Brand Trends - Political Branding

By Chuck Pettis

Summaries of brand trends as reported by
leading publications covering the branding field.

 

Political Branding - December, 2003 to August 31, 2004

It has been fascinating to watch the 2004 U.S. Presidential race. From a branding perspective, there are some basic branding and positioning strategies being used by both Bush and Kerry that stand out when reading the media:

 

  1. Push the Reptilian Hot Buttons
  2. Attack or respond to attacks
  3. Keep it simple (KIS)
  4. Frame issues with "idealistic" names and simple messages
  5. Focus on the most important target audiences
  6. Get the right people on the bus
  7. Make every event count

While these aren't the only brand strategies being used in the Presidential race, they are all relevant to any political or issue campaign. In the update of this blog to come after the Presidential election, I'll cover the importance of consistent messaging, as well as my analysis of the election results.

 

A quick note regarding the format of this blog. Read the following sections and commentaries as stand-alone stories.some short, some longer. While a few of the articles are from an electronic source and have a web link, most of the articles come from a magazine or newspaper article and aren't viewable on the web.

 

Many thanks to the editors and reporters that wrote all the great stories and articles.

 

I welcome your own comments, insights and wisdom. Email me at cpettis@brand.com
   - Chuck Pettis

 

Political Brand Strategy #1 - Push the Reptilian Hot Buttons

Cheney Speaks to the Reptile Brain
Common Dreams Newscenter email, August 19, 2004

Humans are the end-result of a long evolutionary process that has resulted in us having three brains:

  • The Reptilian brain is the animal part of our brain that is concerned with "survival" and "reproduction." The Reptilian brain reacts in a fight-or-flight or mating mode. It operates on purely a non-verbal "gut" level.
  • The Limbic brain is the mammal part of our brain having to do with "my children" and "higher" emotions, such as love, compassion, envy, and hope.
  • The Cortex Brain is part of our brain that is unique to humans. The Cortex brain is responsible for "rational" thought and keeping the other two brains under control. It likes numbers, facts, and "rational" decisions.

The Reptilian Brain will always win out over the Cortex Brain. We do not "reason" when our survival is at stake. Those in power often use this to their advantage. For example, when the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon were attacked on 9-11, our Reptilian Brain was strongly aroused and is still alert and afraid. The United States had been attacked by enemies. Our "survival" was at stake. We had to "fight back." President Bush declared war on terror. Then Bush very skillfully changed the enemy to Saddam Hussein and his "weapons of mass destruction." There was no rational debate in Congress or in the media about attacking Iraq. The attacks and threat to the USA by these "evil" enemies was perceived instinctually and the pushing of this "Reptilian hot button" produced fast and "unthinking" response.

 

To counter this Reptilian brain positioning (the survival of America is at stake), the Democrats need to counter by saying "America is not safer because we are in Iraq. Al Qaeda is the enemy, not Iraq. There were no 9-11 terrorists in Iraq and there were no weapons of mass destruction. Our real enemy is still at large. In fact, we are more at danger than we were before Sept. 11, 2001. This is directly the fault of George W. Bush."

 

The ideal persuasive message, position, cause, or product will speak to all three brains. When all three brains are in agreement and "spoken to," we feel happy and in harmony. When politicians formulate messages in such a way that they speak to all three brains, they win their campaigns.

 

Here is an example of the masterful use of the three brains in politics. Dick Cheney rebutted a recent comment by Sen. John Kerry about sensitivity in the war on terrorism by saying, "America has been in too many wars for any of our wishes, but not one of them was won by being sensitive." Cheney's statement first appealed to the thinking, numbers-oriented Cortex brain ("too many wars") and then to the emotional Limbic brain ("for our wishes/hopes/ideals"), and then finally, the Reptilian brain ("...but not one of them was won by being sensitive.")

 

The comment brought immediate laughter, an emotional and involuntary response from the Limbic brain. Then Cheney spoke directly to the Reptilian brain, the most powerful part of our brain, the one which is always vigilantly guarding our survival. "Those that threaten us and kill innocents around the world," he said, "do not need to be treated more sensitively, they need to be destroyed."

 

Cheney took Kerry's comment out of context and achieved his goal by using the Reptilian hot button of survival, combined with ridicule. However, the Reptilian brain doesn't understand context; context is an abstract thought belonging to the Cortex brain.

