Run the Other Way: Fixing the Two-Party System One Campaign at a Time

Bill Hillsman is simply in the words of Slate.com the worlds greatest political adman. With his groundbreaking consulting work on Paul Wellstones senatorial Jesse Venturas gubernatorial and Ralph Naders presidential campaigns he was the first to publicly challenge the conventional strategies of political campaigns the inefficiency of campaign spending the desultory banal and insulting political ads. As Hillsman says I dont believe you can annoy someone into voting for your candidate.. Hillsman first rocked the political establishment during Wellstones 1990 Senate bid with witty sharp political ads that had audiences glued to their television sets and talking about the commercials for weeks afterward. In the end he helped Wellstone overcome a $7 million campaign spending disadvantage to win the election. And the risk taking continued when he ran Jesse Venturas Reform Party gubernatorial and Ralph Naders Green Party presidential campaigns. In one Nader ad a child looks out at the viewer and says When I grow up I want politicians to ignore me. In an ad from Venturas campaign a boy playing with a Jesse Ventura action figure (New from the Reform Party!) takes on Venturas voice to growl I dont want your stupid money! With bold and brilliant ads like these Hillsman helped two underdog candidates become senator and governor transformed Minnesota politics and showed the country that it has viable and appealing options outside of the two major parties.. Run the Other Way offers fascinating and disturbing insights into the shadowy cronyistic world of political consulting: the grossly overpaid consultants incompetent and inaccurate pollsters fundraisers who take a dollar for every dollar they raise and strategists who use negative advertising to intentionally keep people from voting. But it also gives us a from-the-trenches look at how Americans can turn the weapons trained on us back against the master propagandists and in so doing revitalize our badly damaged democracy. Fleshing out his case with real-life stories from his involvement in numerous campaigns Hillsman takes us behind the electioneering scenes of old Washington hands and trouble-making independents including Ross Perot Warren Beatty John McCain Arianna Huffington and Colin Powell.. An outsider with an insiders vantage point Hillsman sees America at a crucial historical moment defined by the continuing decline of both major political parties and the rise of independent voters. Edgy controversial and often humorous his political ads have energized voters and revolutionized election campaigning over the last fifteen years. This is a book for everyone whos ever run for office thought about running for office or voted for someone running for office. Run the Other Way investigates the many imperfections in the greatest system of government in the world and challenges all of us to make it better.