Back Down, Double Down, or Down and Dirty: Weaponized PR and Matt Gaetz,

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The Corporate Overlords at PJ Media have rebuffed my request to rename the site PR Media (and when I suggested Pinsker Media, they threw a coffee mug at my head), but this holiday season, PR’s been in the news.

Three big stories.

First, we have the one-time attorney general nominee, Matt Gaetz. Even though he’s already left the House of Representatives, a damning, explosive report on his sex-and-drugs exploits was just released.

When the best thing you can say in your defense is, “C’mon guys, I was several years younger then and I’m positive she was 18!” that’s not exactly moral high ground. You’re more Anakin than Obi-Wan (if you remember your prequel history).

So what should Gaetz do?

For the young ex-congressman, time is on his side: Cut back on the blow, drugs, hookers, and whores, and rebuild yourself as a MAGA outlaw with insider cred. If he can go a few years without the stench of scandal, that will be enough. The American people are ridiculously forgiving — and besides, we’re in a post-legal perceptual environment.

Nowadays, facing a slew of legal charges doesn’t mean you’re a bad guy. It means you were effective enough to be attacked by the establishment.

Gaetz is 42 and has an upcoming OAN television show that’ll keep him in the limelight. Assuming he’s learned, grown, and matured, his future is still wide open.

VERDICT: Double down.

Next, we have the curious case of President Joe Biden, the rapidly shrinking chief executive. He spent a lifetime accruing political capital, and it all culminated with his ~~election~~ ascension to the presidency in 2020. Then, as the slayer of the Trump dragon and the flagbearer of the Democratic Party, his political coffers swelled to Muskian proportions.

And in the last year, he spent every damn penny. First, he cashed in some chips to dispatch all contenders from the ’24 Democratic nomination so he could take the crown without doing any work. Then, when he dropped out, he spent the bulk of what remained to push Kamala Harris as his heir apparent(ly not). And finally, after the election, he spent every dime he had left on Hunter Biden’s blanket pardon.

Now, he’s broke.

Prediction: A presidency that’s indifferent to public perception is a dangerous thing. Expect there to be a cavalcade of wacky, inappropriate pardons coming in the next few weeks. The Biden-Harris administration cannot be influenced by shame or sentiment anymore, so all that’s left is for the Swamp Creatures to procure every last goodie from the government coffers before President Trump kicks the kids out of the White House.

VERDICT: Down and dirty.

Our final story involves a PR war in Hollywood between actress Blake Lively (a.k.a. Deadpool’s wife) and James Baldoni, an actor/director who had earlier staked a reputation as a “nice liberal” — heck, he even had a podcast called “Man Enough,” where he bemoaned the destructive, ruinous evil of (gasp!) toxic masculinity.

Per Blake Lively, he was a creep who sexually harassed her and tried to slander her good name.

It’s never (alleged) dirtbags like Andrew Dice Clay who act like this, is it? It’s always one of those self-declared “good guys” who positions himself as a liberal ally, a feminist friend, and a (neutered) sycophant.

According to the media reports, Baldoni freaked out when Blake Lively’s husband stopped following him on Instagram, and since Hollywood and junior high have the same maturity level, Baldoni assumed that he was about to be broadsided by a PR onslaught.

And so, he (allegedly) struck first, blasting Lively in a clandestine PR campaign.

But really, from what I’ve seen and read, most of the “evil” actions of the PR firms were standard stuff: Engaging reporters, reaching out to key media friends, and tracking social media backlash.

It sounds sinister, but it’s normal PR work.

Of course, if there were contractual obligations that were flouted, that’s a different matter. But this is the Hollywood ecosystem in action: The big fish eat the little fish, and Blake Lively is a helluva lot bigger than Baldoni.

VERDICT: Back down.