 

Kerry's weak response? "It's sad they can only be negative." This message only communicates to the Cortex brain and did not address the Limbic nor the Reptilian brains.

 

Kerry could have answered:

  • "How insensitive of Cheney to have all 1,000 (Cortex brain) dead American sons (Limbic brain) brought back in secret, late-night plane flights and to deny those soldiers who have given their lives for their country (Reptilian brain) the respect and honor they deserve upon their return to US soil."
  • "Those that insensitively name all those who disagree with US policy 'evil,' 'traitors,' or 'unpatriotic' are the ones we should fear. Those that insensitively condone inhumane torture of Iraq prisoners and imprison people without due process and legal representation are the ones we should fear."

In my opinion, most Democrats, through ignorance, have poorly utilized the three brains, so far. To its detriment, the Democratic party simply does not appear to understand that the Reptilian brain will always win in a so-called rational situation. When confronted with a "Reptilian attack," it is essential to respond appropriately at the Reptilian brain level or you lose "points" and "face."

 

The most powerful tool to hit all three brains is good-natured ridicule and put-down humor. Once people start laughing at you, the end is near. Ridicule connects to all three brains, causing lasting emotional impressions. The impact of ridicule lasts much longer than a rational fact-based response. As Czech author Milan Kundera wrote, "Mockery is a rust that corrodes as it touches."

 

John Edwards crafted a message with his "two Americas" frame that touches the voter's intellect (cortex brain), heart (limbic brain), and survival needs (reptilian brain). A few quotes from his speech (see link below):

  • One America that is struggling to get by, another America that can buy anything it wants, even a Congress and a President.
  • What's more, by dividing us into two Americas, George Bush is hurting our economy, cheating our future, and undermining our very way of life.
  • If the current trend continues, one out of seven middle-class families with children will go bankrupt by the end of the decade.
  • I've been fighting this fight my whole life.
  • And I still believe in an America where the son of a mill worker can beat the son of a president to win the White House in 2004!

Carefully chosen put-down humor would be a powerful strategy against George W. Bush - check out the George W. Bush "resume" link below. An effective advertising campaign that lightly ridicules Bush while clearly and accurately pointing out his failings could be devastating.

 

To see a perfect example of the Reptilian Brain in action, check out Schwarzenegger's speech at the Republican National Convention. A few choice quotes:

'Kennedy moment' tops Bush agenda
The Seattle Times, December 5, 2003

Late in 2003 and early 2004, President Bush tried to appeal for a national goal, similar to 1962 when then president John F. Kennedy called for the nation to land a man on the moon and return him safely by the end of the decade. The incredible feat was accomplished in 1969.

 

I can still remember the fear in our country when the Soviet's launched Sputnik I. At that time, we were in the midst of a serious cold war with Russia and this moon landing was part of the plan to win that war. I can well remember the 1969 moon landing and the inspiration it gave to the US and the world.

Would such an ambitious national goal work today? Probably not, which is why the idea died a quick death.

 

Political Brand Strategy #2 - Attack or Respond to Attacks.

Suiting up for a Nasty Brawl
Advertising Age Magazine, March 8, 2004

 

Back in March, Ad Age predicted that the 2004 election battle was going to be nasty and brutal. They were right on. Both sides are highly polarized, very passionate and very angry.

 

In Bush's War Room, the Kerry Attack Squadron
The New York Times, July 14, 2004

Imagine President Bush's campaign aides watching 15 television monitoring every speech of John Kerry. On one occasion, even though none of the networks were carrying Mr. Kerry's entire speech (to a group of financial donors), the private-eye-like operatives had arranged for their own audio feed and were following Kerry's every word, ready to take advantage of any opportunity for attack.

 

The opportunity came and the team immediately sent an e-mail press release to hundreds of journalists, supporters and campaign surrogates noting the discrepancy. The release included not only the quote from the speech but another quote from a September 2003 speech. As a result, the quotation and its critique by the Bush War Room found its way into articles in several major newspapers and the Associated Press.

 

The idea of a war room is not a new concept. Companies and ad agencies do them all the time. The Bush war room is more technologically advanced. Actually, the idea to research statements used by the opponent and then release the information to the media was pioneered in 1992 by Bill Clinton in his campaign for the presidency. I recently heard Bill Clinton explain the idea on a TV talk show. Clinton said that any attack or inappropriate statement by the opponent should be seen as an publicity opportunity and immediately responded to in order to blunt the attack and shape voter perceptions.

