GOP thinks imitating BuzzFeed to raise money is WIN!
One crazy congressional campaign committee that is totally going to win the midterms with listicles
By Alex PareeneTopics: Opening Shot, Politics, BuzzFeed, Republican Party, Internet Culture, GOP, Business News, Politics News
The GOP is going to make its own BuzzFeed, apparently. National Journal’s Brian Fung “won the Internet” yesterday with his report on the National Republican Congressional Committee’s thrilling new website, which has a sidebar, and features lists.
The NRCC also hired 20 writers (the GOP will save publishing!) to create conservative versions of the soul-deadening crap BuzzFeed’s list-generators are forced to compile. While it may sound like the aim is to appeal to a new demo — kids who remember the ’90s and who also believe that balancing the federal budget with deep domestic spending cuts will also somehow spur economic growth — it’s actually not quite that ambitious: The point is to boost traffic to the NRCC website, and therefore to increase donations to the NRCC. It appeared to be working, too, even before the entire liberal Internet stopped to point and laugh at the notion of a “conservative BuzzFeed,” giving the project a massive amount of attention.
It actually isn’t ridiculous. It’s certainly not doomed to failure. If there’s one group of Internet users that loves sharing viral content with everyone they know, it’s conservatives. Long before broadband and smartphones, conservatives were forwarding classic viral content to everyone in their address books. “The Clinton Body Count” was sort of the original “600 Hilarious Autocorrect Fails.” As anyone who is Facebook friends with conservative family members will tell you, right-wingers will share anything with anyone. The very existence of birtherism is a strong argument for the conservative movement’s ability to “win” at the viral game.
Which is not to say that the movement kept up with the times. Because conservatives, by and large, are an older set than liberals, the conservative viral content medium of choice has remained email forwards as liberals moved on to Tumblr.
There is clearly a market for easily shared Internet ephemera marketed specifically to older cranks, and the savvier conservative media figures are already serving it. Michelle Malkin had the brilliant idea to start an entire site that literally just puts Twitter posts in one easy-to-find place so old people can read them without having to figure out Twitter. (Sample headline: “Awesome: Michelle Malkin destroys Univision ‘real journalist’ over labels and bias.” And then it’s just an embed of some dumb Twitter argument Malkin had. That is seriously everything on this site.)
Much like explicitly conservative movies are generally just crappier versions of regular movies with populist Tea Party dogma awkwardly inserted, conservative viral content will look like the regular kind — dumb lists stolen from elsewhere with most of the words replaced with small animated images — only with a series of quickly recognizable right-wing bugbears in the place of “humor” or “cute animals.” 24 epic liberal media fails! 21 terrifying untrue facts about Agenda 21!
Really the only problem with the NRCC plan is that the Internet is already awash in conservative viral content, some of it already coming from BuzzFeed. This is a point conservatives refuse to get, but BuzzFeed isn’t liberal. (Though keep in mind that conservatives also consider Politico left-wing — they don’t practice a particularly sophisticated form of media criticism.) Editor Ben Smith practices old-fashioned newspaper reporter objectivity, and the reported politics coverage mainly does as well. (BuzzFeed D.C. Bureau Chief John Stanton, for example, is a great source for what congressional Republicans are thinking on immigration.)
If an audience exists for a BuzzFeed of the right, BuzzFeed will happily be the BuzzFeed of the right, because capitalism. In fact, they are already producing cheap viral crap for conservatives to like on Facebook. Recent attempts include What It Feels Like Being a Conservative on the Internet, which went viral but was deemed “fail” by the BuzzFeed community, and “7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked Out About if Bush Had Done Them,” which was voted both “win” and “fail.”
