POWERFUL STUFF. Hamjatta, if the Opposition carries this message to the country, victory is ours come October, 2001. Keep up the great job you are doing. KB >From: Hamjatta Kanteh <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: The Gambia and related-issues mailing list ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: The Alliance Campaign & How To Go About It >Date: Thu, 16 Aug 2001 14:32:03 EDT > >A historical disquisition of the success of the 1992 Clinton presidential >campaign, reveals the extent to which how a political narrative was >identified by a political scientist-cum-pollster and how the narrative was >cannily crafted into a political slogan that has all the characteristics of >historical legend. In choreographing the genesis of what later amounted to >the focus of Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign and its populist but >sophisticated slogans like "It's the economy, stupid" and "Putting people >first", Washington Post legend, Bob Woodward, acknowledged the stupendously >wise-cracking pollster-cum-political scientist, Stan Goldberg, with >encapsulating the political narrative of the time into a political message >that had the tantalising propensity of catching and sticking with the >popular >imagination. This accreditation of Goldberg with Clinton's powerful but >simple political message that struck a chord with ordinary and >sophisticated >peoples alike came from Goldberg's long-held view that America's next major >socio-political crisis was what has been effectively dubbed the gradual >decimation of America's middle classes or America's "declining middle"; >i.e, >the current inability of or difficulties associated with the average >American >to live the American Dream of "a good job, a college education for their >kids, owning a home, affordable health care, and retirement with economic >security." To the extent that this was true of America in the post- Reagan >years, Goldberg felt it was the ONLY message that was a seller and a >winner. >Bob Woodward writes: > >" Greenberg had been advising Clinton since his 1990 gubernatorial >campaign. >In 1991, he gave the governor a draft of a long article he was writing for >the American Prospect, a liberal political journal. In part a review of >three >books that examined what Greenberg called "the Democrat's perceived >indifference to the value of work and the interests of working people," the >article was the culmination of a lot of analysis and polling. It was also a >personal manifesto of sorts. Greenberg was devoted to studying the crisis >in >the Democratic Party and the defection of middle-class and working whites - >the so-called Reagan Democrats - to the Republican presendential candidates >in the 1980s. These voters held the balance in national elections, and >Greenberg argued that they wanted to return to their party, to come home. >Party leaders had to reach out to this disaffected and forgotten middle >class, which saw itself squeezed - paying for programs for the poor and tax >breaks for the wealthy, while getting little in return from government. The >middle class crisis presented an opportunity for the Democrats." [Bob >Woodward, The Agenda - Inside the Clinton White House, pp. 24-25, Simon & >Schuster, New York, 1994] > >It is worth a moment's pause to free myself of what could later amount to a >contextual obfuscation of my lifting of the above passage from Woodward's >book. Let me categorically state that i do not and never will view the >current Gambian as a class problem; i.e., that is to say that i do not see >the Gambian crisis as one precipitated by a crisis within one class or a >pitting of the classes against each other. Whilst i remain loyal to my >trenchant bourgeois convictions, obsession with social status has never and >never will factor in my outlook. I lifted the Woodward passage for >comparative contextual purposes; and not necesaarily believing in every jot >and tittle of Goldberg's convictions. Rather, as would be crystal clear >later, the above passage typifies how political narratives for a political >struggle are encapsulated into a simple but sophisticated theme that easily >strikes a chord with all constituents alike. > >To the extent that this is the case, the Alliance - as a first measure - >ought to engage in a dialectical exercise of the current Gambian crisis and >broadly define the forces that are at work; how it ought to be tackled; and >most importantly, the manner and ways in which it ought to be tackled. In >this, there is both a good and bad news for the Alliance. The bad one >first. >It seems to me that the fundamental defect of Gambian Opposition since July >22nd 1994 has been one of selling a coherent, simple and sophisticated >message to those constituents that had been lulled into a trance by the >AFPRC/APRC's populist and simplistic narrative; especially, the bits >embodying its grotesque infrastructural developments as signs of changed >times for better. Indeed, the Opposition has identified the lies behind the >fabrications that Gambian lives have improved since 1994 and effectively >debunked them. But beyond the sophisticated urbanites, their message has >left >much to be desired. Because the message has, to this day, not changed, it >means that what in other ways, contexts and eras resembles an ingredient >for >mass agitation and disaffection remains a body of complacency and >indifference. This is the deficit we ought to correct if we are going to >impact upon those still lulled in the trance of Jammeh and the APRC. > >Now the good news. The dialectics of the current Gambian crisis has been >pretty much fleshed out by rigorous debates. Suffice to say that when it >comes to the intellectual and moral case against Jammeh, it is a foregone >conclusion that on these grounds by themselves alone, the Alliance wins >hands >down. In essence no serious or credible intellectual and moral arguments >persist today