600th UPD Edition
I was too busy or too sleepy and failed to note the 600th edition of Utah Policy Daily on Tuesday. We’ve produced UPD every working day since May 7, 2004, without a miss. That’s a lot of 4 a.m. alarm clock rings. You can read each edition by going to our archive page.
Campaign Tip
Political Direct Mail That Sizzles
In the last several weeks of the campaign, many candidates will be hitting voters with direct mail pieces. Direct mail is one of the most important tools that local campaigns can use to reach voters effectively and affordably. To make your mail pieces succeed, you have to plan your campaign and design your mail to be effective. Here are some basic guidelines:
Target your mailing. Assuming your campaign funds are limited, mailing to people who don’t vote doesn’t make sense. Use voter files and party lists to make certain you are mailing to households that contain real voters.
Grab the voters’ attention. Remember, your mail piece is competing not only with every other campaign mailing that is send out, but with catalogs, bills, business advertisements, CDs from AOL, and all the other junk that clutters up a mailbox. To avoid being dumped in the trash with the latest supermarket circular, your mailing needs to stand out.
Use big headlines and catchy graphics, with big sub-headlines interspersed throughout the piece, drawing the reader through the mailer. Let the voters drill down for more info (the text of your piece) if they want to, but they should notice the headline and be able to follow your gist just by reading your sub-headlines.
Visuals Rule. Your text is important (especially for the press who read your piece), but the most important parts for the voters are the visuals. Use powerful graphics and pictures, including a color scheme that stands out but is easy on the eye. Leave lots of “white space” (the space around your text and visuals that is left blank) – it makes the piece easy to read. Your “white space” need not be white – for example, you may be using a light blue background.
To Stand Out, Don’t be Standard. Shy away from using the “good old fashioned” political colors and logos. If you do, your mail will simply blend in with all the other political mail that the voter receives. Your mail must GET NOTICED! That being said, keep it simple. Too many graphics, too many colors, and your reader will get tired or think it looks “amateurish.”
Know What People Read. After the headline, the most read part of the letter is the “P.S.” – if you’re sending out a letter-type mailing, always put your number-one message in the P.S. People also read the captions on photos – always put informative captions on the photos you use. If a paragraph is particularly important, make it extremely short (2-3 lines) or use a “pullout” capital letter to start the paragraph – either one will make it more likely to be read by people who are just “skimming” your piece. Remember – before reading, almost everyone just “skims” to see if it is worth his or her time. (Source: Joe Garecht, Local Victory)
Meaning of “the Pause”
Utah economist Jeff Thredgold’s weekly Tea Leaf economic update discusses the ramifications of the Federal Reserve’s decision to leave the federal funds interest rate as is. This pause in monetary tightening reflects a slowing economy and moderating inflationary pressures.
Blog Watch
At the Senate Site blog, Senate President John Valentine says: "The Governor, Speaker and I just discussed a map draft for a fourth seat in Congress. Check it out and tell us what you think. We have been proportionally underrepresented in Congress for several years now. It is well past time to put Utah citizens on equal footing with our neighbors in other states. I certainly appreciate all those who have worked so hard on the issue" (see also here, here, and here)... At the House Democratic Caucus blog, Rep. Brad King says of the tax cuts approved in Tuesday's special session: "We are told that by lowering the overall rate for personal income tax we will become a more attractive place for wealthy decision makers to locate their businesses. We are told that by increasing the tax brackets, we protect more income from taxation for all of Utah's citizens from the poorest to the most wealthy. ... It sounds like a win/win situation. So where is my hesitation? ... My greatest cause for hesitation is that the source of the tax relief is the education fund. ... How many fortune 500 companies would have to relocate to Utah in order to generate $70,000,000 to replace the $70,000,000 cut from the education budget? What could we do with the $70,000,000 if we were to use it rather than cut it? Does the fact that we have the opportunity to index our brackets balance the loss of revenue for the education funding? I fear that this tax proposal is a forgone conclusion. I hope that the will to do right by education with the money that is left from both one-time sources and next year's ongoing sources. Minus the 70,000,000, we need to commit 100% of available resources to the classrooms of our state" (see also here, here, here, here, and here)... Recovering Technophile endorses Senate candidate Pete Ashdown... Senate District 28 candidate Emily Hollingshead has another post calling for more civility in Utah politics... One Utah's Cliff Lyon calls Rep. Chris Cannon "an American traitor"... Utah Democrats notes that "Utah Republicans are planning a 'Big Red Whistle Stop Tour' of Iron and Washington Counties 'to energize the Republican base...' Participants will include the Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General and 2nd Congressional District candidate LaVar Christensen. One can't help but wonder if this has as much to do with a reenergized Democratic Party in Iron and Washington Counties as with a less than enthusiastic Republican base. For the first time in perhaps decades, both Iron and Washington County feature a full slate of Democratic candidates."
Washington Watch
Matheson: Ball in GOP's Court
Rep. Jim Matheson issues the following statement regarding legislation that would give Utah a fourth Congressional seat: "People's representation in the United States Congress is one of the most fundamental principles of our democracy. I have always said Utah deserves an additional voice in Congress. Utah should have been given a fourth seat after the 2000 Census. I've supported bipartisan legislation that would accomplish the goal. That compromise bill took partisanship out of the mix and it seemed likely to move forward, until one member of Congress blocked the bill's progress. If it gets unstuck, I look forward to voting for it. But clearly the ball is in the majority party's court" (see press release); Matheson opposes HR 4844, which would require proof of citizenship at the polling place, because it "puts U.S. citizens at risk of not being allowed to cast their vote" (press release).
Hatch Bills Clear Committee
Senate committee approves Sen. Orrin Hatch's Health Centers Renewal Act of 2006, which reauthorizes a federal program that "grants access to affordable health care via community health centers to low-income and underserved patients" (see press release); Senate committee approves Hatch's Traumatic Brain Injury Act of 2006, which "would reauthorize the only federal legislation specifically addressing issues faced by 5.3 million Americans who live with a long-term disability as a result of traumatic brain injury, or TBI" (press release); Hatch discusses follow-on biologics, patent reform, Medicare Part D, and drug safety in speech before the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (press release). |
