Why Ramble?

Political challenges don't get solved in boardrooms or ivory towers, but when a shared story inspires people to dig into problems together, drawing on hard-earned experience and practical know-how. Rambling is a distinctly American way of exploring, telling stories, and building relationships – gathering around kitchen tables and front porches to share wisdom and do what needs doing. That's what Ramble Strategies is about: doing what works and focusing on the stories that make sense to real people.

Most political and media advisors ultimately are selling you access to their networks. But what happens when political winds shift or relationships sour? And when your advisors work behind closed doors, how do you know your investment is actually impacting the outcome? 

Successful politics is about good storytelling, and thoughtful narratives can both work quickly and stand the test of time while politicians and staff come and go. I'll help you craft your story so that it reaches the audience you want to reach and drives action. One media campaign I developed reached millions in 72 hours and prompted bipartisan policymaker action within days.

As Pericles said, "Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn't mean it won't take an interest in you." Most advocates and advisors play defense, reacting to headlines and changes in the law as they emerge -- after politics has already taken its interest. But transformative policy wins come from getting ahead of challenges, and planning for what may lurk around the corner is the best way to protect your organization.

With the experience of having designed and successfully executed strategies to proactively change laws in more than 3 dozen jurisdictions, I can help you seize opportunities as the protagonist.

Do political realities and your available resources make your goals seem impossible to achieve? By working backwards from your end goals and forward from first principles, I can help you find cracks of daylight: the realistic opportunities that leverage and maximize your existing resources.

Together we will triage and prioritize your issues based on what it is you're hoping to achieve. I've out-competed companies spending tens of millions of dollars in state capitals and Capitol Hill with a tiny fraction of their resources, and gotten results in months, not decades.

How many political advisors are out there who know how to appeal to both the left and the right? Having worked for both a Democrat and a Republican, I know how to find common ground between the parties. 

Just one example: in 2019, I led getting a piece of tax legislation through the fractious Wisconsin legislature, which not only ultimately passed, but did so unanimously -- with every Democrat and every Republican voting for it.