Whether running in 2014 as a challenger against an incumbent Democrat, or running for re-election as a Republican, much has changed in the political landscape since Flying Upside Down was first published. Yet an overwhelming majority of the book remains not only relevant but among the most direct and brutally honest of campaign guides ever written.
Outside the office, one of my great joys is flying. Pilots share something with candidates and campaign operatives: the education and training never stops.
For pilots, skills must always be learned and relearned, and new ratings earned. Similarly, for candidates and operatives, the learning process should never stop. With the tight deadlines of an election calendar, there is simply no time to continually reinvent the wheel, and knowledge of tactics and techniques both drives success and helps avoid failure.
With that in mind, I’m sharing Joe’s book with you today – either as a must-read for those who haven’t yet, with our thanks to David Avella and his wonderful team at GOPAC for making it available to new generations of candidates and staff – or as a refresher course that every Republican candidate and manager ought to glance through once in a while, if only to remind ourselves of the great ideas inside that can inspire us toward victory.
Recommending this book before, I’ve had candidates imply that Flying Upside Down makes it sound like being a challenger candidate is unpleasant. After all, who really wants to fly upside down? The reality is, even upside down, you have a great view of the ground beneath you.
And most importantly, you’re still flying.
Ryan Cassin is CEO of BEAST Digital. He can be reached via email at [email protected], or follow him on Twitter at @ryancassin.
