Twitter activism is a click away
It’s no secret that Democratic Party has been slow to come up with a unifying theme for the 2022 midterm elections. We recently suggested that President Joe Biden, Congressman Eric Swalwell and others may have hit upon the unofficial theme “Freedom is on the Ballot” in November. That’s pretty good, and it should be spread far and wide. But the other part that is needed, especially when defending the last two years of Democrats in control of the White House and the U.S. House (control of the Senate is more tenuous with a 50-50 tie), is a strong recital of the Democrats’ record of accomplishments during this time.
Here’s where Twitter comes in. President Biden in particular has been very good about touting his administration’s achievements. For example, Biden is correctly taking credit for actions (such as releasing millions of barrels of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve) that have led to a summer of falling gasoline prices:
A new report says my Administration’s actions have played a large part in making gas prices lower. And now those prices are coming down fast. pic.twitter.com/KxJzVLwfR5
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 26, 2022
Likewise, Biden White House Chief of Staff Ronald Klain likes to get in on the action:
Gas prices are down EVERY day this summer so far — consumers are spending about $2 billion less on gas this week than they were in early June.
— Jeff Zients (@WHCOS) July 26, 2022
But in addition to these government officials, there is a growing army of citizens on Twitter who are spreading good news about President Biden’s and the Democrats’ accomplishments far and wide. Some of the prominent accounts in this Twitter army, including their Twitter page description and sample tweets, are:
—Biden Wins (@BidensWins): “Keeping score of President Biden’s wins.”
To Vladimir Putin’s chagrin, President Biden has unified and expanded NATO to protect against Russian and Chinese aggression.
That’s a Biden Win!
— Biden’s Wins (@BidensWins) July 26, 2022
—Democratic Wins (@DemocraticWins): “Keeping score of Democrats’ wins and Republican losses.”
House Democrats have passed a bill to cap insulin prices at $35 a month.
That’s a Democratic Win!
— Democratic Wins (@DemocraticWins) July 25, 2022
—What Biden Has Done (@What46HasDone): “Tracking the achievements of the Biden/Harris administration and defending their record against disinformation.”
As promised, the master thread of all the major actions the Biden administration has taken to combat climate change:
Rejoined the Paris Climate Accords
Implementing plan to reduce emissions by 50 to 52 percent by 2030 from 2005 levels
Revoked Keystone XL permit1/
— That Well-Adjusted Biden Guy (@What46HasDone) June 13, 2022
—Biden’s Accomplishments (@BidensWork): “Documenting the accomplishments of Joseph R. Biden, the 46th president of the United States.”
— Biden's Accomplishments🇺🇲🇺🇦 (@BidensWork) January 27, 2022
In political communications, the power of Twitter and other social media (Instagram, Facebook, etc.) is the ability to share posts from any source to one’s network of followers, who can in turn share the information to their own networks, adding their own comments if they like. As a result, one news item, or remark from a political leader, can reach millions of people, and indeed “go viral.” When that happens, such posts can also penetrate the mainstream news media, even on their laziest day.
But that depends on the “army” of political activists on social media following the best accounts and sharing important items to help create and reinforce political narratives. Nowadays, this is a crucial part of any campaign, especially the Democrats’ efforts to tout, keep and build on their accomplishments for the 2022 midterm elections.
Photo by keiyac, used under Creative Commons license. https://is.gd/j5DNsu
