The Upper Hand and Other Myths Busted

Back in December of 2005, we quoted from an Editor and Publisher post on an article that was to appear in the New York Times about conservative blogs having the upper hand in getting their messages into the MSM. Corzine’s campaign blogger Matt Stoller was supposedly going to be quoted in the Times as citing an example of a New Jersey blog using that power to get a negative charge against Corzine into the media.

We were curious what Stoller was going to claim, because we weren’t familiar with any conservative New Jersey blogger that managed to get anything against Corzine onto the airwaves and into print. But a left-wing New Jersey blogger certainly did. We posted the E&P quote, without any commentary, to tweak “jmelli’s” nose, not to brag. Here’s why.

On October 24th we posted Is Corzine the Next McGreevey?. The post contained a tip we received that “something big is about to happen, and when it hits; it’ll make Jim McGreevey look like a Cub Scout compared to Jon Corzine.” For reasons known only to “jmelli”, he claimed he knew what that “something big” was and proceeded to post a rumor about Jon Corzine on Blue Jersey, MyDD and Kos.

About a week after our Is Corzine the Next McGreevey? post, quotes from Mrs. Corzine appeared all over the media. She spoke of Jon Corzine buying endorsements, compromising his ideals to get elected by cutting deals with political bosses and the affair with Carla Katz that led to the breakup of their marriage. We couldn't imagine anyone would suggest our post prompted the media to print the damaging interviews with Mrs. Corzine.

But, shortly thereafter, the rumor “jmelli” posted made its way onto NJN TV reports, received a reference in the New York Times and finally made it on Drudge. Taegan Goddard’s Political Newswire and Steve Adubato even wrote about the rumor.

At the end of the gubernatorial campaign, Corzine was dogged by this rumor “jmelli” so effectively spread in the left-wing blogosphere. That rumor never appeared on Enlighten-NewJersey, but we did post another email tip: “Reporters are after a videotape of Corzine, inebriated, making statements that will damage him beyond belief with African Americans. (Carla Katz supposedly makes an appearance.). “

The tape never surfaced and the story never entered the MSN. It also wasn’t mentioned in the brief NYT piece, Conservative Blogs Are More Effective, hyped by Editor and Publisher. Although, Stoller is quoted complaining about “the right-wing infrastructure”.

Since then Carla Katz hasn’t stopped making appearances in the news, but our “video tape” post only became fodder for Blue Jersey bloggers. As a matter of fact, Blue Jersey’s “jmelli” still enjoys telling stories about the Corzine tape, embellishing it as the years go by. Check out his latest version in his post New Jersey's Newest Smear Outlet?

In 2005, anonymous conservative blog and bottom of the right wing-smear-machine-totem pole Enlighten-NJ posted rumors alleging that "a videotape of Corzine, inebriated, making statements that will damage him beyond belief with African Americans" was about to come out. It didn't take long for the Drudge Report to pick it up and push it to Fox and finally mainstream media outlets. Instead of admitting how wrong they were, they bragged about it.

How long will it take for “jmelli” to put up links to the Corzine video tape story that he claims appeared on Drudge, Fox and mainstream media outlets? Of course he can’t, because it never happened and he knows it never happened.

We weren’t bragging, we were laughing at "jmelli’s" skillful use of the left-wing blogosphere. We still are.