5 minutes with a politician

You're having coffee or lunch or whatever and some politician rolls in hoping to press the flesh and get some good photo ops. He chats a up a few people and then comes to your table. What do you say?

It's easy to think that what you say really doesn't matter. It probably won't. But on the other hand, especially if this is an election, and there's a lot of press following him around, you might be able to put the pol in an awkward position or at least have an opportunity to get an idea broadcasted.

I can think of a few instances of American politicians meeting folks who set off stories that lasted a few cycles: the gay veteran, Joe the plumber, that time Hillary Clinton cried.

I think if you're smart, you could raise an important issue in a way that gets noticed by the pol and press. Don't say ba-bab-booey.

So, what would you say to the pol, to the cameras?

"crackers and snacks."

I like it when Tony abbot's in a shopping centre doing that and you'll have an old pensioner walk past and pay him out. "you're wrecking australia yah scab." "piss off you scum", it's hilarious and probably more effective that trying to debate something that won't get replayed by the soundbite hungry, soft touch media scrum.

I'd go on a tinfoil hat conspiratard rant, screaming "WHO'S BEHIND YOU FIGUREHEADS" repeatedly at the top of my lungs until I'm politely dragged away by security guards

i would ask them if their wristwatch has a 2 way communicator and can be used to open portals for them to jump through in case of emergency

and stare at them over my radical 80s glasses

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF65MnhctUQ

heat or night?

  On 12/14/2014 at 12:30 AM, ThatSpanishGuy said:

I'd go on a tinfoil hat conspiratard rant, screaming "WHO'S BEHIND YOU FIGUREHEADS" repeatedly at the top of my lungs until I'm politely dragged away by security guards

well abbott's a rhodes scholar so it's not to hard to figure out whose behind him. Our last rhodes scholar prime minister was bob hawke in the 80's who masqueraded as a union man labour party man whilst beginning australia's journey to privatization and destruction of the socialist state. Oh and he floated the dollar (crashing it which made all our companies cheap for overseas investors to snap up and wrecked our balance of trade and so on) and deregulated the financial markets and on and on, total scum and far to the right of the right wing Malcolm Fraser (who is actually today when you hear him speak a shining knight of true statesmanship as compared to today's politicians of any party) liberal party that was it's predecessor, doing things that only a phoney left wing trojan horse can do which has been repeated around the world (The UK's tony blair new labour was modelled in part on australian labour of the 80's, although new labour was the progression of thatcherism really. So i guess the 80's were the jumping off point for the wet dreams of the western global elite).

ie, rhodes scholarship program was founded by cecil rhodes whose consolidation of the southern african diamond market which made him fabulously wealthy was funded by the rothschilds.

  On 12/13/2014 at 11:47 PM, coolandfrank said:

You're having coffee or lunch or whatever and some politician rolls in hoping to press the flesh and get some good photo ops. He chats a up a few people and then comes to your table. What do you say?

You've become remarkably overconfident during the last 3 months. Interesting to see how your thread will play out.

um... this is a hypothetical? not only can you write your congress people (in america and many countries), but it's actually something that's supposed to happen. remember in school they taught us (americans) about taxation without representation? they are our representatives, and for them to represent us, they should know our stances on things. it's kind of what the country is based on!

these days it's real easy, just google your area and the term senator or representative, their pages generally provide a way to contact

sure, a secretary may screen them, but

(a) the politician may peruse the messages

(b) the politician is likely to ask the secretary what people are saying about certain topics, so you will be weighing in in that way

© if your message is interesting enough, it could be forwarded to the politician

(d) the politican may scan through all of them if he or she cares

remember sofa and pipa? they were poised to be passed, but enough people wrote their congressional representatives to change the votes from an overwhelming yes to an overwhelming no

small talk probably

"i charge 1000 (dollars, euros) a second, do you accept those terms?"

i'm aware of this.

but i'm not asking what would you say to a politician or what are the political views you'd wish to express to a pol. i'm asking what would you say and how would you say it given the context: cameras rolling, viral potential, etc.

i most concerned with inequality but bringing that up in the scenario i outlined probably would just fall on deaf ears or be too complex. on the other hand, "hotter" topics that are more likely to be picked up, e.g. net neutrality, might be better to go after. also, more likely to evoke a gaffe and thus get more eyeballs.

  On 12/14/2014 at 5:45 PM, very honest said:

um... this is a hypothetical? not only can you write your congress people (in america and many countries), but it's actually something that's supposed to happen. remember in school they taught us (americans) about taxation without representation? they are our representatives, and for them to represent us, they should know our stances on things. it's kind of what the country is based on!

 

these days it's real easy, just google your area and the term senator or representative, their pages generally provide a way to contact

 

sure, a secretary may screen them, but

 

(a) the politician may peruse the messages

(b) the politician is likely to ask the secretary what people are saying about certain topics, so you will be weighing in in that way

© if your message is interesting enough, it could be forwarded to the politician

(d) the politican may scan through all of them if he or she cares

 

remember sofa and pipa? they were poised to be passed, but enough people wrote their congressional representatives to change the votes from an overwhelming yes to an overwhelming no

I'd have a politically charged, conscious freestyle ready to open up this fool's 3rd eye

heh, wait, me? you mean the politician, right. i don't get it.

  On 12/14/2014 at 3:32 AM, Schlitze said:

 

  On 12/13/2014 at 11:47 PM, coolandfrank said:

You're having coffee or lunch or whatever and some politician rolls in hoping to press the flesh and get some good photo ops. He chats a up a few people and then comes to your table. What do you say?

You've become remarkably overconfident during the last 3 months. Interesting to see how your thread will play out.

 

I would simply ask to have an off cameras, off the record conversation. It's no use to have an on the cameras/record conversation, because the politician wouldn't have the space to talk freely. He or she just isnt allowed to talk freely and think aloud when the cameras are rolling.

Plus, fuck memes, hypes and virals. That's for kids and the mentally retarted. It has no political value even though the media might let you think otherwise. Or worse, even if the public part of political discourse tends to be dominated by these last minute hypes. There tends to be very little hype that's being codified into laws or budgets, because the process of codifying takes a long time. Far too long to keep up with the manic display of todays hype. Or, it should be that way. Big money may influence stuff like that. Especially in the US, or similarly corrupt systems.

politicians are jerkoffs who talk to people for a living, its unlikely that you can influence them outside of a very very large cash donation.