Peter Schorsch
After first reading the press release distributed by top Florida Republican political consultant Brett Doster announcing his firm’s new service offerings, I thought of Samuel L. Jackson.
“Check out the big brain on Brad,” Jackson’s character, Jules Winnfield, says during one of the most pivotal scenes in Pulp Fiction.
“Check out the balls on Brett” is what I thought to myself — only without Jackson’s urbane delivery.
In his release Doster writes, “Today, Front Line Strategies announced it is now providing production and delivery services for advertising designed for television, radio, and the mailbox. By using a contained approach, Front Line will be able to fast-track the strategic messaging process that is too often bogged down by the bureaucracy and costs associated with unwieldy, multifirm teams.”
It does take balls to write something like that. Because there are some multiple-firm teams that have all but dominated Florida politics for the past three decades. The Pat Bainter-Data Targeting-Marc Reichelderfer–Sarah Bascom consortium has elected more state legislators than Merryl Streep has been nominated for Academy Awards. The Randy Enwright–Jim Rimes–Rich Heffley triumvirate is responsible for the career of more Florida senators than almost any other political consulting alliance.
These “unwieldly, multifirm teams” often integrate other consultants into the mix as smoothly as Dave Matthews Band rocks with other musicians. Sometimes David Johnson sits in on a set. Or maybe Johnson’s better half, Christina, handles the comms work instead of Bascom. Maybe the whole stage fills up for a jam session, as it did for David Jolly’s successful congressional campaign.
Look, there’s Adam Goodman on bass and Nick Hansen on the sax.
Undoubtedly there are other “unwieldy, multifirm teams” that play as well as the lineups described above.
However, according to Doster, “a unified message, delivered on time, is the holy grail for any campaign,” said Doster, who was featured in this 2011 Sunshine State News article about being part of a multifirm team that helped Pam Bondi win her campaign for Attorney General.
Of course, this blog thinks the world of Doster, who we ranked as one of the brightest minds in Florida politics. So why is he (perhaps not intentionally) throwing rocks at some of the colleagues he has worked with and openly respects?
Scoreboard, perhaps?
Besides helping Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam to re-election in 2014, Doster’s Front Line Strategies guided three candidates — Bob Cortes, Jay Fant, and Jay Trumbull — through tough primaries and then general election wins. Cortes’ win over Democratic incumbent Karen Castor Dentel was especially impressive.
With victory comes cojones, goes the saying in certain parts of Florida.
Let’s see how those “unwieldy, multifirm teams” respond.
