I don't know which is more upsetting: a NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife that's a tool of the NRA? Or the nine Democrats in the State House who (perhaps unwittingly?) enable such a crazy arrangement.
We've talked here before about the Governor's use of new media. As concept, I have little problem with it, if it engages people who communicate that way (in fact, it's a good idea). The problem has always been how Christie uses it: not to inform citizens, but to propagandize himself. Like a brand.
But even I'm amazed by this video posted both at the Christie administration's official YouTube page and at Christie's facebook fan site, which reads like campaign literature ("BRINGING FISCAL SANITY TO TRENTON"). We've seen Christie use YouTube to confront people who dared to disagree with him, or to try to humiliate teachers.
But this is different. Grander. Sweeping, even. For one thing, the militaristic music crescendoing behind Christie's firm and certain voice. The scope, underscored by the phraseology: "The Big Things". Gigantic national flag behind him. Glimpses of a large crowd applauding him. Word jumble at the :58 second mark: "Leaders. Growth. Health Compromise". By the :51 mark, the voices singing behind his sound like the music of angels. It's all too ... much.
I wanted to post this for a few reasons:
1. Your tax dollars are paying for this.
2. This video is a departure, and uptick, in Christie persuasive material.
3. The first YouTube comment past the featured one, made today by user justinalpertesq, is jaw-dropping:
Sorry, folks. This isht is just effin scary. Ms. Riefenstahl, nice to see you working again.
(screen capture, below)
Ah, I can hear it now, the clamor of objection that Blue Jersey played the Nazi card. Let me be very clear. Chris Shelton's Trenton rally speech invoking Hitler was undisciplined, but it was not without some truth. Weakening unions was among Hitler's first steps to power. But this isn't about that. Not about whether Christie's a Nazi (he's not). It's about the methods employed to create Christie aura, even the whiff of destiny this skillful clip - produced on your tax dime- suggests. This what you want done with your money? Christie's sense of himself as the kind of larger-than-life figure so effectively driven home here strikes me as seriously over-inflated. It's just ... wow.
Screen shot of the YouTube comment, after the jump
As the income tax season wraps up, if you are a New Jersey taxpayer, congratulations! You just contributed to Republican Governor Chris Christie’s political coffers.
“Wait!” you say. “I never checked the box on my tax form to do that. Besides, I would rather suck on a lemon than contribute to His Arrogance.” Too bad.
Much has been written about how the governor is using taxpayer funds for his political rallies ostensibly labelled as “town hall meetings.” Assemblyman Paul Moriarty has asked the governor to reimburse the public for the expense of these rallies. These meetings are held during the day, when most middle class people work, and are filled with Christie acolytes. Once in a while, when a person with a dissenting opinion manages to ask a question, that person is ruthlessly lambasted by the governor - hardly an environment conducive to civil policy discussion.
Yet, the governor relishes these confrontations. He calls them “YouTube moments.” Now, he’s taken this illegal use of taxpayer funds to a new level. His New Jersey GOP is using these videos to raise funds. Its web site features a survey, “Vote for your favorite Chris Christie Moment,” featuring five videos from which to choose. In order to vote, of course, you have to donate to the Republican party. Interestingly, none of these videos has anything to do with policy. Four of them denigrate Christie’s opponents (teachers, unions, the media, and a critic of another Republican candidate) and one is the woman claiming Christie is “hot and sexy.”
Christie has opted for style over substance. Maybe that’s because the substance of his policies, when critically examined, only supports his cronies - the “haves” and his buddies. And while his style is childish and bullying, his use of my tax dollars to promote his image is apparently more effective than the lack of substance in his policies.
Thank God redistricting comes only once a decade because it wasn't exactly pretty to watch. But when the votes were cast, the Democratic map prevailed. Other than 10 year's worth of hospitable terrain, what's it all mean?
Of all the things today's map revealed, I personally was most curious about how the reshuffling would effect our friend, Jeff Gardner. Press play if you share my curiosity.
