Helping Conservative Candidates Gain a Competitive Edge

Are you thinking about running for public office? And wondering how the press might treat something you once said or did that might be embarrassing? In this video Republican Political Consultant Jay Townsend provides some examples of how he helped clients preempt bad stories before they were written, and some techniques you can use to make sure that something you once said or did doesn’t derail your campaign.

Working on a Speech? Writing one for someone else? A quick tutorial on the importance of painting pictures with words.

The human mind does not remember mere words. The mind remembers pictures. If you speak in jargon or dryly talk about policy, no one is going to remember what you say. And if they don’t remember why you say, they won’t remember you. This video gives examples of how to paint pictures with words so that you leaving a lasting impression with your audience.

To someone running for office and for that matter for anyone who speaks, remember that your words are what the brush is to an artist. The more color you use in your words the more memorable the picture you paint.

If you are running for public office, proper preparation a radio interview is the difference between advancing your cause and creating a campaign disaster.

Today I’ll share a few simple steps about how to prepare.

1. Know how much time you will have. A five minute segment will limit the number of opportunities you have to convey your central points. A 20 minute interview will allow time for 3 or 4 stories to illustrate your point.

2. Decide what points you want to get across during the interview, and drive them home at the outset. Why? If you go into an interview with no idea what you want to say the host may steer it to a topic that doesn’t get you any votes.

3. Use the questions you are asked as an opportunity to quickly pivot off a short answer and circle back to your principle talking points. Mention the name of your website every 90 seconds.

4.  Study the style of your host. Listen to interviews they have conducted with other personalities. Do they let their guests talk absent interruption?  Do they pepper the guest with questions? Do they allow the guest to control the interview or do they try to veer the topic to something the host wants to discuss?

5. The expectation is that you will be well informed. And you had better be able to quickly explain and defend your platform. If you are asked a question that you do not know, best to say you don’t know than to pretend you do. A factual error or mistake will quickly become news, and likely tweeted and blogged into the universe.

6. Know the rules of audience participation. Will all of the questions come from the host?  Will listeners be allowed to call in and ask questions on the air? Will those who call be screened by a moderator? If people are allowed to call in line up a few friends and allies to participate in the program.

7. Are you doing the show in studio? If so, dress accordingly, for your interview may be videotaped and posted on UTube.

8. If you are doing the interview over the phone, try to call from a hard line so that you have a good connection. If possible call the station 10 minutes before your interview begins so that you can listen to what is said before you go live.

Somebody is lying about what happened at Benghazi. A lot of people are lying about the shenanigans at the IRS. Somebody isn’t telling the truth about why high ranking government officials were monitoring the phones and emails of the Associated Press and Fox News.

Will these issues still be alive next year? Time will tell. But the cover-ups, the attempts to silence critics of the Obama Administration, and the attempts of the Attorney General to usurp the freedom of the press is bound to have an impact. Too many people are lying about too many things, lies which will eventually come to haunt the administration as they are uncovered. Some of those democratic voters who are disgusted with the conduct of the Administration will choose to sit out the election, just as they did in 2010.

So if you are thinking about running in 2014, the environment has gotten better, and during the last couple weeks your odds of winning have improved.

Now is the time to prepare for your run for public office, and to get your house in order so that you hit the ground running.

Today I’m offering a free copy of my audio recording on the ten worst mistakes that candidates make. It’s yours, free. All you have to do is click on this link.

You’ll learn some lessons that candidates have learned the hard way. Listen to it so that you don’t make the same mistakes they did.


Discovering Your Unique Talent to Change the Course of Human Destiny.

Keynote Presentation by Political Speaker Jay Townsend

Nobody has traveled your journey. Nobody has your story. Nobody has your eyes or your voice. Nobody is as fitted as you to tell your story, to speak your truth, to write your book, to make your mark, or to better the lives of others in the unique way that only you can.

Jay Townsend’s keynote weaves inspirational stories of unsung heroes who have changed the course of human destiny; stories that touch and inspire others to discover and recognize their own special talents, gifts and capacity to improve lives.

“I am in the business of changing lives,” says Jay, “by changing the way people think and the way they feel about themselves. I help people discover their hidden talents, and inspire the self-confidence required to advance their mission and live their passion.”

Jay is known for his exceptional ability to paint pictures with words, to summon the unconscious mind of his audience and engage the imagination of his listeners. He has spoken on politics, policy and history at the U.S. Military Academy, the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, scores of political gatherings, colleges, universities and as a frequent guest on FOX News.

