Bruce Benidt
Jon Austin
tcarideo
Ellen Mrja
Mike KeliherWhat if beleaguered U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken just bought a big hunk of TV time and shot it to voters straight?
Hi, I’m Al Franken, the rookie candidate in Minnesota’s campaign for U.S. Senate.
As you probably heard, I messed up my business taxes badly. A lot of political consultants told me not to admit mistakes and not to lay out all the details like I am today. But I decided to do it my way. The straight up way. I paid for this time, because you have a right to know.
So here’s the deal. My business operates in 17 states. It’s pretty complicated, so I hired an accountant. Then I stopped paying attention. Almost entirely. That’s MY fault, not the accountants’.
So, I messed up. Big time. I made a boneheaded blunder. And I’m really sorry about it all. Paying taxes correctly is critically important, and I should have paid closer attention to it all. I embarrassed myself and my family, and I failed in the civic duty that is expected of all of us. And I’m very sorry about it all.
I can’t turn back the clock, but I’m doing what I can to fix things. In the states where my business didn’t pay enough, I’ve circled back and paid the taxes, interest and penalties. In the states where I paid way too much, I will be getting back refunds.
And now I’m taking steps to make certain I won’t have problems in the future.
Let’s just say I’ve forged a closer bond with my accountant. We’re spending lots of quality time together these days. And I’ve settled in with some light summer reading (Holds up a copy of “Taxes for Dummies”).
So, I made a $53,000 mistake. And you can bet my opponent will make my mistake part of the debate. Fair enough. It should be part of the debate, and I should be accountable for it.
But for your sake, I hope the debate is about more than just that single blunder.
The debate between me and Senator Coleman should include other blunders too. Such as Seantor Coleman’s mistake of entering a war that has cost us thousands of young American patriots’ lives, and at least $535 billion. And Senator Coleman’s mistake of turning a budget surplus into a huge budget deficit, which will result in a multi-trillion dollar debt left to our children and grandchildren. On these issues and others, Senator Coleman has not admitted any mistakes, makes no apologies and offers no changes for the future.
I’m running for Senate because I believe Senator Coleman should be accountable for THOSE multi-BILLION dollar mistakes. And I believe we need to change course. So, let’s have that debate. Your job as a voter is to sort out which mistakes hurt you, your family and our country more – mine or Senator Coleman’s.
So, if you have any more questions about my boneheaded tax blunder – and trust me, I really hope you don’t – I’m providing much more detail at www.alfrankensboneheadedtaxblunder.com. The site also includes my entire tax form and a 10-minute video of me and my accountant explaining the situation in painful detail.
Thanks for hearing me out on this issue. Again, I just wanted to apologize, shoot it to you straight up, and trust you to sort it out yourself. I appreciate your time and consideration.
He could also make it a web video for those who miss it. The idea would be to disclose, apologize, self-degradate and reframe in one fell swoop. Leave out all excuses, even legitimate ones. Try to get closer to closure, and maybe even win points for honesty, accountability and not talking down to people.
Partially mitigate damage? Turn a net political liability into a net asset? Political suicide?
- Loveland
Filed under: Communications, Media, Politics | Tagged: advertising, Al Franken, apology, crisis communications, Minnesota U.S. Senate campaign, Norm Coleman, taxes
Love this… I’d add a positive message — something about his own priorities beyond getting Coleman out of there, but I think it’d work.
I don’t know why “authenticity” hasn’t caught on more as a campaign tactic. But it should.
Good suggestion Ken.
Beautiful, as I expected at the outset.
I’m with Ken. Not a clue as to why incessant bullshit reigns supreme over shooting straight.
Or am I just too damn jaded already?
Loveland, I think you should be running his campaign — That was perfect!
The first time I read it I lazily skimmed over your graph saying “what if” and I thought it was something he actually did.
Seriously, If he did it that way, I think he would win votes back, and if anything, earn some serious respect.
I interviewed the guy when he first started his campaign. He is genuine and heartfelt with what he is trying to do. I can handle someone making a mistake when they rely on an accountant for multi-state business affairs.
What I can’t handle is the classic political school of being spoon-fed a bunch of BS because it keeps your political boat afloat.
Dare I use the cliche “Honesty is the best policy?”
It’s not me who should be running Al’s campaign. It’s Al. If he truly has the right stuff in his heart and gut, he could over-rule the political consultants and write and produce something like this today.
