Showing posts with label Joe Wilson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joe Wilson. Show all posts
Turning Bad Press into Opportunity: How Can Politicians Turn The Wheel?
Politicians walk a precarious wire. As public figures, every move they make in public and private becomes subject to scrutinization by constituents and the media at large.Joe Wilson's You Lie outburst earlier this fall during President Obama's speech wound up being a gold mine for the South Carolina Congressman. Facing condemnation from much of his own party and people across the country, he hired professional public relations pros who were able to tweak his message and tuck him into every social media channel across the country. His hired guns revived his campaign and then some, netting campaign funds that currently reach into the millions of dollars range.
And meanwhile... also in South Carolina... yet more controversy has erupted.
On October 18, Orangeburg's Times and Democrat ran an editorial page column by Republicans Jim Ulmer Jr. an Orangeburg County chairman, and Edwin O. Merwin Jr., Bamberg County chairman. The column, meant to highlight U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint’s stand against congressional earmarks, inflamed some readers due to a comment about Jews perceived by many as stereotyping. By October 20, the ire ignited into a statewide story, even landing on national news sites such as The Huffington Post. Following critical comments by Joel Lourie, a Jewish South Carolina legislator, Ulmer and Merwin issued apologies alongside SCGOP Chairwoman Karen Floyd and Senator Jim DeMint.
Ulmer and Merwin have a heap of options when it comes to neatly re-packaging their reputations following this fiasco, but what is the course of action they ought to pursue? As leaders, are they now in the pile of "damaged goods", or can they repair those cracks?
Ultimately, having begged public forgiveness, they may opt to sit quietly by the sidelines in humiliation until the public moves on to the next tumultous story of the day. Over time the story will certainly wane and some people may forget, but as far as reputations go, the issue could leave a stain.
They could hire a team of PR experts to work the media field and work on more positive, image-boosting stories. If they hire the right folks to manage the right message and atone for the negative perception of the Times and Democract column, they could even see their status elevated to leaders of their party on the state level.
Or perhaps Ulmer and Merwin could become their own best public relations spokespersons and make the news show rounds, inviting the public to engage in conversations about stereotyping and other similar issues in South Carolina. By taking the bull by the horns, they could potentially unfetter themselves a bit from their sticky situation. But until then, how the latest South Carolina political blunder plays out in full remains to be seen.
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Joe Wilson Amps Up the Tweets
Piggybacking on our most recent blog post about hiring professionals to handle your Web 2.0, we'd be remiss if we didn't take the opportunity to remark on Congressman Joe Wilson's recent decision to hire a professional Tweeter.That's right, Representative Wilson, following his now-infamous "You Lie!" heckler's shout during President Obama's healthcare speech last week, has suddenly been thrust into the national spotlight. Pre "You Lie!", Wilson was a somewhat under the radar Congressman; a lesser-known Republican who was for the most part seen as congenial and easy-going. But with those two words uttered amongst the sanctity of a televised Presidential address, he suddenly catapulted himself to a whole new level of notoriety.
The chosen Wilson pro Tweeter is David All, a new media strategist whose Web 2.0 firm caters to conservative clientele. All's role ala Joe Wilson is to maintain a constant stream of Twitter updates on behalf of Congressman Wilson as well as to promote him across the political and news blogosphere. Before All stepped in to tidy up Wilson's reputation, the Congressman's Twitter account hadn't been updated since early August. Wilson is now on a roll, spewing out upwards of ten or more tweets a day.
Our point comes down to the mere fact that as amusing as Wilson's professional Tweeter hire may be, it is part of a broader strategy for the Congressman. By hiring All, Wilson is attempting to deflect some of the controversy through professionally-managed social media outreach. Meanwhile, many grassroots supporters and even many fellow Republicans have come out to back Wilson and his anti-Obamacare platform. Wilson seems to be even now using the whole episode as part of a larger tidal wave to keep his name in the media, and on the Web, and to promote his upcoming Congressional race (and raise money at the same time!).
Joe Wilson has certainly made a name for himself in South Carolina and across the country, and with his constant social media presence seems to be launching a PR campaign of his own. Check out his most recent in a string of YouTube videos, "I Will Not be Muzzled".
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