This week Chris Christie was in Washington D.C., speaking at a National Republican Congressional Committee fundraiser. If nothing else, a couple of small details surrounding the speech help confirm that many (if not most) of the governor's biggest fans are people from other states, who don't have any grasp of just how unpopular, disingenuous and ineffective he actually is. Much of what they do know comes from YouTube, Twitter, and the GOP marketing machine; a mythology reinforced as Christie struts across America, trumpeting half-truth "accomplishments" and tossing red meat to partisan loyalists. Do his conservative fan-persons go home to fact-check his speeches after they're done swooning? Of course not - that might shatter the illusion.
One reason for the non-Jersey adulation: Chris Christie says he is awesome, and people who don't live here don't know any better! Of course, to most Garden Staters (and probably at least a few of his allies), the governor's self-aggrandizing has long jumped the shark. But for our neighbors across America who only see him in bits and pieces... well, they're taking whatever Christie hands them, not reading the label, and gobbling it up. He's street meat, or mystery pills from a mystery person, acquired in a nightclub bathroom. Truth is irrelevant - you're under the influence of Chris Christie, and things will be getting weird.
For example, take this whopper, courtesy of @dcseth, who live-tweeted the governor's speech to the NRCC:
In a little more than a year in office, Governor Chris Christie has demonstrated that he is less interested in governing the state than he is in establishing a power base for some future ambitions. Maybe these ambitions lead to the White House, maybe they are simply to enrich his friends. His motives are less important than the fact that our governor is derelict in the duties he signed up for when he was elected.
Many members of the BlueJersey community have had a hard time forgiving Congressman Rob Andrews for his vote to authorize war in Iraq. In this video he discusses how that mistake drives him to ask the toughest questions about what's going on in Libya.
What's the difference between Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey and Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin? Both have exacerbated their state's deficits by giving tax breaks to millionaires while placing the burden of balancing the budget on the middle class. Both have made draconian cuts to services to the the poor, vulnerable, and senior citizens. Both have treated public servants with disdain. But there is one main difference. Governor Walker has been more effective in harming his state because he has a Republican majority in both houses of the Wisconsin legislature. Despite the fact that in New Jersey, many of the majority Democrats are DiNOs (Democrats in Name Only) and, like the national Democrats, have not shown the courage to stand up to the GOP's destructive agenda, at least there are some in the legislature who are trying to put the brakes on Christie's policies.
This November's elections will be critical. Listen to this short video of Chris Christie's threat to New Jersey, and then continue below the fold.
How about a moratorium on reporting on Governor Christie's so-called "town hall meetings" until one or more is held in the evening or on a weekend, when working people can attend? Now, if you are not on the Governor's coveted mailing list, you must scour the news websites for announcements, which typically come out with 1-2 days notice. By then, the Faithful have already been tipped off, and can make arrangements to attend, while the rest of us must either miss the event due to work, or jeopardize our jobs by calling in sick. There is a "town hall" scheduled for Woodbridge Tuesday morning. NJ.com dutifully announced the event on Thursday but managed to leave out the date and location. This has since been corrected in later versions of the post.
I have been to one of these, and from what I witnessed and have read about subsequent town hall meetings, they are routine, the same tired stories. The same script.
The Governor approaches the stage to wild applause, talks about "reform" (since when did "reform" become a synonym for "dismantling"?), blasts the usual scapegoats, the Legislature, public workers, and reminds us that his beef is not with teachers but the NJEA.
Then comes the Q&A, which may result in a "YouTube" moment, followed by his closing remarks, a heart-wrenching story about visiting his cancer-stricken mother on her deathbed, where she tells him to get back to work because "there's nothing left unsaid between us". Every town hall ends with this story, and there is barely a dry eye in the house.
Now, I am not in any way mocking Mrs. Christie's untimely death, but I cannot help but wonder, if she was the tough cookie he often describes, would she approve of her son cynically exploiting this intimate mother-son moment to score political points? I am sure my late mother would haunt my ass, big-time, if I pulled a stunt like that.
Is it time yet to post a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that these "Town Hall' meetings are really political events and should be funded by Christie's shadow campaign organizations instead of the taxpayer?
Good question. As long as these events continue to be held at a time to maximize a pro-Christie crowd, when it is difficult or impossible for working people to attend, the question remains, are they really "town hall meetings" or partisan campaign events?
