extrovertic: The Grand Old Party Masters New Media

Last month, a study showed that Senate Republicans are beating the pants off their Democratic colleagues in their use of social media.

John McCain (R-Ariz.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Scott Brown (R-Mass) are at the top of the list, followed by one Democrat, Al Franken of Minnesota, and John Conryn (R-Texas).

And while the top spots are occupied by the GOP, with the exception of the former Stuart Smalley, the Democrats largely own the bottom. The lowest scores went to Senators Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Thad Cochran (R-Miss.).

Surprisingly, in the "Age of Obama," John McCain is now considered a "Social Media Genius."

But the fact that the Grand Old Party is mastering new media may explain another trend I've picked up on.

My father, a retiree in Boca Raton, and ardent Tea Party supporter, sends me -- and the hundreds of others fortunate enough to be on his mailing list -- at least one propaganda email a day. Sometimes two, three or more.

Most of these missives of misinformation are the equivalent of the proverbial Christmas fruitcake. A check at Snopes.com will show that the same email has been passed around for years, with different names plugged in to suit the times. "John Kerry" becomes "Hillary Clinton," etc.

Often their subject lines exploit the names of celebrities. ("What Robin Williams said about Obamacare!")

When confronted with the fact that the quote didn't actually come from Mr. Williams, my father will blurt something like, "Well, it's not about who said it, but what it says." To which I always respond, "But you wouldn't have sent it if you didn't think it actually came from Robin Williams."

These viral emails are coursing through the octogenarian circuit more furiously than Metamucil.

They cover a wide array of topics such as Obama is a Muslim, Obama is a communist, Obama is an illegal alien, and Obama is getting ready to implement martial law.

And if it is on the Internet, these folks seem to think, it must be true.

Clearly the economy and many other factors have played a role in the Incredible Shrinking Obama Presidency.

But a well-calculated, well-organized and probably well-funded social media campaign is picking up on the anger of the masses and amplifying it.