Movements Should Be About Messages, Not Messengers

Messages require messengers. But there’s a problem with that. When messengers go down, the messages seem to die along side them.

That’s the problem South Carolina’s so-called reform movement now faces.

They’ve done a good job over the past few years. They haven’t won a lot of elections or accomplished much at the Statehouse, but they’ve drummed a great deal of public support. I’d consider it a flawed campaign strategy but a successful PR strategy.

That PR strategy now faces failure as their crowned messenger is seen as little more than a philandering hypocrite.

The real question now is – can members of “the movement” pick up the pieces?

Up until now they’ve had it easy. And that’s because they had the best messenger they could ever possibly have. Articulate, attractive, and appealing, Governor Mark Sanford was more than just a good messenger. He was the most popular public figure in South Carolina. He was seen as an ethical a man of character. You could trust him at his word. He didn’t care about the political consequences because he was fighting for what’s right.

But what seems right isn’t always what’s actually right and that produces a massive risk in allowing one person to carry a message. Governor Sanford may have seemed right on a lot of the issues, but he had numerous character flaws and its those flaws that kept him from accomplishing anything of real merit over this gubernatorial tenure. It’s the one major mistake “the movement” made. They didn’t base their arguments strictly on issues. They based them on personalities: The Governor is righteous. Everyone else is corrupt. That has been their mantra.

That’s the risk that comes with putting all your eggs into one basket. Marketing a message around one singular person or a small group of individuals is a formula for failure. Sure, the movement leaders will claim otherwise as they’ve had smaller players carrying their water too, but it was always Mark Sanford who stood at the center. When the smaller players spoke, they weren’t labeled as reformers. They were labeled as Sanfordites.

Those at the center of the so-called “movement” are now tasked with picking up the pieces and finding someone to carry their message. I have a suggestion. Quit making the fight so personality driven. Make it about the ideas and have the voters carry the message. Voters are smart. They don’t need a super hero or a villain. They feel the effects of bad policy in the work they do, the bills they pay, and the communities in which they live. To them it’s about the message, not the messenger.

We live a democracy where people have voices and those people can make real change happen. And we live in a new day where those people have the technological capabilities to connect in ways like never before. Movements can become viral when they are about ideas and less about personalities. While messages require messengers, they don’t have to be centered on the messenger. If right, the message itself is enough.

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