Get Out the Vote: It's All About the Message with Mark McKinnon and Jennifer Palmieri
On August 11, 2020, Making Caring Common hosted “It's All About the Message with Mark McKinnon and Jennifer Palmieri” as part of our Get Out the Vote: Voter Mobilization and Civic Education Series.
Watch the webinar now:
Two of our country's top political communications strategists — Mark McKinnon and Jennifer Palmieri — discussed messaging in Democratic and Republican political campaigns. Mark has worked for many causes, companies, and candidates, including President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, late Governor Ann Richards, and Bono. Jennifer was White House Communications Director for President Barack Obama and head of Communications for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign.
Together, Mark and Jennifer discussed:
What is a message?
Why is messaging important?
How do you mobilize voters through messaging?
What are the current messages of the presidential campaigns?
About the Speakers
Mark McKinnon is a political advisor, reform advocate, media columnist, and television producer. He is the creator, executive producer, and co-host of Showtime’s real-time political documentary series: “The Circus” – the most successful unscripted show in the history of the network now entering its fifth season.
McKinnon has worked for many causes, companies, and candidates, including President George W. Bush, Senator John McCain, late Governor Ann Richards, and Bono. He was the chief media advisor for five winning presidential primary and general election campaigns.
Dedicated to a bipartisanship, McKinnon cofounded No Labels (nolabels.org), an organization dedicated to bringing our parties together to problem solve and heal the partisan divide in our country. An award-winning communications strategist and media producer, Mark has been awarded more than 30 Pollie and Telly awards honoring the nation’s best political and public affairs advertising.
According to Broadcasting and Cable magazine, McKinnon is one of “a handful of players behind every big decision, consensus or roadblock in Washington . . . putting a unique, sometimes hidden stamp on the outcome of today’s debates.” Politics Daily writes: “He’s known for his originality in a field typified by copycats, a mellow personality in a world populated with high-strung brutes and ecumenical urges in a profession dominated by its unadulterated partisans.”
“McKinnon is evidence that principled centrism is not an oxymoron,” wrote John Avalon in a Daily Beast column about the 25 Best Centrist Pundits. “McKinnon piloted John McCain’s 2008 primary campaign to victory. But he announced in advance that if Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination, he would ride off into the sunset rather than participate in the negative attacks he knew would be required. This is unheard of in the world of modern politics, where partisanship trumps principle as a matter of course.”
President George W. Bush says of McKinnon, “I was really impressed by Mark’s creativity, and I was particularly impressed by his honesty.” Senator John McCain, in his typical straight-talk fashion, remarks, “He’s almost a genius.” And President Barack Obama calls McKinnon “a class act.”
President Bush appointed McKinnon to serve as a governor of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. He serves on the board of the Austin Film Society, and he lectures frequently at universities, including the JFK School of Government at Harvard University and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He has been a regular columnist for The Daily Beast and The London Daily Telegraph and a consultant to Aaron Sorkin’s HBO show “The Newsroom” and Netflix’s “House of Cards.”
McKinnon attended the University of Texas at Austin and served as editor of the award-winning university newspaper, The Daily Texan; he was arrested and jailed during his tenure in 1980 for defending the first amendment. He spent several years in Nashville working as a songwriter with Kris Kristofferson (and was wildly unsuccessful). McKinnon also is a two-time Ironman finisher. His quality of life is exceptionally enhanced by the enduring love and patience of his wife, Annie — whom he started dating before he had a driver’s license — and his daughters, Brita and Kendall.
Jennifer Palmieri is a writer and one of the most accomplished communications advisors in politics today. The author of the number 1 New York Times bestseller Dear Madam President, Jennifer was White House Communications Director for President Obama and head of Communications for the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign. She has been on the frontlines of American politics for 20 years and one of a few people with a hands-on, working knowledge of the complex media environment operating in the U.S. today.
Having served in the West Wing for 12 years under President Obama and President Clinton she has an unparalleled level of knowledge and experience in understanding how US Presidents operate and there is no one working in politics today with more experience in managing crises. She has held the positions of White House Deputy Press Secretary for President Clinton, national press secretary for the Democratic Party and press secretary for the 2004 John Edwards presidential campaign. As someone who worked on the campaign of the first female Democratic nominee, and been a communications advisor to women in the national spotlight, she has a unique perspective on how media and voters treat women in powerful positions.
After losing her sister to early-onset Alzheimer’s in 2017, she has written and spoken about her family’s experience in an effort to aid other families facing the same disease.
Her second book, She Proclaims: Our Declaration of Independence from a Man’s World will be published in July of 2021. She is also a guest host of Showtime’s The Circus and a contributing editor to Vanity Fair.
About the Series
Get Out the Vote: Voter Mobilization and Civic Education Series is a new, non-partisan initiative designed to enable young people to become voter mobilization leaders.