CWA activists have been meeting at the Rutgers Labor Center for the past two days. The goal is too learn how too use media to get out a unified message. Attendees were addressed by Les Leopold yesterday concerning getting out the truth about wall street gambling & the financial elitism that caused the demise of middle class America. A thinktank followed with Berlin Rosen to formulate ideas that need to be shared via social networking. Training classes are underway today for Facebook, You Tube and Blogging. Rosi Efthim has shared her knowledge of blogging and enhanced the activists awareness of online opportunities for information sharing. Be on the look out for increased presence and voice of union brothers and sisters as we stand firm for equality!
Governor Christie has earned the moniker "The YouTube Governor", but it's more than that. YouTube is a great way for him to spew his propaganda without any meaningful discussion or feedback. He follows the same modus operandi at his town hall meetings - controlling the microphone, belittling his opponents, and using the State Police to escort those who want to engage in a dialog out of the room.
To counter this one-sided information flow, several of us have formed a YouTube channel whose purpose is to use Christie's medium to present the other side of the issues. We plan on producing videos with teachers and other citizens who will tell their first person stories on how the governor's agenda has impacted their lives, and to correct half-truths or outright lies in the governor's message.
If you're a YouTube viewer, you can subscribe here.
Here's the first new video from that site. It uses the governor's taxpayer-funded video as a backdrop. If you have comments or suggestions, please send them to allaboutchristie@gmail.com
You would not know it from the 60 Minutes website, but thanks to my friends at Blue Jersey I learned that Governor Chris Christie will be featured tonight. When I went to the site to check for information, there was nothing there about an appearance by the Governor of NJ. The featured preview was a story called "The Gift of Endless Memory" (interesting juxtaposition).
The good news is, ever since the "Heidi Bowl" (for those of us old enough to remember), we do not have to worry about the Steelers/Jets game being cut-off in favor of 60 Minutes while the Jets are in the throes of yet another nail-biting comeback. However if you're not quick enough on the channel changer after the game you may catch an unwanted glimpse of the bloviations of the Great Reformer of NJ, repeating the same platitudes in response to whatever softballs are lobbed his way. (Who would be best to interview Christie: Anderson Cooper? Katie Couric? I wonder if he can answer a hard-hitting question like "What do you read"?).
As an apprentice contributor to Blue Jersey, I am on self-appointed Christie-watch, so I will be watching, and taking notes. CBS News is good at timely posting of transcripts so anyone who cannot watch (or bear to watch) can read all about it the next day.
So, what do you think? Will this be the usual hagiographic puff-piece that the Governor has become accustomed to, or will our interviewer hit him with some real questions, other than his fandom of Bruce Springsteen and his "YouTube moments"?
I am not optimistic but I hope 60 Minutes surprises me and proves me wrong. After all, I'm still going through Boardwalk Empire Withdrawal.
The Honorable Christopher J. Christie
Office of the Governor
PO Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
Dear Governor Christie:
I am writing with respect to the "Town Hall" meetings you have been conducting across the state.
It is a common misperception that the attendees at these events are pre-screened and your supporters are given preferential treatment for admission. I know for a fact this is not true. I am a registered Democrat, and was not subjected to any political or ideological litmus test for admission to a recent event.
The reason, I believe, for this misperception, is that these events are always held in the daytime, making it difficult for anyone other than retired persons to attend. That these events are usually held in towns with a predominantly white population makes the demographic look very much like the Glen Beck rally at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 2010.
I recommend that you consider holding some of your Town Hall meetings in the evenings, and in places like Camden, Elizabeth, Jersey City, and elsewhere, where you can get your message to a far more diverse crowd.
I also recommend that you scrap the "YouTube Moment" meme when inviting citizens to ask questions, and engage them in civil discussion, rather than berating them for the benefit of the camera. Having your State Police bodyguard manhandle a questioner, bring him up to the stage, scold and rail at him, then have the officer remove the citizen from the stage, without giving him the opportunity to respond, may make for entertaining television, but it is no way to govern.
It is also in direct contradiction to your repeated admonitions that "there is nothing left unsaid between us".
If you wish to get your message out to anyone other than the usual amen chorus that predominate your Town Halls, I suggest that you expand the demographic scope of the audience and engage in real discussion of ideas. Otherwise, you cannot expect to win the hearts and minds of anyone in your opposition, not one.
