IdeaLog

Robinson’s rules for campaign staffers

Posted on July 9, 2025

Thirty years ago, Democratic political consultant Will Robinson wrote a simple list of rules that, over time, became very well known. They still hold up. The tools have changed. Attention spans have shrunk. But the fundamentals of campaigning – urgency, trust, clarity, discipline – haven’t.

FYI, this is a reprint of Will Robinson’s substack column.

The ORIGINAL Rules for Campaign Staffers:

(1) If it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist. Your memory isn’t a filing system. Write it down. Confirm it in an email. Share it in the thread. Budgets, timelines, plans—campaigns run on receipts.

(2) There is no such thing as “off the record.” Reporters are not your friends. Also: there are no rules anymore.

(3) Don’t hold private conversations in public places. Planes. Trains. Bars. Bathrooms. Assume your Uber driver is live-streaming.

(4) Don’t believe any number that ends in zero. “100 volunteers.” “200,000 impressions.” “1,000 door knocks.” All sound made up. Ask for the real math.

(5) Never turn down a chance to eat or use the bathroom. Campaign time is chaos time. Skip meals, make bad calls. Fuel up and hydrate.

(6) Don’t spend your own money. If you pay for it, it’s a contribution. Use only authorized funds. And never admit you have a credit card – especially to an Advance person.

(7) There isn’t always a “right” answer. “It depends” is real. Context matters. Don’t chase certainty – chase clarity.

(8) In a campaign, someone has to be in charge. Campaigns are a place to foster democracy, not practice it. Someone has to make the final call. Let them.

(9) Assume nothing. The worst mistakes happen when you assume someone else handled it. Triple-check.

(10) If you make a mistake, fix it before you analyze it. Stop the bleeding. Then debrief. Don’t write a memo while you’re still on fire. (And bad news doesn’t age well.)

Fast Forward to 2025:

Back in the 90’s, these rules were about surviving the inside of a campaign. But in 2025? Every single one of us is in the media business. Whether we like it or not, we’re all broadcasting, swimming in a 24/7 flood of memes, disinformation, influencer hot takes, podcast rants, livestreams, and AI-generated chaos. Voters are deciding who they trust, and what they believe, before we even open our mouths.

So I’ve written a new set of rules. Not just for campaign staff, but for anyone trying to lead, organize, persuade, or survive in today’s media jungle.

RULES FOR COMMUNICATING IN 2025

(1) Culture beats credentials. People follow people they like—not experts they don’t trust.

(2) Media is always on. Traditional campaigns work in bursts—then go quiet. That’s not how persuasion works anymore. Treat communication as a daily, ongoing dialogue.

(3) TV is no longer the 800-pound gorilla. It’s still around – more like a 200-pound gorilla with silver hair. But it’s not running the zoo anymore.

(4) We don’t just have a message problem – we have a media structure problem. The Right is communicating 24/7, from bots to podcasts, memes to livestreams. We’re not even in the same arena. Progressives must stop thinking in bursts and start building permanent, coordinated media ecosystems – trusted messengers, local voices, constant presence.

(5) In the Hunger Games? Cooperate. Stop attacking or ignoring your allies. Start amplifying them.

(6) We need more than a message, a podcast, or a piece of tech. You can’t app your way to trust or automate your way to persuasion. Tools are only as effective as the relationships and behaviors behind them. Voters don’t want a shiny new platform, they want to feel seen, heard, and backed. Technology should support organizing, not replace it.

(7) Voters have broken up with us. They didn’t ghost us. We ghosted them.

(8) Democrats don’t need a new message. We need new behavior. This isn’t a messaging problem, it’s a conduct problem.

(9) Break down the message silos. We’ve got too many groups pushing isolated, issue-based messages that contradict or compete with one another. To win hearts – and elections – we need alignment, not fragmentation. Our messages should reinforce, not cancel, each other.

(10) Audience first. Always. Start where people are, not with what you want to say.

(11) It’s about communications and organizing. Content is a tactic. Community is the strategy.

(12) Lead with emotion, not just information. Facts alone don’t move people, feelings do. Craft messages that resonate emotionally, then back them with substance. If it doesn’t connect, it disappears.

So yes, the tools have changed. The platforms are unrecognizable. But the lesson? Still the same:

Don’t just say what you want to say. Say what people need to hear—from someone they trust—in a format they can feel.

Let’s get to work.