One of the less commented upon features of YouTube is the public counter that indicates how many people have clicked the link to the particular video. It is not perfect, for sure, but it indicates some degree of penetration for the video. Below is a screen shot of a video from Representative Jan Schakowsky about a Jobs Bill. The video was posted a week ago. Many people have been calling for President Obama to push this sort of jobs bill. E.J. Dionne in his column today makes the argument that now the immediate Debt Ceiling Crisis has passed, President Obama needs to push for legislation like Representative Schakowsky's proposal.
But look at the number of hits for this video, not even close to 1,000. Why is that, since this seems like just the sort of proposal Progressives would like to see? I did a quick search on Huffington Post, found a link to a story about the bill, but no video. I did likewise at Politico and didn't even find a story. It looks to me like those places are more interested in "dissing" Rick Perry than in talking about a Progressive agenda.
With so few hits, this proposal looks like there is no groundswell of support for it. But if the usual outlets don't publicize it, how is John Q. Citizen to know? So there is a substantial chicken and egg problem here.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus does have the bill featured prominently on its site. Their link goes to a different YouTube video with Congressmen Schakowsky, from an interview with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC. That video has under 200 views. About one third of House Democrats are members of CPC. Only one Senator, Bernie Sanders, is a member. Dick Durbin, a self-described Progressive is not a member.
There is something amiss in that observation. Here you have legislation that addresses the primary concern of a majority of Americans, and most of them don't know the legislation exists.
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