Media Mix: The Surrogate Shuffle
As in a high-stakes poker game, a political spokesperson needs to know, above all, when to hold ‘em
2008-01-15
By Eric Easter

There are few things more interesting, or unsettling, in politics right now than The Battle of the Famous Negroes. And if CNN, MSNBC and Fox News are the battleground, this has been a one-sided battle that Hillary Clinton has been winning.

Hillary’s handlers have been working the TV producer circuit, supplying show bookers with a seemingly endless stream of ranking elected officials and high end muckety mucks – Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, John Lewis, and now notoriously, Bob Johnson. By contrast, they have often been paired with an Obama-supporting contingent largely made up of unknown state chairpersons, high ranking staffers and most importantly, the TV moderators themselves who have made little attempt to hide their disdain for the Clintons.

This poker game of “I see your local mayor and raise you a congressman”” is either effective or grating, depending on your point of view.

Clinton’s who’s who of usual suspects is a sign of high level support to some, but to others a strong indicator that a Clinton victory will mean more of the same old crowd (emphasis on old) and the same approaches. Put bluntly, everything except change.

Likewise, Obama’s team of less well known spokespeople means Obama is  either woefully deficient at wooing established black political veterans (as his critics attest), or else he’s doing in 2008 what Jesse Jackson did in 1984, which is building an entirely new crop of talented Black operatives who will be the foundation of a new generation in politics.

The strategy of using surrogates in politics started innocently enough. On any given day, candidates have dozens of options for where to be and what audiences to reach. You can do but so many. But what you chose not to do can damage you as much as another event may help you.

Enter the list of surrogates. Aside from fundraising, building this list is a full time job and generally takes the effort of several people, each in charge of his or her own constituency that they wrangle. Smart campaigns have surrogates for nearly every possible group–  labor, women, Native Americans, Pacific Islanders, the list goes on.

When used correctly, these surrogates add necessary street cred to a candidate’s policies and positions and bring with them a crowd of supporters for whom they are key influencers.

When used in a more calculating way, surrogates provide a convenient cover for not showing up to, say, a GLBT event that might prove controversial, and instead blow it off for a high dollar fundraiser just across town. 

And in the last 20 years or so (certainly in this campaign) surrogates have been charged with sending the not so nice messages that the campaign wants sent, but are too chicken to say themselves.

This kind of surrogate strategy almost always backfires. Current case in point: Bob Johnson.

Apologies and coy explanations aside, Johnson’s words were not a mistake. Serious campaigns spend half their day discussing message – deciding the message, distributing the message, making sure everyone stays on message.

Experienced political reporters know this, which is why no matter how a campaign may distance itself, messages that veer over into the dark and dirty side of politics always come home to roost.

Eric Easter is Chief of Digital Strategy for Johnson Publishing Company. He writes about politics, culture and technology for ebonyjet.com.