 

The Bush war room is based on the attack strategy. The Bush team is using every opportunity to "brand" John Kerry as a political "flip-flopper" who frequently switches positions on important issues. A sign on the door of Bush's campaign communications office says: "It's the Hypocrisy, Stupid."

 

Here are some specific tactics used in the Bush War Room to discredit Sen. Kerry:

  • College students or recent graduates continually monitor not just television (cable, financial, C-span feeds and the major broadcast networks), but also politically oriented web sites. Any broadcast can be digitally recorded at a moment's notice.
  • Collect and analyze the key stories from morning newspapers.
  • Scan local newspapers for clues to planned appearances by John Kerry or John Edwards or their spokespersons and then arrange for a friendly state representative to appear to rebut Kerry.

Moore's film's success stirs GOP unease
The Seattle Times, July 23, 2004

 

Michael Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11" is an excellent example of combining attack with ridicule and mockery to denigrate an opponent. The popular mover made $94 million dollars by mid-July 2004. GOP consultant Scott Reed notes that if it moves 3 or 4 percent of voters, the movie will be a success. When my wife and I went to see it, we met a neighbor in the lobby afterwards. She said that she had voted for Bush in the last election, but this movie had made her unsure of voting for Bush again.

 

Speech orders: Short and relatively sweet
The Seattle Times Newspaper, July 26, 2004

 

Speeches at the Democratic National Convention in July 2004 followed several rules:

  1. Keep it short
  2. Stick to the message
  3. Keep it positive.

 

Speechwriters for speakers at the 2004 Democratic Convention were given a three-page memo titled "Procedures for Convention Speakers" prepared by Jack Corrigan, Kerry's main man for the conference. These speech rules were designed to appeal to undecided, middle-of-the-road, independent voters presumed to be tired of the negative politics and to provide them with more information about Kerry and his policies. A dozen speechwriters, working two shifts were on-call to revise the 160+ speeches. All speeches were asked to go easy on the Bush bashing.

 

Was this the right strategy? Time will tell. It's hard to go wrong with short, consistent messaging. I personally felt that Kerry should have attacked Bush at the convention. Look at the boost in polls and approval ratings that Bush got after the Republican National Convention. It's sad, but true: attacking opponents wins elections.

The Softer Side of John Kerry
AdWeek Magazine, March 8, 2004

 

Repositioning Kerry from a reserved upper-class Bostonian to a personable, yet strong Commander In Chief is one of the key branding strategies and challenges embraced by the Kerry team.

 

Senator Kerry is reported to show his soft side through Douglas Brinkley's book Tour of Duty that tells the story of how Kerry saved Jim Rassmann's life in Vietnam 35 years ago. Played up in television spots, Del Sandusky, the pilot steering the boat Kerry was on, says, "The decisions that he made saved our lives. He had unfailing instinct and unchallengeable leadership."

 

What Americans want in a President is a leader, someone who can make tough decisions, while still being one "of the people." The positioning of saving lives as being "soft" is wrong. Saving lives is about bravery and being strong, not soft. Americans want someone they can relate to, someone who embodies the archetype for leader.

 

Taking advantage of the stiff, upper-class perception of Kerry, President Bush regularly appears without a suit or tie, with his shirt sleeves rolled up, like a "regular guy" archetype.

 

With this in mind, Kerry should be acting and communicating the Leader/Ruler archetypal personality traits:

  • Stable, established, solid reputation
  • Efficient, productive
  • Natural manager of people, organizer, leader
  • Politically astute
  • Ability to take decisive action
  • In control, in charge, self-confident, create standards
  • Like being out front, such as the biggest, best, most successful, etc.

Kerry should talk about:

  • How skilled he is at matching people's abilities with the tasks to be done
  • His experience in recruiting and managing high-quality people
  • His leadership qualities
  • His ability to take over if things look like they are getting out of hand

Questions of Leadership Style
The Wall Street Journal, May 19, 2004

President Bush's leadership style is very dictatorial and he is not bashful about admitting it. On CNN, Bush said, "If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator."