He has worked as a speech coach, speechwriter and communications consultant in four different Presidential campaigns, dozens of U.S. Senate, Gubernatorial and Congressional races and coached more than 300 political candidates during his 30 year career as a communications coach.

He has thrice won national awards–Best Television commercial produced for a gubernatorial candidate; Best Persuasion Mail produced in a Presidential Campaign; and Best Newspaper Ad produced in a political campaign. He was the Republican-Conservative Party nominee for United States Senate in New York in 2010, and garnered 1.5 million votes in his race against Senator Charles Schumer.


Will 2014 be a good year for Republicans to run for office?

The answer is yes and here’s why.

Obamacare is not working. Even Democrats who voted for it are calling it a train wreck. Insurance rates are skyrocketing. Employers are and will continue going into revolt about the cost. The bills are coming due and taxes to pay for it are going up.

We have not fully recovered from the recession of 2008 and the President is out of excuses.

Energy costs are rising, a direct result of Mr. Obama’s anti-energy policies.

Nobody believes the President or democrats in Congress care about reducing the deficit and stemming the tsunami of red ink that threatens to drown the next generation. The only solution Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and the President are willing to offer is yet another tax increase.

There are also historic reasons why 2014 should be a good year for Republicans. We’ll be six years into Obama rule, and the party which controls the White House historically loses seats in the second midterm election.

So if you are thinking about running, it looks like 2014 is going to be a good year.

That said, voters will expect and demand more than anti-Obama rhetoric. If you plan to run, be prepared to tell people what you would do and be prepared to explain why the policies you offer are better than what we have.

I’ll soon be posting more videos on the 2014 environment, issues that work to our advantage, and how to refute the coming democratic offensive. So stay tuned. If you have not already, please sign up for my newsletter. And by all means feel free to share this video with anyone who might need to see it.

“A culture that is not horrified by this is dead.”

So said Leon Kass in a recent Wall Street Journal interview published April 19, 2013.

He was not talking about the Boston bombings.

It was a reference to what happened inside a Philadelphia abortion clinic run by Kermit Gosnell, charged with butchering and murdering several infants who survived late term abortions he performed.

There was once a great Senator from New York who dared to speak an ugly truth when he called late term abortions “infanticide.” I am sure Pat Moynihan would have some choice words to say about Gosnell if he were alive to say it, and I’ve no doubt that he’d have some sharp words about the state of our culture and what he used to call “defining deviancy down.” Moynihan was never afraid to speak truth.

We have no trouble expressing our outrage about a couple of deranged terrorists who murdered three innocents in Boston. The President and the Vice-President both made trips to Boston to place salve on a nasty wound.

Yet about the tragedy in Philadelphia they have offered only stoned silence.

Seven innocent children were murdered by a terrorist on American soil. That no high ranking official, Senator or Member of Congress has gone to Philadelphia to hold a candlelight vigil…that neither the President nor the Vice-President has uttered a word about the revolting and hideous violence of Mr. Gosnell says a lot about the state of American culture.

We’ve grown dangerously numb to the deviancy before us.  That is a topic that deserves a lot more discussion.

What the hell is the thinking?

Karl Rove announces that he intends to become more involved in Republican primary contests and the tea party distributes an email of The Architect dressed in a Nazi uniform.

Marco Rubio holds a fundraiser in Manhattan and Republican Congressman Peter King blows a gasket because… Rubio had the audacity to vote against the pork-laden Hurricane Relief Bill.

Republican Eric Cantor dares to tell the Republican caucus that killing the Violence Against Women Act won’t do the Republican brand any good. And conservative radio talk man Mark Levin suggests that Cantor be ridden out of the Republican Party.

CPAC decides to make an example of Chris Christie…by letting the world know that he won’t be invited to speak at CPAC this year. Was it because 1) he was nice to Obama when New Jersey was drowning, or 2) he damned the House for refusing to vote on a Relief Bill, or 3) he dared to say something critical of an over-the-top NRA ad that went after Obama’s daughters?

The Club for Growth announces their latest initiative—called “Primary my Congressman.” Let’s knock off a few Republicans who (oh the horror) dared to let their Club for Growth scorecard drop below 75%.

My question: Can a few of the adults in the room start acting like grownups? If not, can some of the adults who are not in the room suggest that those who are in the room start acting like grownups?

I’ll give two Dillybars to the first man or woman inside the beltway, or even one of those wise talking heads on FOX, who is willing to say that expanding the herd right now is more important than culling the pasture of those who are less than pure.


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Now in Audio and eBook… The Ten Worst Mistakes Candidates Make. Real Stories from the Campaign Trail of Dumb Stunts that Derailed Otherwise Good Candidates. Learn from their Mistakes.