Sure Reps. Jay Inslee (D-1, WA), Dave Reichert (D-8, WA) and Norm Dicks (D-6, WA) have their own YouTube channels. But Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA, 5) is winning the YouTube ratings war against her colleagues.
Indeed, the office of longtime Democratic Congressman Inslee may have 50 videos posted on YouTube, which dwarfs the 21 posted by McMorris Rodgers. But McMorris Rodgers—whose page has only been up for a year—already has considerably more page views than any one else in the delegation. Her most popular, at 12,200 views, has 11,000 more than the telegenic Inslee’s most viewed.
McMorris Rodgers’ videos, most of them shot directly in front of a camera or at small Eastern Washington press conferences, display the kind of D.I.Y. bravado that, in her second term, has helped catapult her to party leadership (she’s the Vice-Chair of the House Republican Conference).
The vids—like “Opening Remarks at the Deep Vein Thrombosis Press Conference” or “McMorris Rodgers on Father’s Day”—aren’t just the typical three-minute clips of House testimony provided by our other Reps. While most members of Congress gank their YouTube videos from C-SPAN, McMorris Rogers’ are originals (in that she sits down with the camera to talk about everything from down syndrome to hydroelectricity).
“They add a lot more emotion and feeling than a standard press release does,” McMorris Rodgers spokesman Destry Henderson says.
And people watch them, too. Even a toss-off shaky video of McMorris Rodgers walking down a Capitol corridor before Obama’s big speech, shot with a handheld camera, has scored 1,200 or so views—as many views as Reichert or Inslee’s most watched.
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This… is confusing. But I guess even though I think Inslee is pretty cool, I’m not watching his YouTubes. I remember there was one a while ago where he chewed out that jackass FCC guy who worked for Dubya.
After seeing that YouTube link of her son, Cole, I think it’s pretty clear why she’s getting so many more hits than other Washington representatives, Chris. She’s now officially a part of the community of parents that have children developmental delays.
This community has a strong and devoted following and is an increasingly powerful voting bloc (notice how back in ’08 McCain was constantly referencing this type of stuff in his campaign?).
@2 — You seriously believe that her having a disabled child solely contributed to her success on YouTube? That’s shallow even for a liberal.
@3 – Right. Single issue voters don’t exist in this country.
Also, my comment wasn’t intended to be some liberal rant about how she is bad or how those viewers who support her are wrong. If she gets traction on this growing problem for American families, more power to her. My comment was that there is a pretty plausible explanation to her YouTube views and what she advocates for. If that wasn’t the case, why would she have her son on a YouTube video anyway?
You’re right that she’s got additional political star power, but what she represents by having a son with Downs Syndrome cannot be underestimated for an ever-growing segment of families who have children with developmental delays.
what I found annoying about the way the GOP (or McCain & Palin) played that issue during the election was this: It came across as pure pandering … “People with disabled children will have an advocate in the white house …”
Isn’t that the whole “special interest” politics thing that the GOP has been decrying the Democrats over for years? Yet, here’s Sarah Palin, shamelessly, playing identity/interest group politics. In this instance, it’s a-okay for the govt. to play a strong role … to be an “advocate” … is that like an “activist judge?”
I thought the GOP was opposed to govt. intervention in health care. So, how exactly, was the W.H. going to be an advocate for developmentally disabled children?
It really go my goat how hypocritical they were on that point.
Socialists!
P.S. Although, I guess it really just showed how desperate they were, grasping at straws. It was random play that didn’t fit into their agenda otherwise.
My wife has the best comment about Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers….. “She’s rather bovine. You look into her brown eyes and there’s nothing there!”
After seeing that YouTube link of her son, Cole, I think it's pretty clear why she's getting so many more hits than other Washington representatives, Chris. She's now officially a part of the community of parents that have children developmental delays.
This community has a strong and devoted following and is an increasingly powerful voting bloc (notice how back in '08 McCain was constantly referencing this type of stuff in his campaign?).