User:Viriditas/Overzealous staffer defense

The overzealous staffer or overzealous volunteer defense is a public relations strategy and spin technique used by an official spokesperson to excuse poor judgment and bad decision-making on the part of the accused. By blaming an "overzealous" staffer or volunteer for the problem, the blame is shifted from an organization to a lone individual, usually unnamed. The defense is considered a variant of the false cause fallacy and is an example of buck passing—attributing another person with responsibility for one's own actions.

According to Linda Coates, former Fargo commissioner, "The enigmatic local volunteer is typically blamed for these types of heavy-handed moves. Impossible to trace and leaves the administration staff completely off the hook." Editorial cartoonist Tom Tomorrow brought the term to a wider audience in 2005, in his satirical comic strip, This Modern World.

Usage
In common parlance, the overzealous staffer defense often plays out in the media in the form of an official response from a spokesperson speaking on behalf of an organization or individual accused of misconduct. In response to a query from the media as to how this alleged incident could have occurred, the spokesperson using the defense will blame the action on an "overzealous" staffer or volunteer who acted alone and in isolation. This explanation distances the accused from any responsibility or accountability for the alleged incident, and preserves the reputations of those involved in the controversy.

Analysis
When an official spokesperson responds to media queries about an incident by blaming the perceived problem on an overzealous member of the organization, it is generally assumed that a member of an organization who acts in an "overzealous" manner is therefore acting alone and does not represent the organization or individual who is subject to the accusations.

By claiming that X caused Y, the spokesperson is protecting an organization or individual from blame. However, there is no reason to believe that X caused Y when the allegations against the organization or individual do not appear to be supported by the explanation of a lone individual operating alone—one can conclude that the causal connection is unsupported, in other words, a "false cause".

For example, large bureaucratic organizations often require checks and balances to make important decisions. One person is very often incapable of making a major decision without having other people sign off on it and agree to it. However, if such a decision becomes public and controversial and receives enough media attention questioning its rationale, organizations will often shift the blame to an "overzealous" staffer or unpaid volunteer to avoid taking responsibility.

Incidents



 * 2001
 * After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Clear Channel Communications, then the "largest owner of U.S. radio stations", distributed a memorandum to 1,200 of their affiliate radio stations with a list of 165 "lyrically questionable" songs they suggested should not be played in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, including anti-war songs like Imagine by John Lennon. After the memo was leaked and the public voiced their objection, Clear Channel blamed the distribution of the list on an "overzealous program manager", "a grass-roots effort that was apparently circulated among program directors."  An anonymous source told The New York Times  that the memo began as "a smaller list of questionable songs...originally generated by the corporate office, but an overzealous regional executive began contributing suggestions and circulating the list via e-mail, where it continued to grow."  In the wake of the scandal, some journalists accused Clear Channel of corporate censorship.  Two years later, in March 2003, Clear Channel began organizing and supporting pro-war rallies across the country on the eve of the invasion of Iraq, and used the airwaves to solely promote the Bush administration's position on the war.


 * 2003
 * President Bush gave a speech at a warehouse in Missouri to sell his economic program in the Midwest region. Surrounded by American flags and boxes, the words "Strengthening America's Economy" appeared on a screen behind him with "Made in U.S.A" projected on to faux boxes.  However, all of the real boxes in the warehouse were made in China, not the U.S., and many of the boxes had their labels of origin hidden or covered up.  When this discrepancy was pointed out, a White House spokeswoman blamed an "overzealous advance volunteer".


 * 2005
 * During a visit to Fargo by President Bush, the names of 42 people were placed on a "do-not-admit" list, 33 of which were members of the group Democracy for America. Representatives of the White House and the governor's office of North Dakota blamed "an overzealous volunteer."  However, several sources connected directly to the event said the list originated "from the White House advance team." Details from depositions released in 2007 would eventually support these claims, showing that it was "White House policy to exclude potentially disruptive guests from Bush's appearances nationwide."


 * During a visit to Denver by President Bush, three people were excluded from a "taxpayer-financed public forum about Social Security" featuring the president. Press secretary Scott McClellan blamed the problem on "overzealous volunteers".  However, in 2007, depositions revealed that that the so-called "overzealous volunteers" were ordered by the senior White House advance representative and deputy director of the White House advance office to expel the ticket holders due to their potential for disruption, a potential which was allegedly observed by the state director and the Republican chairman of the 5th Congressional District. According to Mark Silverstein of Colorado ACLU, "We thought there was a practice and policy coming from the highest levels of the White House to expel people from public events if they disagreed with the president."


 * Fox News anchor Shepard Smith reported that Pope John-Paul II had died—26 hours before his actual death. Smith would go on to say, "the exact time of death, I think, is not something that matters so much at this moment."  The error was blamed on an "overzealous producer".


 * 2009
 * 1,100 people are signed up, unknowingly and without their consent in many cases, as members of the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party. An "over-exuberant" volunteer is blamed.