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Let’s face it.  Since they’re not professional politicians most Libertarians underperform because they are outgunned, outmanned and don’t understand the mechanics of turning out the vote.

That’s why Libertarians need to think outside the box and get innovative when it comes to identifying the number of votes needed to win their election and then identifying, organizing and mobilizing enough active voters to surpass that minimum number.

Las Vegas City Councilman Richard Cherchio faced a vicious Democrat Party challenge against a union-funded candidate, Wade Wagner.  Union bosses targeted Cherchio for defeat when he suggested renegotiating union contracts to save the city from financial collapse.

Unions are some of the most sophisticated and effective election machines around.  Knowing he would be outspent, outmanned and outgunned by his union-backed opponent, Cherchio’s campaign staff  got innovative.

Using the technology that makes musical greeting cards possible, his campaign sent out direct mail postcards that included a chip that included an audio clip of Wagner promising to raise taxes.

To be perfectly clear, the mailing was hideously expensive, $2.49 a piece for 2,500 pieces.  That’s $6,225.00 for a mailing that should cost a little over $1,000.  Hideously expensive.

And Cherchio lost.  By about two percent.

But the mailing seems to have made a difference.

“Crunching the numbers, the Cherchio camp lost the early vote by 69, but lost the Election Day vote by just three. In several precincts where Cherchio lost the early vote, he turned it around on Election Day after the talking mailer hit. Hearing Wagner’s blunder in his own words was powerful enough to shift the momentum. And Wagner’s barrage of negative mail was countered effectively in the final days by one novel piece of mail from Cherchio,” writes Crystal Martin in Campaigns & Elections magazine.

Would six mailings attacking Wagner for raising taxes have been more effective than one expensive “talking” mailer?

Probably.  I wouldn’t have done it.

But his staff were thinking outside the box.  And that’s what Libertarians need to do.

Don’t be afraid to try something new.

Just keep one thing in mind.

The purpose of a political campaign is to identify the number of votes needed to win a race and then identify those active voters, reach them, get their support, and get their ballots cast.

Before doing anything in a campaign, ask yourself “is this going to appeal to active voters, and get them to support my campaign in enough numbers to win?”

If your idea fulfills that, and at a lower cost — go with it.  And don’t be afraid to think outside the box.