ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author explores the political campaigning strategies of Lynton Crosby, and argues that they pose a threat to democracy. Crosby’s main partner is Mark Textor, an exceptional pollster. Together they run the Crosby Textor Group, whose tag line is “Research, Strategy, and Results”. Crosby and Textor run lots of focus groups and polls. They are interested in what they call “soft” swing voters—those who are politically undecided, uninformed, and indifferent. The author uses the 2005 election in New Zealand to illustrate their approach, in large part because there is an excellent resource for this. Goodin and Saward have explored the democratic significance of Crosby’s use of dogwhistles. They argue that, that in using dogwhistles, Crosby undercuts any democratic mandate he might secure. A healthy democracy would involve an informed educated citizenship rationally discussing policies, with the power to implement them. Amongst other things, the media should inform citizens and facilitate reasonable debate.
