The original title of this blog was, “Congress Sucks – Because of Me!” and it was all about how as a moderate, I don’t make my voice heard.

Then a conversation with my son Dan, got me thinking… actually our members of congress are AWESOME!…

…at MARKETING!

I’ve missed it until now, and I’m feeling pretty dumb about it.

What is the most powerful, most fundamental element of marketing? Find and cultivate a sustainable niche. And what do members of Congress do? “Appeal to their base.” Yup. I’ve been criticizing them for “pandering to the crazies.” Guess what? As a “moderate,” I’m not their customer. They aren’t trying to sell to me. Do we chastise Tesla for appealing to an upscale, image oriented audience? Do we scream at Walmart for focusing on low prices? No – we call them smart, savvy, and focused. Our elected officials are doing what any excellent marketer does – focusing on their customer – those who help them get elected. Improved governance requires that moderates figure out how to make ourselves seen as desired customers of our members of Congress.

In the meantime, perhaps we can at least learn marketing from them.