that in effect primes another day of Jammeh as Gambian >president. That has always been the easy bit. The earnest emptiness and >evilry of the Jammeh era is self-evident: all the stuff that makes up a >crackpot African dictatorship are all evident in Jammeh. The extra judicial >killings of innocent Gambians; the plundering of scarce Gambian resources >by >Jammeh; the abrupt withdrawal of basic civil liberties; the absence of a >judicial regime that rigorously upheld the Rule of Law; the continued >fettering and harrassment of journalists; distate for democratic and >governance values; and the refusal to acknowledge the essence of dissent in >a >polity purportedly buoyed by liberal democratic politics. This list, is by >no >means exhaustive. We can spend the rest of the day here stating the >intellectual and moral case against Jammeh. The case against Jammeh is >simply >overwhelming. > >The problem that faces us now vis-a-vis the manner and ways in which the >Alliance conducts its campaign, is to glibly translate these intellectual >and >moral arguments against Jammeh into a common populist language without so >much losing the essence of its moral and intellectual roots. When Goldberg >identified the enemy as the decimation of the middle-classes, the trick was >to communicate this newfound moral and intellectual truth in a way which >will >strike chords with not only the mentioned middle-classes but those also >aspiring to be one. The message has got escape the quirky bounds of >intellectual and moral rigour and populism be breezed into it without >compromising the coherency, effectiveness and seriousness of the message. >This is the first point. > >The second point is one of looking beyond the crisis and enacting a >proactive >mechanism that will sufficiently address the problems that gave imptus to >the >crisis. It is simply not enough to tell Americans that the middle-classes >are >fast disappearing; and it was caused by reckless Republican tax cuts for >the >upper classes. That way you are embroiling yourself in un-necessary class >warfare and unproductive arguments. Rather, you have got to imagine ways in >which the highlighted crisis can be seriously and effectively addressed. So >instead of empty anti- upper class rhetorics, you come up with effective >slogans like "its the economy, stupid" or inclusive ones like "putting >people >first". That you are not smeared as a bunch of firebrand leftist class >warriors. > >Similarly, and with regard to the Gambian context, when the Alliance >incessantly highlight the human rights abuses and other anomalies >associated >with the APRC, and engage in fiery rhetorics of justice, they always risked >being described as a violent and angry bunch of vindictive politicians who, >by virtue of their angry and vindictive rhetoric, have the propensity of >creating social upheaval in the event of their ascension to power. Indeed, >intellectual detractors of the Alliance enjoy nothing more than doing just >exactly that; especially during the presidential elections of 1996. One >recalls the columns of papers like Foroyaa, which wasted no time >immediately >after those elections to caricature the UDP along those lines. To avoid the >current presidential elections being dragged into such ignoble intellectual >distractions and frivolities, the Alliance must temper its rhetoric with >the >message of moderation that is inclusive and not divisive. For instance, >whilst it should uncompromisingly state that there would be enquiries into >the April Massacres, it ought to state categorically that there would be no >witch hunts and any or all political actions will primordially follow the >due >process of established laws and civil liberties will be respected. That way >we eradicate any mention of angry vindictiveness from the message. 'Cause >we >are moving on without Jammeh. > >To sum up my argument, i will humbly suggest that we learn from Goldberg >and >the New Democrats when they successfully took on the Republican incumbency >of >Bush without attracting their endless spins, control freakery and >tackiness. >We have got to translate the intellectual and moral narrative of the >current >crisis into a message that connects with Gambians of all walks of life. In >this scheme of things, the moral and intellectual arguments against Jammeh >ought to be neatly incorporated with the Alliance's Social, Economic and >Political Rectification Programmes. Out of this incorporation, we >mustcannily >craft a message that strikes a chord with ALL Gambians irrespective of >social, economic and political status. To this end, what undergirds the >Alliance's message and overall agenda is - to paraphrase from a slogan from >my compatriot, Kebba Dampha - that after 7 catastrophic years of Jammeh, >Gambians are now MOVING FORWARD. And what slogan exists today that best >encapsulates this fundamental moral truth than saying that after the >October >presidential elections, the Gambian Peoples will begin a journey of what >signally promulgates a national sense of Gambians MOVING FORWARD? To >localise >the slogan, the Alliance can easily refer to it as "Nyato" in Mandinka or >"Siikanam" in Wollof. The slogan can easily be translated into ALL the >local >languages of the country. That way, we will effectively succeed in >informing >the Gambian Peoples that it is about time we begin MOVING FORWARD from the >barbarism and decadence of the APRC era to a new era of decency, liberty >and >the Rule Of The Law without alienating any constituency. > > >Hamjatta Kanteh > >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > >To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L >Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html >You may also send subscription requests to >[log in to unmask] >if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your >full name and e-mail address. >---------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------