From first time candidates to seasoned incumbents of any political party, these are the essential pillars of electoral victory that you must know whether you are running for local, state or federal office. This book takes a deep dive into the essential principles and best practices that one must adhere to in order to help ensure victory in a political campaign, as well as walking the potential candidate through their decision-making process as they consider a run for office. Topics covered in this book include navigating the world of politics, how to decide whether to run in an election, campaign communications and strategy, and more. Whether you are a candidate for school board, mayor, city council, state house, state senate, congress, or even President, the pillars covered in this book will help you win your election.

The Four Pillars of Politics provides a uniform foundation for evaluating political campaign strategies. The four pillars identified in this book—fear, national narcissism, consumerism, and religion—serve as attitudinal anchors that American voters use in making their voting decisions. The dominant pillar may change from election to election, leading to situations in which a candidate who wins in one election may be defeated four years later. Kitchens and Powell examine how political communication is understood by combining these four pillars with the related matrix of attitudes, beliefs, and values that are integral components of the American culture. The Four Pillars of Politics will appeal to scholars of political science, communication studies, and journalism.

In the vein of Taylor Branch’s classic Parting of the Waters, Supreme Court lawyer and political pundit Linda Hirshman delivers the enthralling, groundbreaking story of the gay rights movement, revealing how a dedicated and resourceful minority changed America forever. When the modern struggle for gay rights erupted in the summer of 1969, forty-nine states outlawed sex between people of the same gender. Four decades later, in 2011, New York legalized gay marriage and the armed services stopped enforcing Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Successful social movements are always extraordinary, but these advances seem like something of a miracle. Linda Hirshman recounts the long roads that led to these victories, detailing the remarkable and revolutionary story of the movement that has blurred rigid gender lines, altered the shared culture, and broadened our definitions of family. Written in vivid prose, at once emotional and erudite, Victory is an utterly vibrant work of reportage and eyewitness accounts and demonstrates how, in a matter of decades, a focused group of activists forged a classic campaign for cultural change that will serve as a model for all future political movements. “Remarkable for its emotional punch as for its historical insight.”—New York Times Book Review

The 2002 campaign and election was one of the most dramatic in the history of the Federal Republic. An unprecedented last minute swing narrowly re-elected the Social Democratic-Green government of Chancellor Schroeder. The campaign featured the first-ever American style television debate between the two candidates for the chancellorship. Foreign policy, particularly the refusal of Schroeder to support the Iraq policies of US President George W. Bush, played an unusually important role. In the aftermath of the election the government was faced with a deteriorating economy and the charge of the opposition that it had deliberately mislead voters during the campaign. In this volume, distinguished experts from both sides of the Atlantic analyse these and other critical issues. Their work is based on extensive research in Germany and Washington, which included interviews with major political figures and the collection of new campaign and election data. Contributors: William Patterson, E. Gene Frankland, Clay Clemens, Christian Søe, Gerald R. Kleinfeld, David Patton, Dieter Roth, Mary N. Hampton, Ferdinand Breitbach, Irwin Collier, Helga Welsh, Stephen Szabo.

The 2002 campaign and election was one of the most dramatic in the history of the Federal Republic. An unprecedented last minute swing narrowly re-elected the Social Democratic-Green government of Chancellor Schroeder. The campaign featured the first-ever American style television debate between the two candidates for the chancellorship. Foreign policy, particularly the refusal of Schroeder to support the Iraq policies of US President George W. Bush, played an unusually important role. In the aftermath of the election the government was faced with a deteriorating economy and the charge of the opposition that it had deliberately mislead voters during the campaign. In this volume, distinguished experts from both sides of the Atlantic analyse these and other critical issues. Their work is based on extensive research in Germany and Washington, which included interviews with major political figures and the collection of new campaign and election data. Contributors: William Patterson, E. Gene Frankland, Clay Clemens, Christian Søe, Gerald R. Kleinfeld, David Patton, Dieter Roth, Mary N. Hampton, Ferdinand Breitbach, Irwin Collier, Helga Welsh, Stephen Szabo.

"Reading The Road to Political Victory is like sitting down and having a conversation with Eric C. Johnson about running your campaign for local political office. Johnson draws on years of experience working and volunteering on campaigns to give some of his best tips to you. Readers will learn about the effective use of social media, communicating with ethnic communities within the neighborhood, and much more. There is even information inside on setting up your campaign budget, and how to effectively leverage being an incumbent in your re-election.This book is a must read for anyone considering running to serve in public office. Before you make your announcement and alert the media, do yourself a favor. Pick up this book and set yourself up for a successful and impactful campaign right from the beginning. Let The Road to Political Victory be your map toward victory on Election Day."...amazon.com