 

Bush's administration is known for little debate . Mr. Bush is the boss. Leaks and public disagreements are not tolerated. After policy has been established, it stays in place even if the initial assumptions are discovered to be false. The administration is also resolutely stubborn about not admitting mistakes.

 

1988: the making of the president
The Seattle Times Newspaper, July 12, 2004

 

In the 1988, George W. sharpened two skills that now brand his own campaigns and presidency: an ability to connect and mobilize evangelical Christians and a strategy of fearless, aggressive politics. Before that campaign, George W. was aimless, moving from working in the oil industry to an unsuccessful run for Congress, back to the oil industry. It was when he turned 40 in 1986 that Bush stopped drinking, renewed his Christian faith, and returned to politics by plunging into his father's presidential bid.

 

In campaigning, the younger Bush showed a more aggressive style than his father. George Bush was more intent on governing the country than on politics; George W. relished the combative style of campaigning.

 

By stating unequivocally "Jesus Christ is my personal savior," George W. was accepted by conservative activists.

 

Political Brand Strategy #3 - Keep it simple (KIS)

The Gospel According to George
Newsweek Magazine, April 26, 2004

 

President Bush is a man who prefers to preach rather than answer questions during his press conferences. I watched one news conference where he "preached" quite a long time at the beginning continually using the fear and threat of terrorism to justify all his actions.

 

George Bush divides the world and the presidential campaign into two distinct arenas: those who believe in Bush's policies/vision and "non-believers." Faith is the essence of his (and Dick Cheney's) war leadership. When asked if George W. consulted his father before invading Iraq, Bush demurred and referred to a "higher father" to whom he appealed to. The Iraqi war is framed as a war where "God is on our side." Read Bob Woodward's new book "Plan of Attack" to understand more of the inner thinking of the Bush decision to invade Iraq. Bush seems to have depended on divine guidance rather than the considered opinions of top advisors.

 

Manichaean, a conflict between good and evil, describes Bush's war strategy. Bush suggests that any criticism of the war by Kerry and the Democrats is disrespectful of the troops in Iraq and even treasonous. In his new book, "Losing America: Confronting a Reckless and Arrogant Presidency," Senator Robert Byrd quotes Nazi leader Herman Goering's advice to rulers who want to increase their power, "Whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship, all you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."

 

With God As His Co-Pilot
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, August 22, 2004

 

President Bush combines a conservative Christian outlook with his political agenda and patriotic duty to create a black and white, in or out framework. This "God is on my side" self-proclaimed Christian righteousness uses strategic messaging and communications specially targeted to the mass media.

 

Research by David Domke, University of Washington professor of Communication, identified four strategies:

  • Simplistic, black-and-white conceptions of the political landscape
  • Calls for urgent action on administration policies as part of the fight against terrorism.
  • Declarations about the will of God for America and its principles
  • Claims that dissent from the administration is unpatriotic and a threat

This approach creates the perception that with Bush, "Either you are with us, or you are against God." This message is reinforced by the news media. In an analysis of more than 300 editorials, Mr. Domke found only two that criticized the administration's description of the campaign against terrorism as a struggle of good vs. evil. This is a major failure of the American press.

 

Mr. Domke concludes with a warning: "Noble ideals such as freedom and liberty are clearly worth pursuing, but the administration promoted those concepts with its left hand while using its right hand to treat others - including many U.S. citizens - in an authoritarian, dismissive manner."

 

Designing a Better Presidential Daily Brief
The Wall Street Journal, May 4, 2004

 

Every day the President of the United States gets a written daily briefing. The release of the original Bin Laden Presidential Daily Brief (PDB) shows some common communications mistakes, such as long paragraphs, lack of bullet points, and no emphasis on important information.

 

Everyone, especially the President, is busy these days. To make it easy to skim for important points, experts recommend the use of color, summary information, clear titles, large and readable fonts, bullet points, color, and a scheme for logically presenting and prioritizing information. Click here to see the redesigned PDB.

 

Campaign A Race to Define Kerry
The Seattle Times, May 10, 2004

 

Political positioning usually involves finding a weakness in the opponent and exaggerating it through simplistic messages.

