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Behind Closed Doors in Political Consulting with Jamie Miller
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Jamie Miller's Work
Join us for an engaging conversation with Jamie, a seasoned political consultant who shares his unique journey navigating the unpredictable world of political campaigns. From assisting on the Katherine Harris US Senate campaign to using humor as a tool in high-stakes political environments, Jamie reveals the balancing act of integrity and the emotional rollercoaster candidates face. He offers personal anecdotes that illuminate the hidden challenges behind political scenes, providing a glimpse of the humanity in the often cutthroat arena of politics.
We also take a closer look at campaign blunders and unity concerns, dissecting recent debates and potential internal conflicts within the Biden administration. Jamie shares his thoughts on how younger generations consume political content and the implications of meme culture on substance. Leadership qualities are put under the microscope, along with anecdotal insights from Jamie’s first political mentor, as we explore the intricate dynamics within political campaigns and what they mean for future leadership.
As we turn our gaze to the economic influence of political decisions, we unravel the impact of Citizens United on American politics and explore the financial pressures facing voters today. Jamie provides insightful comparisons of the Trump and Biden administrations' economic performances, highlighting key voting blocs and issues shaping electoral outcomes. Finally, we reflect on the contrasting primary processes within both major parties, emphasizing the necessity of fair and transparent procedures. This episode promises a compelling blend of humor, personal stories, and expert analysis, offering listeners a multifaceted view of modern political landscapes.
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Welcome back everybody. I'm talking large-scale corporations as well as political campaigns, in a consulting format, and he has agreed to come on and give us his insight about the 2024 cycles, and we'll see where this goes. Jamie, how are you?
Speaker 2:I'm doing well. Thank you for having me on.
Speaker 1:Such a pleasure. So I see here that amongst your many qualifications you also are a graduate of the Les McCurdy's Comedy Boot Camp with open mic night appearances. So tell us about that.
Speaker 2:You know, I like to say that it's always been a dream of mine to produce a television show. So I wrote a show. I actually wrote a book based on my experience with the Katherine Harris US Senate campaign in 2006. That even made page six of the New York Post, but I had an agent. I just didn't never sold the book. So I thought, ok, well, the next step is to make a fictional TV show out of it, and it kind of would have been along the lines of Veep you know where House of Cards meets Veep, sort of thing. I was a little bit more dramatic, probably, than Veep.
Speaker 2:And so Les McCurdy has been a friend of mine. He has a comedy theater here in Sarasota, florida, but he toured back in the late 70s and 80s with the likes of Roseanne Barr and Ray Romano and Jerry Seinfeld and all the greats right, robin Williams. And so he found Sarasota Florida and decided well, instead of killing myself running around with these folks, I'll just set up my own shop and have them come to me. And so he has a super successful comedy theater here in Sarasota and he has a boot camp. So, les is like you have to come do the boot camp too, you know, if you really want to write a comedy show, you have to come through the boot camp, and so it's like a six week boot camp. It ends up with an open mic night, and I like to say that some people even laughed.
Speaker 1:Right. So politics is actually kind of funny, isn't it? Do you think you have to have a good sense of humor to be an effective part of the political system?
Speaker 2:I think you have to have a little bit of a sense of humor, but you also have to have a little bit of a dead heart. You kind of have to take the emotion out of it, because oftentimes you're dealing with personalities. And so I was at an advertising conference early in my career in Atlanta, sitting at the bar with this guy from Procter Gamble, and he's just like man. I'm just so fascinated by your work in political consulting. It must be so great to have a product that can help you sell it. And I said well, your soap has never jumped off the shelf and solicited a prostitute.
Speaker 2:And so and I've had candidates maybe not do that, but come very close, get arrested, duis, things like that where the you, you know the human condition has flaws, and sometimes those flaws show up during campaigns. And so, you know, during those tough times you're dealing with other people on staff who have their livelihood is based upon it. Most people on staff are not independently wealthy people. They're people who are true believers and working for small salaries for something they believe in. And you're dealing with spouses and children, sometimes brothers and sisters, who all have this human condition. So as a consultant, yes, you need to have a sense of humor, but you also need to be able to step back and understand the human condition that everybody's going through when they're going through. Oftentimes, one of the most stressful times in their lives is putting your name on a ballot. I don't care if it's for dog catcher or president of the United States At some. At some point, you're looking to the public for real validity. This isn't like oh, like some Facebook, I either get them or I don't it's?
Speaker 2:you're getting votes and so, uh, so you. So my job oftentimes is to try to level out the highs and bring people back down when things are really high, but then also, when things are really low, say, hey, things aren't really this bad.
Speaker 1:You help people avoid the pitfall of that spiral into shame and embarrassment and worry. What are the hardest situations that you've had to coach your political candidates through in a personal sense?
Speaker 2:Well, I tell people that a political campaign can help or ruin three areas of your life your personal, your political and your professional. And so I try to run campaigns that, whether somebody wins or loses, that they come out on the other side in a positive way in all three areas of their life. That doesn't mean you don't run what I like to call an opponent clarification campaign or a tough campaign or, you know, a hard hitting campaign. It just means you need to do it with the honor that you want to have after the campaign is over, whether you win or lose. Probably the toughest campaign and I don't like to talk about it a lot, but was the Catherine Harris.
Speaker 2:Catherine Harris us Senate campaign in 2006 here in Florida. And uh, she was a super, super, um, emotional candidate war of her emotions on her sleeve, you know what. What she was feeling came out whether she would ride the highs and the lows and I'm not calling her bipolar, I'm just saying it's a campaign as a roller coaster, the, but during that time she was named as Congresswoman B in an indictment in the MZM scandal. Her father died, you know, and so those were very tough personal and professional hurdles for her and I like to think that I helped her through some of it.
Speaker 2:I ended up not finishing that campaign with her, but just because it ended up not being the right fit in the right time. I didn't feel like it was the right time for her to seek office and sometimes, as a professional, you have to step back and say this isn't the best thing for you, and that was what I felt in that case. Uh, I don't know that she's ever forgiven me for stepping back because she went on with the campaign with another team. Uh, but I stand by my decision to this day. You know 18 years later.
Speaker 1:Do you guys ever call in psychologists for your candidates?
Speaker 2:You know that's interesting. I haven't and it probably should. You know. Um, we, you know we like to fancy ourselves kind of a psychologist a little bit because we end up, as a general rule, candidates, especially at a big level, like Katherine Harris, or running for US Senate or governor statewide in Florida. You know they tend to try to keep their teams very small but they share their most innermost thoughts and emotions with Sure. So you know that's an interesting thought. I've not done it, I quite frankly haven't thought of it, but it's probably not a bad idea.
Speaker 1:In certain situations I could see how it could be helpful. I guess I'll have to develop a new specialty in my practice.
Speaker 2:We'll see, I'd love to work with you on it. That sounds like a great way for us to yank and yank something right, let's provide a new product, absolutely.
Speaker 1:So the question I think that's on everybody's mind right now, jamie who's going to win the 2024 election Donald Trump or Kamala Harris? If you would like to access this full, hard-hitting episode, head on over to realclearpodcastcom or click the link in the show notes below. Once at the site, you can sign up for a RealClear Plus membership, having access to all full-length, uninterrupted episodes, as well as essays and other membership benefits. From that point forward, you will receive notifications to your inbox for new episodes and you can listen to everything directly through the website. I thank you for joining the club and I think you will find it is well worth it. Let's join together and talk about what matters at realclearpodcastcom.