Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Tweet, Facebook post generate blowback at GOP

  • Politics
  • by Mark Pazniokas
  • August 16, 2017
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

The image that Trump retweeted, then deleted.

President Trump retweeted a cartoon image of a train running over a CNN reporter to his 35.9 million Twitter followers. Kyle Reyes, owner of a self-described “outrageous” Manchester marketing company, questioned in a Facebook video seen more than 37,000 times if the white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., actually were actors hired by the political left.

One caused agita Tuesday at the White House, even if Trump deleted the Tweet. The other posed a headache for J.R. Romano, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, even if it wasn’t his work. Reyes also hosts “Whiskey Patriots,” a web show on which Romano is a regular, sipping whiskey and skewering liberals.

Anyone can have a voice on social media, free to be clever, thoughtful, outrageous and sometimes, as Romano acknowledged Tuesday, just plain stupid.

“I think the biggest problem with the social media and digital media era is, I’m certain in all of our lives, we’ve said things, the first thing that came to our mind, that maybe wasn’t the right or correct thing to say, right? We’ve all been there,” Romano said. “I think the problem with everyone having access to a video camera and an opinion is you can say stupid things.”

Romano simultaneously distanced himself from Reyes’ commentary and insisted it wasn’t his problem.

Former Republican state Sen. Kevin Rennie, a blogger and newspaper columnist, disagreed. So did the Connecticut Democratic Party.

Rennie posted a brief item about what he called Reyes’ “astonishing video” and noted that Romano and Reyes are fellow Whiskey Patriots. “The video is bizarre on its own,” Rennie wrote. “That these are the thoughts of a video partner of the Republican state chairman is chilling.”

For anyone who might have missed Rennie’s post, the Democratic Party was happy to give it wider exposure in an email blast in which Mike Mandell, the party’s executive director, said,  “It’s time to hold J.R. Romano and his Republican colleagues accountable.”

Mandell also highlighted a Facebook rant by a Republican State Central Committee member and the speaking invitation the party extended to Michelle Malkin, a conservative columnist who defends the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.

“It’s standard guilt by association,” Romano said. “I don’t agree with Kyle. I don’t have to agree with Kyle. I have liberals I don’t agree with who are friends, too. I mean, the idea of groupthink is uniquely Democrat.”

Mandell said Romano’s complaint about guilt by association was odd, given his campaign to tie every Democrat in the General Assembly to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

For his part, Reyes apologized for nothing. He said he did not and would not defend the Ku Klux Klan or any Nazi sympathizers — if that’s who really staged the protest in Charlottesville, where a counter-protester was struck and killed by car.

“The whole point that I brought up in this is nothing in this world surprises me any more,” Reyes told CT Mirror.

From a marketing point of view, Reyes said, it made sense for the left to discredit the alt-right by impersonating them. Reyes said he was just sharing those thoughts in a solo video, one that began with him conceding his photographer thought it a mistake.

Reyes acknowledged that questioning the reality of a news event on the web invites comparisons to Alex Jones, whose Infowars web show gave a platform to deniers of the Sandy Hook School shooting massacre.

“Alex Jones is an idiot, and there are lots of idiots out there. I get that. The context isn’t lost on me,” Reyes said.

But Reyes, who says he worked in television news at NBC Connecticut before founding The Silent Partner Marketing, makes his living attracting attention.

“If you’re looking for a team that’s going to subscribe to the ‘yes man’ philosophy, we’re not for you. We’re aggressive. We’re outrageous. We’re contrarian,” is how the firm bills itself on its web site. “We will push the envelope and we will challenge conventional wisdom. But once you see the light, you’ll never look back.”

Reyes said he met Romano at meetings of Grassroots East, an east-of-the-river Republican group, when he was asked to give advice about how to use digital media, He said he often disagrees with Romano, but intends to keep inviting him to continue as a Whiskey Patriot, where a fellow panelist is Carl Higbie, an ex-Navy Seal and Fox News contributor.

Romano did not rule out future appearances.

J.R. Romano, left, with Carl Higbie on an episode of Whiskey Patriots

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Pazniokas is the Capitol Bureau Chief and a co-founder of CT Mirror. He is a frequent contributor to WNPR, a former state politics writer for The Hartford Courant and Journal Inquirer, and contributor for The New York Times.

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Connecticut House joins national civil rights campaign over Black hair styles
by Mark Pazniokas

The Connecticut House voted for a bill intended to protect Black women from discrimination over their hair.

CT legislature poised to make early budget pledge to help cities and towns
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The state House is expected to approve more than $100 million in new, annual PILOT grants to municipalities.

Connecticut GOP picks Susan Hatfield as state chair
by Mark Pazniokas

Susan Hatfield, vice chair of the Connecticut Republican Party, will complete the term of the former chair, J.R. Romano.

Senator alleges voter fraud, but no complaint was filed
by Mark Pazniokas

Rob Sampson said a voter in his district was told an absentee ballot already had been cast in her name.

Boston Fed chief predicts strong economic recovery begins in 2nd half of 2021 if vaccine reaches enough people
by Keith M. Phaneuf

A strong economic rebound also depends on states helping those hit hardest by COVID-19, a federal reserve official said.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion The historical basis of zoning begs for reform
by Lawrence Rizzolo

Discussions of race are fraught with emotion. Witness the zoning reforms being discussed in our legislature. I will attempt to advance a dispassionate argument that is based on government-sponsored racism that occurred during my lifetime and led to the structural problems that persist today.

Opinion Lamont must stop waffling on the Killingly power plant issue
by Tennyson Benedict

On January 19, Gov. Ned Lamont gave his bluntest comments yet regarding the controversial Killingly natural gas plant, saying, “I don’t want to build Killingly.”  Yet, Lamont still refuses to wield his executive authority to actually stop its construction, and instead offers vague suggestions that market forces will stop the plant’s construction.

Opinion Religious freedom is less than righteousness
by Spencer Hill

The CT Viewpoints opinion “Religious freedom is more than religion” shows just how entrenched is the sincerely held belief that one man’s notion of “freedom” dictates the liberty of others.

Opinion To boost economy, state should invest in the ‘last mile’ of broadband connectivity
by Thomas J. Peters, Ph.D

In his budget address on February 10,   Gov. Ned Lamont announced his intent to expand broadband connectivity in Connecticut, an effort to be lauded. Connecticut enjoys a significant competitive advantage for economic development in the Connecticut Education Network (CEN), “ a 2,500 route mile, all optical, high-performance internet network.”

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO