Expand the leadership.
Make the opponents' goal more expensive than it's worth.
In politics, you have your word and your friends; go back on either and you're dead.
Sound doctrine is sound politics.
A prompt, generous letter of thanks can seal a commitment which otherwise might disappear when the going gets rough.
Politics is of the heart as well as of the mind. Many people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.