First, the good news: this morning’s Washington Times reports that Hill Republicans now have 8 of the top 10 Congressional channels on YouTube:
“House Minority Leader John A. Boehner – whose floor speech against the stimulus bill is the third-most-popular congressional video with 467,454 views – has encouraged Republicans to think of themselves as “entrepreneurial insurgents” reaching out to the American people.
“Given that we are in the minority in the House, we need to think of ourselves not primarily as legislators, but as communicators, and we need to use every tool available to communicate our better solutions to the problems facing our nation,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Mr. Boehner.”
In an age when another daily newspaper goes out of print nearly every week and the mainstream media is increasingly irrelevant, this is a very good sign – attributable in part to the added grassroots energy that’s resulting from Obama’s overreach on spending, but also attributable to many Hill Republicans adapting to new technology and new communications venues.
Unfortunately, I don’t think all the communications news this week has been good for the GOP, due to some on the Hill who have publicly griped that President Obama shouldn’t (a) fill out March Madness brackets or (b) go on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
I hope the GOP gets off this communications track in a hurry. There are plenty of sound criticisms of Obama’s policies without having to look like a bunch of grumpy old men yelling at the young whippersnapper to get out of their front yard. Part of any President’s job – especially in challenging times – is to reassure the American people that things are going to be ok.
And when Republican Senators complain that Obama took a few minutes to fill out his brackets on ESPN, what message does that send to Joe Six Pack, who’s struggling to make ends meet, stay in his house, and keep his family together – but who also takes a few minutes to fill out his brackets? That it’s impossible to rise to the challenges of the day and to also have a little fun at the same time? Or that it’s wrong to try?
The same goes for the Leno appearance. What exactly is Obama supposed to do – stay hunkered down in the Oval Office and only talk with reporters for the Washington Post and New York Times? It’s not like he went on the Jerry Springer Show with a bunch of transvestite hookers. When exactly did Jay Leno become such a controversial communications venue and when did smiling and telling a joke every now and then become a political liability?
Fact is going on Leno or filling out March Madness brackets is exactly the kind of thing that Reagan would have done in his day to get his message and persona out to the American people. And the Democrats back then would have probably howled in protest, mainly out of sheer envy that they couldn’t connect with the American people as effectively. And they would have looked very small and petty. Just like some Republicans did this week.
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