 

Bush commercials since March 2004 by position Kerry as a "flip-flopper" and charge that Kerry:

  • Plans to raise taxes
  • Voted against body armor for combat troops
  • Opposed weapons needed to win the war on terror
  • Supports a gas-tax increase
  • Would weaken the Patriot Act's ability to arrest terrorists and defend America

Kerry's ad campaign positions Bush as creating "Two Americans" and as:

  • Wanting to reverse the Clean Air and Clean Water acts, in essence allowing corporations to write our environmental laws.
  • Wanting to select "anti-choice justices" to a Supreme Court that "is just one vote away from outlawing a woman's right to choose."

Political Brand Strategy #4 - Frame issues with "idealistic" names and simple messages

Patriot Act rebounds politically
The Seattle Times, April 26, 2004

 

The Bush team is great at coming up with names that seem to represent the high moral ground. The " Patriot Act" is an excellent example of this. Although cited as an intrusion on civil rights by the Democrats, the Patriot Act has emerged as a foundation of the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign.

 

Here are the objectionable parts of the Act:

  • Gives officials more powers in search and seizures and in sharing information
  • Allows secret searches in which the authorities delay notifying a suspect
  • Allows the attorney general to detain any non-citizen believed to be a national security risk.

Other examples of excellent, but deceptive brand naming by the Bush administration:

Political Brand Strategy #5 - Focus on the most important target audiences

 

In any branding campaign, the most important decision is the selection of the "target audience." With companies, the goal is usually to find the 20% of customers that provide 80% of revenues and profits. In politics, the top-two target audiences are: current supporters (something that the Republicans scored high on at their National Convention in August); and undecided voters.

 

Undecided Voter Becoming Focus of Both Parties
The New York Times, June 11, 2004

 

Undecided voters account for approximately 5 percent of the voting public. The archetypal swing voter is a white, married woman living in the suburbs. "She" is younger, lower-income and less educated than the electorate. Her key issues: the environment; abortion rights; she thinks the nation is heading in the wrong direction; is concerned about the draft; and doesn't trust the candidates' advertisements.

 

Can Kerry Make The Sale?
Newsweek Magazine, August 2, 2004

 

Swing voters are the target market. Kerry must shape his message to sell them and it won't be easy. They are diverse and as a block, much smaller than earlier presidential campaigns. According to Matt Dowd (strategist for the Bush-Cheney Re-election Campaign), nearly two-thirds of all voters in 1992 were up for grabs; this year, by his estimate, only 17 percent are. Their profile is: female, white, married, working at one or more jobs and earning a middle income. Many are Hispanic. They generally pay less attention to politics than others do, and are influenced more by fleeting impressions of character than by party identity, ideology or specific proposals.

 

Ad placement reflects Bush, Kerry strategies
The Seattle Times Newspaper, July 18, 2004

 

Critical differences in the target audience for each presidential candidate's advertising campaigns are noted in the selection of shows where their advertisements appear . The Bush campaign places its ads around crime shows such as "Cops", "Law & Order", and "JAG;" these are chosen to attract Republican men. The Kerry campaign places it ads around shows with softer themes such as "Judge Judy," "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "Late Show with David Lettermen."

 

The largest ad battle is for the hearts and minds of the elderly and women. Both candidates' top ten shows include programs on NBC, local newscasts and shows such as "Oprah," "Wheel of Fortune," and "Dr. Phil," all shows that appeal to women and those over 55.

 

Voters Are Harder to Reach As Media Outlets Multiply
The Washington Post, June 16, 2004

 

In the 1990s, a political ad would air a minimum of five times. Today that ad would air at least 12 times. The change is due to the fact that viewers can now choose from over 100 TV channels. This change is reflected in the other traditional mediums - mail, phones, the internet and polls. More channels mean less message repetition, which means less message retention. For example, phone-based polls are less effective today as calls are blocked via caller ID, refused as telemarketing, or unavailable as an unlisted telephone numbers. Plus, the increased use of cell numbers further reduces the incidence of completed calls because pollsters aren't allowed to call anyone who has to pay for the in coming call. (Too bad that rule doesn't apply to email and junk faxes!) It is common now for pollsters to make seven or eight calls to complete one survey. At BrandSolutions, we find surveys getting tougher due to corporate rules about taking surveys, internal email filters for email surveys, reluctance to provide email lists due to spam worries, and people are just more busy now than they used to be.

