James L'Angelle
Univ of Nevada, Reno
Dr, Paromita Pain
Summer 2019
"This one photo features the youngest person elected to Congress, the first black woman to represent Massachusetts, the first Palestinian American woman elected to the House, and the first Somali American Muslim and first woman of color to represent Minnesota." ( Glamour)
The latest skirmish between the House Speaker and The Squad came over two versions of money for the ongoing totally convoluted mess at the border involving immigrants. Pelosi made an attempt to peg the four freshmen (women?) as "kid-haters" over their posture to prevent any money going to the opposition that might be used for something other than conditions in the camps.
The battleground, however, has shifted from the halls of Congress to mainstream media, with the recent interview the House Speaker had with a New York Times columnist last weekend;
"All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world," she told (Maureen) Dowd. "But they didn't have any following. They're four people and that's how many votes they got." (Killough, Foran, CNN)
Not content with keeping the fight on Capitol Hill and at the Times, the Speaker now blames ground zero itself as territory where she appears to be losing the war. So what's the battleground look like over there on social media?
Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) signed on to Twitter in August 2008, she has 2.66 million followers. She has only 10 "likes," the last one being in January, 2017. Her bio reads;
"Speaker of the House, focused on strengthening America's middle class and creating jobs; mother, grandmother, dark chocolate connoisseur." (Twitter) A recent post, July 6, shows a photo of the Speaker sitting with the Dalai Lama on his 84th birthday, calling him "His Holiness." He was recently shamed for sexist remarks (Fox News) about a successor and appears to be completely irrelevant with reference to the Squad. Other than paying homage to any number of other issues related to her job, in the Independence Day week, she makes little or no reference at all to the border crisis other than a letter sent out to the President on July 2, followed up immediately with business as usual on the Mueller report on the same day. Obviously, she needs to take seriously one of those IT people who spam the mail with offers to school her on the use of social media.
"Congresswoman for NY-14 (the Bronx & Queens). In a modern, moral, and wealthy society, no American should be too poor to live. % People-Funded, no lobbyist." (Twitter) The page appears far more active with recent posts related to climate change, immigrants and recent flooding. Her pinned tweet on top has something to do with a climate change video, has an image of what appears to be one of the Squad and shows 7.45 million views. She joined Twitter in April, 2010. The House Speaker has almost two years seniority over her at the social media site.
Ayanna Pressley (@RepPressley) has but a paltry 116 thousand followers, which doesn't even qualify her as a rock star. She joined in January 2019 which seems extremely odd for someone with the authority she currently wields in Congress. Rep Pressley has just ove 1100 likes and just under 1000 tweets. Her pinned tweet features an interview with Anderson Cooper of CNN on July 3;
"What I saw at the border was horrifying, haunting, & sobering. Our humanity is tied and we are collectively under attack - from El Paso to the Massachusetts 7th. I will never stop fighting for the dignity, the humanity, & the preservation of immigrant families." (Twitter)
Many of her posts are related to the border crisis but there are meaningful tweets concerning other social concerns, which would be fitting for her status on social media and those she represents. Her bio reads;
"Official account of Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley. Proudly representing the Massachusetts 7th Congressional District. #MAPoli Instagram: https://bit.ly/2Dys6fy" (Twitter)
Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) signed on to Twitter in December 2018, her bio reads;
"Proudly serving Michigan's 13th Congressional District. #13thDistrictStrong" and has 128 thousand followers. Rep Tlaib also shares a disdain for the immigration detention centers at the border and makes it noted in no uncertain terms at her page;
"These photos are just a glimpse into the horrors I witnessed two days ago. Please see them for yourself and join the call to #CloseTheCamps. This inhumanity is not who we are as a country." (Twitter)
Along with the #CloseTheCamps hashtag, she also has posts under #DemsAtTheBorder, #JusticeForOurChildren and #DontLookAway.
Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) has 1.13 million followers, sharing the rock-star spotlight with @AOC. Her bio reads,
"Mom, Refugee, Intersectional Feminist, 2017 Top Angler of the Governor's Fishing Opener and Congresswoman for #MN05. Join me " (Twitter) Ilhan's pinned tweet is from April 13;
"This country was founded on the ideas of justice, of liberty, of the pursuit of happiness. But these core beliefs are under threat. Each and every day. We are under threat by an administration that would rather cage children than pass comprehensive immigration reform."
She joined Twitter in August of 2012 with 15.3 thousand likes and personally following 1266 other social media users at the site.
The "whatever" Speaker Pelosi referred to in her NY Times Maureen Dowd interview amounts to over 6 million followers for The Squad.
As rock-stars go, Katy Perry has 108 million followers, Lady Gaga has 79 million, and Ariana Grande has 64 million. They don't hold a candle to The Squad.
Works Cited
The Squad Photo, https://www.glamour.com/story/photo-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-new-congresswomen-squad-goals
Killough, A., Foran, C., Whatever, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pelosi-stands-by-comments-about-members-who-opposed-house-border-aid-bill/ar-AAE2Dfa?ocid=spartanntp
@SpeakerPelosi, https://twitter.com/SpeakerPelosi
Dalai Lama,
@AOC, https://twitter.com/AOC
@RepPressley, https://twitter.com/RepPressley
@RepRashida, https://twitter.com/RepRashida
@IlhanMN, https://twitter.com/IlhanMN