Last modified on March 1, 2012 by Brad Phillips

February 2012: The Eight Worst Video Media Disasters (Pt. 2)

Click here if you missed the first part of this month’s worst media disasters list.

Today, the countdown continues with February’s four worst media disasters.

This portion of the list includes evil spirits, rape victims who were assaulted because of feminism, and a politician whose number of unforced gaffes may end up earning him an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records.

It’s been a strange month, folks. Here we go.

4. Maxine Waters Sees Evil Spirits in Her House

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) tore into the Republican House leadership earlier this month at a California Democratic State Convention. Talking about House Speaker John Boehner and Majority Whip Eric Cantor, she said:

“I saw pictures of Boehner and Cantor on our screens,” she told the crowd. “Don’t ever let me see again in life those Republicans in our hall on our screens talking about anything. These are demons.”

With what can only be described as an astonishing lack of self-awareness, she went on to say that, “These are legislators who are destroying this country, rather than bringing us together.” Ummm…Ms. Waters? Hate to point out that your comments may not exactly be “bringing us together.”

3. Fox News Suggests Raped Military Women Should Have Known Better

This one left my jaw hanging. Even the host seemed shocked by analyst Liz Trotta’s comments about sexual assault in the military.

2. Mitt Romney Can’t Help Himself

It’s hard to know where to begin with Mitt Romney, who’s beginning to make Joe Biden look like a gaffe-free politician.

On their own, none of these gaffes is disastrous. But collectively, they reinforce an image of an out-of-touch rich guy who doesn’t know how to relate to ordinary Americans. And each of these mini-gaffes sends his campaign into damage control while taking him far away from his intended message. In just the past four weeks, he’s said:

  • “I’m not concerned with the very poor.”
  • “I was a severely conservative governor.”
  • “[I don’t follow NASCAR] as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some great friends that are NASCAR team owners.”
  • “[My wife] Ann drives a couple of Cadillacs.

I can’t remember a credible front runner for the presidency who couldn’t get out of his own way quite this much. So it’s little wonder that Mr. Romney is having such a tough time dispensing with challengers who should otherwise be easy to defeat. Here’s the “two Cadillacs” moment, in which he also praised Michigan’s perfect tree height.

1. Komen Race for the Cure CEO Nancy Brinker in Crisis Mode

Susan G. Komen founder Nancy Brinker appeared on MSNBC after her organization cut off funding to Planned Parenthood, allegedly because Planned Parenthood provides abortion services. The resulting crisis was a disaster for Komen that threatened to destroy in a matter of days the favorable reputation it had built over decades.

Ms. Brinker’s appearance was a disaster. During her interview, she claimed that “the responses we’re getting are favorable,” seemingly oblivious to the firestorm around her. She edgily blamed her critics for not “bothering” to read more about their decision. She didn’t express any reassurance to her supporters who felt betrayed by the decision, and topped off her appearance by claiming that a key staffer had nothing to do with the defunding decision (the staffer later admitted that she did).

In the process, Komen violated all seven rules of crisis management.

Bonus: MSNBC Host Chris Matthews Equates Catholics with Bigots

Earlier this month, MSNBC host Chris Matthews said, “If you’re really anti-gay, you become a Catholic now.” When confronted on his comments by a conservative media watchdog group, Mr. Matthews became more cautious with his language, saying “some” Catholics. But his original statement appeared to be more declarative – and this clip would have ranked higher on the list if embeddable video of the moment had been available. (Video available on The Daily Caller website here.)

Click here to see the ten worst video media disasters of 2011.

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