Republicans Do Know How to Use the Internets and Make Videos

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The bailout got you down? Does it feel like the members of Congress just aren’t listening? Got a video camera and too much spare time? Don’t fret, sad little big-government-haters: You can heed the advice of Meghan McCain, get your fifteen micro-seconds of fame, and win your bailout burden back.

Yes, Republicans do know how to use the internets.  Right.org (you got to give them credit for the snazzy URL), launched an online video contest that asks DIY film makers to “Be creative. Make us laugh. Teach us. Above all, make us oppose the bailouts.”

The winning entry receives $27,599, or one person’s share of the bailouts. Entrants will flood YouTube until a winner is chosen by a “panel of qualified judges” in July. The idea for a video contest follows hard on the heels of the Best Job in the World put on by the Queensland Tourism. Though there are, understandably and sadly, far fewer bikinis in the Right.org contest.Right.org describes itself as a “grassroots online community” who
“gathered some talent and money and built this side.” Where the money
came from is unclear. Comments go to Evan and Duncan (who could not be
reached for comment). Besides the video contest, Facebook, and a Twitter feed, Right.org offers users
nifty tools for calculating their family’s share of the bailout and
gives them the chance to sign a petition opposing the bailout. The
options are “sign the petition” and “No thanks (I’m fine with Congress stealing my money).

Right.org even redefines the Merriam-Webster word of the year,
“bailout,” as “making us pay for corporate failures that are not our
fault.” And, we all know, the only appropriate response to that kind of
malfeasance from the Man is to dress up in a Hawaiian leis and make a
freaking video.

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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