Governor Christie has embraced YouTube as a way to communicate with his constituents. This was a smart move for several reasons. YouTube is ubiquitous, and it fits well into his one-way dialog. So here's a recent YouTube video, released by Christie's taxpayer-funded videographers, but annotated with some real thoughts.
This is not a use of "new media" to inform the people of this state - it's propaganda, straight up, and it's outrageous if one dime of taxpayer money was used to produce it.
The media shills kissing Christie's keister at the end is particularly galling - this is shameless self-promotion at a level that would make Newt Gingrich blush. But I'm also really annoyed by the factoids, presented in dramatic animated kerning, that are given here with no attribution whatsoever. "Failing schools"? By whose account?
Anything this nakedly political should tell you who exactly funded it. If "Reform NJ Now" or some other slush fund paid for what is a blatant early campaign ad, we should know that, and it should be in the credits. If this was paid for by the state, there should be hearings. Not one penny of tax money should ever go toward an exercise in narcissism like this.
This guy is the biggest media whore in Republican politics today - and that's really saying something. His Twitter page is full of media appearance announcements. He's been on Morning Joe so many times that I'll bet Scarborough made him a custom chair.
Hey, NJ political reporters, here's a thought: compare Christie's media appearances over the last eight months to ANY eight months outside of an election by any other NJ governor. I'll bet he doubles the next closest one.
He sure loves being on TV more than running the state...
It's easy to imagine the high-fives and doofy text messages between Christie and his gang when the Tom Moran viral video first started catching on. [Watch the video here - Rosi]
Holy crap, right? He totally took a legitimate question about his confrontational style from a reputable journalist and turned it into a bloodbath! No matter that the governor's response itself completely answered the question; all attention was now trained on Moran's twitching remains. Confrontational style? Honest. Refreshing. Move along, and let me humiliate you like the true bully I am, so you never mess with me again. Oh, and everyone in the room better take note. Chris Christie - here to kick your ass if I don't like the question.
The Moran clip helped cement Chris Christie as a viral video genius.
(find out why below the fold)
Do you like farmers?
How about locally crafted artisan beer and wine?
Maybe you fancy keeping it "local"...
or possibly you're just into diversifying NJ's economy?
If you answered "YES" to any of these, this video blog if for you!
The toolkits aim to provide political candidates with the resources to successfully use both YouTube and other Google products to engage constituents and citizens. On YouTube, campaigns will have access to features like a Politician channel (which allows campaigns to brand their channel and upload longer videos), Google Moderator, and analytics tool YouTube Insight. The toolkit also includes paid advertising campaigns, such as in-stream ads and Promoted Video. The Google toolkit shows how products in the Google Apps family like Docs and Gmail, can keep staff and volunteers connected.
We hope campaigns in both national and local contests will use these toolkits to engage and inform voters on important issues in 2010. As access to information online is increasingly important in elections, we're pleased to continue developing useful tools for voters and candidates.
Hopefully campaigns and candidates will take advantage of these tools. Video can convey a powerful message that print sometimes is unable to. The really smart campaigns will pick up a small video camera or find a volunteer to really take advantage of the tools Google is putting at their fingertips.
When I used to manage campaigns and advise candidates, I would say if you don't want to defend it and see it in print, then don't say it. Check out Bill Maher's last New Rule from this past week, which is the high tech version of that advice:
New Rule: Before running for office, politicians must be informed of their rights: that "Everything you say can and will be used against you in a Google search." Now, of course, we all embellish our resumes a little. In college, I described my job of pot dealer as "regional sales associate for a large multi-national firm." But we just had the fifth anniversary of YouTube and the twelfth of Google, and between them, they're killing off a great institution: lying. You just can't lie anymore -- facts are too easy to check, everything is on video, and your wife put a GPS in your glove compartment. Our privacy is gone, our Internet conversations are forever. I even have reason to believe I'm being recorded right now...
Here's the full segment, it's the last new rule:Someone should have told Assemblyman DiCicco about this concept before his last town hall meeting, so he could have avoided embarrassing videos like this and this.
