Internet Explorer 11 is not supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Extreme Propaganda

Here's a legislative example of the phenomenon I described the other day with the anti-Hillary YouTube video. Two videos have been posted on YouTube deriding ...

Here's a legislative example of the phenomenon I described the other day with the anti-Hillary YouTube video.

Two videos have been posted on YouTube deriding legislators for their role in the debate over a piece of pro-union legislation.

One, shot from the balcony of the House chamber, shows Representative Dolores Mertz leaving the floor on a day she took ill. The person narrating the video accuses House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, described as "a complete jerk," of having made Mertz sick by pressuring her regarding her vote on the bill.



"This is what's going on with these Democrats," says the video narrator. "They're sick, they're extremely mean-spirited, they're trying to hurt people.

Both McCarthy and Mertz have denied this account. "It's extreme propaganda from people who apparently don't mind lying," McCarthy told the Des Moines Register.

Yet another anonymous electronic medium lowers the level of discourse -- not surprising, but troubling and something to watch.

UPDATE: By the way, the maker of the anti-Hillary video, a consultant with ties to the Obama campaign, has been outed and has resigned.  

Alan Greenblatt is the editor of Governing. He can be found on Twitter at @AlanGreenblatt.
Special Projects