UPRA to #Wiunion protesters: Don't be discouraged, but don't be douches either

OK, first of all, dumping a beer on somebody is a total douche thing to do. Complete dick move. Not only is it just kinda mean to the dumpee, but it becomes all about attention for the dumper, no longer for the dumper's worthy cause.


The incident in question (semi-professional protester Miles Kristan, dumper, vs. GOP Rep. Robin Voss, dumpee) led to a front-page story in the Wisconsin State Journal by Clay Barbour, who's usually pretty good. But really? One idiot dumps a beer, and we have to examine the whole thing, after months of relative peace and hundreds of thousands of well-behaved people expressing themselves?


The headline immediately gives away the bias of the piece. Sorry, Clay, but it does. The print headline was "Wearing out their welcome?" 


Yeah, Clay, and yeah, headline-writing copy-editor person. The protesters have worn out their welcome. That's kinda the point. They're there to make the governor and Republican legislature uncomfortable. I think they wore out their welcome on about February 15. Which is terrific for them.


Online the headline is not a question, it's just "Wearing out their welcome: Protesters still at Capitol, irking lawmakers."


Oh, no. Lawmakers are irked. How dare anyone irk a lawmaker.


If we set aside for a moment the fact that this story didn't really warrant being written in the first place, the story itself is not terrible, except for a few editorial intrusions on the part of the reporter. For example:

Several conservatives believe the protesters have been coddled by the Dane County District Attorney's Office and fear the beer incident is just another step toward a violent altercation.

Really? How do you know that? How do you know what anyone believes? Even if you added "say they believe," that'd be a little better. But how about an actual attribution? You quote Joel Kleefisch, but is there anyone beyond him? Does he speak for "several conservatives?" Without better attribution, I will continue to believe you're kind of fanning the flames a bit, Clay.


By the way, Chris Rickert wrote an interesting response to Clay's piece. Worth a read.


But anyway, now, on to Democrats and their protester friends: to you, I say, chill a bit. 


First, protesters, don't dump beverages on anybody. And also, don't shout down the Democratic Representatives. Don't be purity trolls. One very important thing from a political PR perspective is to present a unified voice and a unified front. You can disagree on certain things with people on your own side, but for heaven's sake don't let the other side think they can divide and conquer.


Second, Dems, don't turn on your own folks. Even though it's as natural to you as breathing, don't worry! Don't wring your hands and start talking like Joe Lieberman. Or Droopy Dog. Don't say things like "Protesters who misbehave make our whole side look bad." That's dumb. 


For example, new Rep. Brett Hulsey:

"We really don't need bad behavior taking attention away from what Walker is doing," said state Rep. Brett Hulsey, D-Madison. "We need to focus on recalling him. Pouring beer on someone doesn't help the cause."

Brett, I know you feel this way, and I agree, it's a distraction. But here's what you should have said:

"This is all a distraction. We need to focus on recalling Walker and restoring the labor peace that has kept Wisconsin going for the last 50 years."

See? Makes the same point without blaming our own people.

And we can't win anything by calling attention to "bad behavior" of our own people. Because guess what? No matter how well-behaved our protesters are, the other side will just make shit up. They'll lie about damage to private property. They'll lie about damage to public property. They'll start calling peaceful protests "riots." They'll even actively do things to make us look bad.


But listen: The other side of the debate are never the people you need to impress.


This is a good place to introduce my Third Rule of Public Relations: Go for the swing voters. At least when you're talking about public debate, you're never ever going to convince the other side to ease up or change their tune, so you have to let them say what they're going to say and respond in an effort to win over everybody else. 


That does not mean capitulate to the masses or try to move toward centrist positions. That's a common mistake. All it means is that you can and should get the swing voters to your side. And by swing voters I mean people who maybe aren't paying full attention all the time. People who don't have a dog in the fight. People whose opinions are malleable.


When the other side does lie, respond. Rather than saying, "These protesters are making us look bad," say, "The Republicans want to use our protesters to make us look bad, but it's not going to work, because 99% of our protesters just come and sing songs and don't cause any trouble. Unlike demonstators on their side, who seem prone to violence."


So. This has been a long and somewhat rambling post, so let's sum up:


Protesters: Don't be douches. But don't let yourselves be scapegoats, either. Don't quit singing just because some reporter thinks maybe you've "worn out your welcome."
Democrats: Republicans will say all protesters are douches. Don't let them get away with it, and for the love of God don't even let it seem like you maybe might agree with them for one second.


And I'll leave it at that, because I fear this post has probably worn out its welcome 250 words ago or so.