PR conventional wisdom says they should try to limit the number of stories on this, and this just gives the story legs. I say the issue is festering and will soon be juiced again by millions of dollars worth of Coleman and “independent expenditure” ads, so they need to take their best shot at disarming the issue.
Conventional wisdom says people want to see their leaders superhero-like, and this makes him look too vulnerable. I say the lesson of the Jesse Ventura election is that Minnesotans hunger for their leaders to be completely honest and REAL, even if that exposes flaws.
Conventional wisdom says being a comedian is a vulnerability for Franken, so he shouldn’t let his comedic side out. I say self-degradating humor makes candidates human and makes messages memorable. Many candidates couldn’t pull this off, but Al is that rare candidate would maybe could. There’s a downside of being a comedian, but there is also an upside to tap into.
PR conventional wisdom says the accountant should be kept under wraps because you don’t know what wacky “off-message” thing an accountant might say. I say that inadvertantly comes off like a coverup, and it allows the imagination to run wild about what the accountant would say if the gag were removed. If the accountant isn’t up to a grilling, at least get a video statement out there to slow the conspiracy theories.
Conventional wisdom says you should explain how the error isn’t as bad as the media and your opponent made it look. While I agree that it is true, I say all of those explanations sound like excuses to voters, and excuse-making makes the apology seem hollow and insincere.
Conventional wisdom says the way to put this behind them is to change the subject – reframe. I say you have to clear the air before people will allow you to reframe. Apologize, disclose…then re-frame. Otherwise reframing looks like evasion.
Maybe this wouldn’t work. But conventional PR isn’t working for him, so why not leave conventional wisdom behind and let Al be Al?
When a poll shows that 51 percent think Franken should simply call it quits in light of this matter, what’s he have to lose?
Can we agree that “self-deprecating” is probably a better word than “self-degradating”? Just a thought.
As usual, this is a fascinating subject and the sentiment you’ve expressed admirable. But I recall a conversation here a couple months ago when the Crowd PR adepts seemed to be advocating techniques like “blocking” or “not taking the call” to, I’m surmising, circumvent providing the media with too much information in the interests of the client. So, Mr. Franken’s advisors assumed that less-than-entirely forthright approach and the result is his percieved disengenuousness? When is honesty not the best policy?
Mike, my bad. I’m still learning English.
Dennis, I think the post you are referring to was Austin’s “Sometimes You Have to Stand Up There and Lie.”
Brother Austin was making the point that lying is never okay, but offering up everything you know can “be unfaithful to our obligations as advocates for our clients or companies.”
In this case, I’m arguing that the data dump and apology is good for the principal, not bad. I’m talking about disclosing to be a good advocate, not disclosing despite being an advocate.
PR is situational. There are some bright lines you don’t cross (lying being one of them), but the rest of the tactics are tools in the toolbox to be pulled out as the job requires.
In this case, Professor Loveland has pulled the perfect tool from the box and used it with a master craftsman’s skill. If the Frankenfolk don’t read his prescription and adopt it, woe unto them and the Democratic cause. My large gut tells me you’d have to be an idiot to lose as a Democrat in Minnesota in this cycle, but Al and Company may be up to the task.
- Austin
Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer is currently vying for the Minnesota Democratic Party endorsement in 2 weeks, and both Franken and JNP have vowed to drop out if the other gets endorsed.
The thing about Jack is that he has always been about issues: publicly against the Iraq was from the beginning, favors ending the failed occupation, favors sustainable energy to solve global warming, favors green jobs in a new green economy. If Jack gets endorsed, the conversation becomes about failed Republican policies and Norm Coleman’s sorry record as senator.
I can’t wait for that debate. I can’t wait to have Jack Neson-Pallmeyer representing me in the U.S. Senate.
If I don’t pay $70,000 in taxes, I go to jail.
He wished the “Perp Walk” on others….
The youtube clip of him lamenting that “No one likes to called a liar…” is just rich.
Look at the titles of his books.
Sow…meet reap.
His handling of Raunchgate – a begrudging, belated, but well executed apology – was a bit better than his handing of Taxgate – blaming it all on the accountant, taking no responsibility, and quibbling with the media about the characterization of the CPA-ese.
[...] he still has a shot, because this is one of the best election years for Democrats in recent memory. I maintain Franken should have disarmed the tax mistakes by offering a prompt and thorough explanation, and [...]