Political pundits and media commentators I guess have become enamored of football terminology to describe political campaigns.
They keep referring to the “ground game.”
A report from The Hill tells us that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s ground game is far superior to Republican Donald Trump’s game.
It means, I guess, that the Clintonistas are better — politically speaking — at blocking and tackling than the Trumpkins.
http://thehill.com/campaign/302231-clinton-holds-huge-ground-game-advantage-over-team-trump
This is a critical element in the campaign that has been evident for months. Clinton’s precinct-by-precinct, state-by-state apparatus has been in full mojo since before the party’s nominating conventions. They have ramped up considerably in these final days before the end of balloting.
As The Hill reports: “’Campaigns are won on the ground which is why we invested early to organize and register voters in this historic election,’ said Lily Adams, a spokeswoman for Clinton’s campaign.
“By contrast, Trump’s campaign, the Republican National Committee and state parties employ just 1,409 staffers in 16 states. Lindsay Walters, an RNC spokeswoman, said the RNC has paid staffers in 24 states across the country.”
That compares to the Clinton staffing level of 5,138 staffers in 15 battleground states.
What are they doing? They’re telephoning voters. They are registering new voters. They’re setting up get-out-the-vote drives, arranging for transportation for shut-ins to vote.
The Trumpkins are showing “little interest in investing in a ground operation,” according to The Hill.
Since I’m no longer predicting outcomes, I’ll just conclude that if the “ground game” is as critical as the pundits, pollsters and pols say it is, then Clinton is going to cruise on Nov. 8 to a historic election victory.
However …
As I’ve noted before — throughout this campaign — nothing about it is normal. The Clintonistas had better take nothing at all for granted as they head for the finish line.
Donald Trump, after all, wasn’t even supposed to win the Republican nomination for president of the United States … for crying out loud.