lot of Money Doesn’t Guarantee Victory. Somehow every year more former CEOs decide that their experience in the boardroom equips them to make laws and serve their constituents, and if they just throw enough money at a race they will win. Fortunately, the electorate who rejected the kooks see these people as unqualified too, and rarely vote for them. This year, there were quite a few, and most were roundly defeated.