Jeremy Jensen, a political advisor to Nebraska State Senator and gubernatorial candidate Charlie Janssen, learned that hard way about privacy on the internet, when his offensive comments made their way to a local newspaper resulting in his termination. Jensen, who was hired by Janssen less than one month ago, posted a disparaging comment against Nebraska State Senator Danielle Conrad, in which he referred to her as the c-word. Though he works as a political consultant, Jensen seems to be oblivious to the fact that this exact scenario has ended political careers in every level of government around the country.
Jensen’s comment, which read “It’s one thing for elected officials to disagree with each other. It’s quite another to be a flat-out disrespectful c$&#, [sic]” was posted to Jensen’s Facebook profile, visible only to his friends. Those online friends then reposted the comment which ultimately made its way to Nebraska’s World-Herald newspaper. Last week, Jensen’s comment was used as an example of sexism in local politics in article by Erin Grace.
Grace’s article asked Jensen about his online remark, to which he responded, “I have a private Facebook page that was open to my friends only. It’s not for a larger audience- there’s a reason I have security settings in place.”
Grace also asked Janssen about his staffer’s comments, and while he said that he did not condone the language or the intent, that he would keep Jensen on as a staff member if he apologized.
Earlier today, Jensen resigned from Janssen’s campaign, presumably over his comment. Janssen released a statement on the matter, saying “While Jeremy’s most derogatory remark was made prior to his joining my campaign, I am sorry that Senator Conrad and her family had to endure the experience.”
Obviously Jensen, who was hired to consult a politician on how to win the favor of a particular populace, should have known better than to turn the populace against himself with his obscene and sexist comments. His failure to comprehend the magnitude of social media’s reach and impact indicates a bury-your-head-in-the-sand attitude that is not conducive to influencing voters. Perhaps he has resigned not for the comments he made, but because this incident revealed the depths of his ineptitude.
As for State Senator Conrad, she told the World-Herald that neither Jensen nor Janssen had made any effort to contact her. She did express her appreciation for those that supported her in the face of Jensen’s hurtful remarks.