 

The Few Decide for the Many
BusinessWeek Magazine, June 14, 2004

 

Voter participation is down to 54.5% - 139th among countries with democratic elections. This is due in part to the disenchantment of the American democratic process: our popular vote selects a candidate but the real winner is chosen by the Electoral College. Therefore, candidates select those states whose ballots are undecided. These states are termed the battleground states.

 

For example, campaign rhetoric reviews the decline of US manufacturing. Why? The seven industrial battleground states with 79 electoral votes will affect the election. Washington and Oregon are also sought after: a high-tech family in the suburbs of Seattle or Portland is among the most sought after voter and hence receive attention in many focus groups and direct mail solicitations.

 

The most critical battleground states are Florida, Ohio and Missouri. No Republican has been elected without carrying Ohio; no Democrat has been elected without carrying Florida.

 

Candidates Face Sprawling and Complex Electoral Map
The New York Times, May 12, 2004

 

In counting electoral votes, both President Bush and Senator John Kerry are in the largest and most complex electoral voting contests in 20 years. Sixteen "swing" states (Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington State and Wisconsin) were won by either Al Gore or Mr. Bush by six percentage points or less in 2000. The five most important states include: Florida, Ohio and Missouri, which Mr. Bush won, and Pennsylvania and Iowa, which Mr. Gore won.

Campaign '04: Battleground Florida
AdWeek, April 26, 2004

 

In 2000, Florida was the scene of a bitter and drawn-out presidential fight. This campaign year will be no different: both parties must have this state. The Bush campaign realizes they can no longer count on the state to vote Republican. While Democrats outnumber the Republicans, there are many Black voters who are angry over the 2000 election. They could turn out in greater numbers this year. Everyone, including Hispanic voters, will pay more attention to advertising.

 

Jim Innocenzi, a Washington political media consultant, predicts that seven of every eight ad minutes of TV programming will be on politics, especially in Orlando and Tampa.

 

For a summary of the how the Electoral College will vote based on the most current survey results, click on http://www.electoral-vote.com

 

The Very, Very Personal is the Political
The New York Times Magazine, February 15, 2004

 

Databases that include the name of every one of the 168 million registered voters in the country, are cross-indexed with phone numbers, addresses, voting history, etc. are owned by both the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee.

 

The goal? To draw people into the voting booth through the issues, or through the one issue, that they care about. The databases and its accompanying statistical tools enable the campaign manager to target the voter who will listen to their political message.

 

This information has been gleaned from the following sources (to name only a few):

  • State voter-registration rolls
  • Census reports
  • Consumer data-mining companies
  • Direct marketing vendors
  • Canvassers by phone or doorstep
  • Subscriber lists
  • Mortgage data
  • Product warranty information

These sources are used to create individualized messages for each voter and determine which voters to spend more time with.

 

Political Brand Strategy #6 - Get the right people on the bus

 

In the book, Good to Great, Jim Collins outlines the traits that define the most successful companies in America. One of those principles is to "get the right people on the bus," to get the right people on your team (and get the wrong people off your team). In politics, endorsements (for and against), affiliations, issues, and association with voter groups and interest groups are also important.

 

Who Funded That Negative Ad?
The Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2004

 

New, unaffiliated political groups are becoming a major political force. These groups were created after the passage of the 2002 campaign-finance-reform law and are transforming campaign-advertising strategies.

 

The funds for these independent groups come from wealthy donors, labor unions and corporations. Moveon.org and the Media Fund, the largest of the Democratic groups, have spent about $50 million combined on commercials critical of President Bush's education, economic and Iraq policies. These commercials have supposedly freed Democratic nominee John Kerry to accentuate the positive and his biography in his commercials.

Churches get word from Bush campaign
The Seattle Times Newspaper, July 2, 2004

 

The Bush-Cheney re-election campaign sends a "to-do" list to religious volunteers in America asking them to turn over church directories to the campaign, distribute issue guides in their churches and persuade their pastors to hold voter registration drives. The list even sets a timeframe for the duties to be accomplished. This plan of action may violate tax rules that prohibit churches from engaging in partisan activity. The Bush-Cheney campaign maintains that its "religious-outreach program" is legal.

 

In June the IRS sent a definitive letter to both the Republican and Democratic national committees reminding them of the law. Religious organizations are allowed to sponsor debates, distribute voter guides and conduct voter-registration drives. But these efforts must not show a preference for or against one candidate or party.