On phone calls, prospective clients often try to find out my political affiliation. Am I a Republican? A Democrat? Which neat little box do I fit into? They rarely ask outright — mind you — but they almost always want to know.
The truth is that I’m not affiliated with any party. If I affiliate with anything, it’s my Catholic faith — which guides my political and moral compass. But a party? No, thank you. Not for me. Not right now, anyway.
That’s not to say I’m apolitical, mind you. Quite the opposite. I am active in the political tech community, and I’m particularly interested in the digital revolution happening within the Republican Party. With so much innovation and experimentation happening, it’s an exciting time to be in our business. Rather, it’s that I don’t feel a part of either “team” enough to exclude the other.
Let me explain.
For roughly ten years (starting in high school), I was a Democrat. More than that, I was a professional Democrat — and the party was the core of my personal and professional networks. But as I got older, I realized that my personal politics were more and more out of step with the party’s platform and base. The party was moving leftward while I was moving rightward. So I moved on. (If you’re curious about this period, I wrote a bit about it in 2012.)
Afterwards, I joined NationBuilder— a nonpartisan company that develops community organizing software for leaders. They get an awful lot of crap from both Democrats and Republicans for being nonpartisan, but I think it’s a beautiful thing. They’re not playing for both sides: they’re not playing for either. In fact, nearly every English-speaking political party in the world is using NationBuilder on some level. It’s kind of amazing.
Now, I don’t make software: I provide a service. But that service is not consulting. I’m a designer and a developer; I build websites for a living. I believe that every organization should have a beautiful, functional website, I know how to build them, and I’m available for hire.
I also believe in our republican (small “r”) form of government, and trust voters to vote their interests. If a candidate wins their election, I want it to be because the voters preferred them — not because they had a better tool in their campaign toolbox. Eleven years of experience has shown me that there are good politicians in every party. Every constituency is unique, and it takes (at least) two parties to make a democracy. No one party has all the answers or a monopoly on leaders fitted to the times.
It’s also somewhat comforting to know that I’m not alone in this perspective. According to the most recent data from Pew Research, just 31% of Millennials say that there is a “great deal” of difference between the parties. Moreover, 26% say that there is “hardly any” difference between them. More and more, it feels as though our politics are a battle between rival, but similar, power-bases — not a battle for ideas. Parties seem willing to be continually reinventing themselves in an effort not to lose market share; sticking to principle seems to be a secondary concern. In that environment, I’m quite comfortable marching to the beat of my own drum.
So if I’m not a partisan consultant (as is the norm), how do I choose who I’ll work with? I have a few simple guidelines that seem to be working for me so far:
Judge prospective clients first on whether they’ll be pleasant to work with / for.
Never work for two campaigns in the same race. This is never acceptable.
While I’ll never agree with anyone on every issue, I won’t work for someone who’s platform / mission I fundamentally cannot support. (Ex: I may work for a pro-choice politician, but never for Planned Parenthood.)
As it happens, these are the same criteria that I would use when evaluating whether to take on a non-political project. Will they be a good client? Am I already working for their competitor? Do I have any fundamental objections to their mission? If these criteria all check out, we’re good to go.
Now, I recognize that this is an untraditional — and likely unpopular — approach in political work. Most consultants and studios are partisan down the line, and I respect that. But it’s just not for me. And if it costs me business, then okay.
If, after reading this, you find yourself nodding in agreement — or, at least, thinking “I can respect that” — then I’d love to work with you.