During an interview that aired on Friday's broadcast of Alabama Public Television's "Capitol Journal," U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Saks) followed up his speech to the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce earlier in the week.
One of the topics that "Capitol Journal" host Todd Stacy inquired about was the gridlock that plagues Capitol Hill and how that came to be.
According to the Calhoun County federal lawmaker, changes in media, including the rise of cable news and social media, have contributed to the perceived gridlock.
"It's exasperating," he said. "I can't overstate it. When I first got there in 2002, we were still passing legislation, like the appropriations bills. There were 12 of them. We would pass all 12 of them on time, separately, every year. That hasn't been the case since 2010. Now, it's always packages of them. We're the only standing committee that passes authorization bills now. They're all frozen with this gridlock, and it's just exasperating."
"But you talk about the social media," Rogers continued. "I'm of the opinion cable TV and social media is what's really driving this problem because — and cable TV, you know, these different cable news networks. They're so-called news. They're really opinion networks — they pick a business model that goes after a certain demographic. They really pander to that and they keep them stirred up, keep the eyeballs on the TV. All that stuff creates hostility itself. But social media is just taking gas and throwing it on the fire."
"You had it exactly right — we have members, their sole source of fundraising is online," he added. "And the way they get the online contributions is do something outrageous on camera, whether it is on the floor, with the media that they can tweet out ... to get the small-dollar donors. They raised enormous sums of money doing it. So. I don't know the answer. I don't think social media is going away any time soon. or cable TV networks. But it has really distorted the process."
Jeff Poor is the editor in chief of 1819 News and host of "The Jeff Poor Show," heard Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-noon on Mobile's FM Talk 106.5. To connect or comment, email jeff.poor@1819News.com or follow him on Twitter @jeff_poor.
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