The author of that latter piece, Benny Johnson, was hired (from Glenn Beck’s the Blaze) basically explicitly to create viral conservative content. (Well, and regular viral content, too.) He’s also recently big-upped Utah Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz and — pay attention, NRCC — counted down “13 Ways Republican Can Win the Internet.” (I can sum up: It seems that the RNC postmortem was tl;dr.)
Still, the point of the NRCC’s project is pretty much only to separate conservatives from their money, and those sorts of ventures have a pretty decent success rate. I’m sure the NRCC will do fine.
Alex Pareene writes about politics for Salon and is the author of "The Rude Guide to Mitt." Email him at apareene@salon.com and follow him on Twitter @pareene More Alex Pareene.
You Might Also Like
More Related Stories
-
White House delays key component of healthcare overhaul
-
Hummus: The yummy Middle Eastern invasion
-
BART strike snarls traffic for second straight day
-
Uber presses the class-warfare button
-
13 facts about tax-dodging corporations that will blow your mind
-
How epic GOP bumbling could inadvertently save food stamps
-
Economic inequality was created
-
Why "real journalists" hate Sean Parker's wedding
-
Dark money group lies to IRS about being dark money group
-
Zynga CEO to step down
-
Tribune Co. to acquire 19 TV stations in billion-dollar deal
-
Be employable, study philosophy
-
How do you like my money now, liberals?
-
3 biggest myths about immigration reform
-
We must hate our children
-
How Humboldt became America's marijuana capital
-
Taming mother nature, one flight at a time
-
Neo-Nazi group to receive million-dollar coin collection
-
New York legislation will never be progressive
-
Why is the Department of Justice not paying its assistant attorneys?
-
Top 5 investigative videos of the week: Female farmworkers sexually abused
Featured Slide Shows
7 motorist-friendly camping sites
close X- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 9
- Previous
- Next
Sponsored Post
-
White River National Forest via Lower Crystal Lake, Colorado For those OK with the mainstream, White River Forest welcomes more than 10 million visitors a year, making it the most-visited recreation forest in the nation. But don’t hate it for being beautiful; it’s got substance, too. The forest boasts 8 wilderness areas, 2,500 miles of trail, 1,900 miles of winding service system roads, and 12 ski resorts (should your snow shredders fit the trunk space). If ice isn’t your thing: take the tire-friendly Flat Tops Trail Scenic Byway — 82 miles connecting the towns of Meeker and Yampa, half of which is unpaved for you road rebels. fs.usda.gov/whiteriveryou
Image credit: Getty
-
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest via Noontootla Creek, GeorgiaBoasting 10 wildernesses, 430 miles of trail and 1,367 miles of trout-filled stream, this Georgia forest is hailed as a camper’s paradise. Try driving the Ridge and Valley Scenic Byway, which saw Civil War battles fought. If the tall peaks make your engine tremble, opt for the relatively flat Oconee National Forest, which offers smaller hills and an easy trail to the ghost town of Scull Shoals. Scaredy-cats can opt for John’s Mountain Overlook, which leads to twin waterfalls for the sensitive sightseer in you. fs.usda.gov/conf
Image credit: flickr/chattoconeenf
-
Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area via Green Road, Michigan The only national forest in Lower Michigan, the Huron-Mainstee spans nearly 1 million acres of public land. Outside the requisite lush habitat for fish and wildlife on display, the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Area is among the biggest hooks for visitors: offering beach camping with shores pounded by big, cerulean surf. Splash in some rum and you just might think you were in the Caribbean. fs.usda.gov/hmnf
Image credit: umich.edu
-
Canaan Mountain via Backcountry Canaan Loop Road, West Virginia A favorite hailed by outdoorsman and author Johnny Molloy as some of the best high-country car camping sites anywhere in the country, you don’t have to go far to get away. Travel 20 miles west of Dolly Sods (among the busiest in the East) to find the Canaan Backcountry (for more quiet and peace). Those willing to leave the car for a bit and foot it would be remiss to neglect day-hiking the White Rim Rocks, Table Rock Overlook, or the rim at Blackwater River Gorge. fs.usda.gov/mnf
Image credit: Getty
-
Mt. Rogers NRA via Hurricane Creek Road, North CarolinaMost know it as the highest country they’ll see from North Carolina to New Hampshire. What they may not know? Car campers can get the same grand experience for less hassle. Drop the 50-pound backpacks and take the highway to the high country by stopping anywhere on the twisting (hence the name) Hurricane Road for access to a 15-mile loop that boasts the best of the grassy balds. It’s the road less travelled, and the high one, at that. fs.usda.gov/gwj
Image credit: wikipedia.org
-
Long Key State Park via the Overseas Highway, Florida Hiking can get old; sometimes you’d rather paddle. For a weekend getaway of the coastal variety and quieter version of the Florida Keys that’s no less luxe, stick your head in the sand (and ocean, if snorkeling’s your thing) at any of Long Key’s 60 sites. Canoes and kayaks are aplenty, as are the hot showers and electric power source amenities. Think of it as the getaway from the typical getaway. floridastateparks.org/longkey/default.cfm
Image credit: floridastateparks.org
-
Grand Canyon National Park via Crazy Jug Point, Arizona You didn’t think we’d neglect one of the world’s most famous national parks, did you? Nor would we dare lead you astray with one of the busiest parts of the park. With the Colorado River still within view of this cliff-edge site, Crazy Jug is a carside camper’s refuge from the troops of tourists. Find easy access to the Bill Hall Trail less than a mile from camp, and descend to get a peek at the volcanic Mt. Trumbull. (Fear not: It’s about as active as your typical lazy Sunday in front of the tube, if not more peaceful.) fs.usda.gov/kaibab
Image credit: flickr/Irish Typepad
-
As the go-to (weekend) getaway car for fiscally conscious field trips with friends, the 2013 MINI Convertible is your campground racer of choice, allowing you and up to three of your co-pilots to take in all the beauty of nature high and low. And with a fuel efficiency that won’t leave you in the latter, you won’t have to worry about being left stranded (or awkwardly asking to go halfsies on gas expenses).
Image credit: miniusa.com
-
Recent Slide Shows
-
7 motorist-friendly camping sites
-
Gripping photos: The people of the Turkey protests (slideshow)
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Photos: Turmoil and tear gas in Instanbul's Gezi Park - Slideshow
-
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 9
- Previous
- Next
-
The week in 10 pics
-
10 summer food festivals worth the pit stop
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
9 amazing drive-in movie theaters still standing
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
Netflix's April Fools' Day categories
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
-
The week in 10 pics
Related Videos
Alex Pareene surveys the burgeoning and bloated world of political news and opinion and explains the day's most essential story in Opening Shot, posted by 8:30 a.m. each weekday. Bookmark this page; follow @pareene on Twitter.
Most Read
-
We must hate our children Joan Walsh
-
NSA reportedly has secret data collection agreement with several European countries Prachi Gupta
-
The best of Tumblr porn Tracy Clark-Flory
-
James Clapper is still lying to America David Sirota
-
Thanks for nothing, college! Tim Donovan
-
Before Edward Snowden: "Sexual deviates" and the NSA Rick Anderson
-
You are how you sneeze Ryan O'Hanlon, Pacific Standard
-
SCOTUS: No right to remain silent unless you speak up Christopher Zara, International Business Times
-
The smearing of Rachel Jeantel Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
Texas Senate meets, promptly votes to recess until July 9 Katie Mcdonough
Popular on Reddit
links from salon.com

451 points452 points453 points | 21 comments

336 points337 points338 points | 29 comments

83 points84 points85 points | 9 comments
From Around the Web
Presented by Scribol
-

Biggest Banks Have 'Little To Cheer' As U.S. Tightens Rules
-

State Senate Votes On Restrictive Abortion Measure Tacked On To Anti-Sharia Bill
-

(Water) Gun Enthusiasts March On Washington
-

Connie Pillich: Is Your Uterus a Budget Issue?
-

Charlotte Robinson: Exclusive: AFER Prop 8 Players Talk About U.S. Supreme Court Ruling (AUDIO)
-
'Game Of Thrones' Season 4: HBO Show Casts Pedro Pascal As Oberyn Martell, The Red Viper
-
Employer Health Care Mandate Pushed Back
-
Artist Nickolay Lamm Creates Barbie Doll Based On Measurements Of Real Women
-
Sidewalk Chalk Artist Acquitted After Facing 13 Years In Jail Over Vandalism
-
Bolivian Leader's Plane Diverted; Snowden 'Not Aboard'








Comments
5 Comments