How do we get people to give a damn and to MOVE THEIR REPS TO ACT?

[CousinIT]

ORIGINAL Twitter thread:

Link to tweet

UNROLLED Twitter thread:

We are all exasperated after a terrible week. We see the blatant obstruction, corruption & abuses of power, and can’t stand that Trump still has the reins.

Shouting at Democratic politicians on political Twitter is not the answer. We have to make the *populace* care. /1

Despite how it feels online, the vast bulk of Americans aren’t paying attention - & even if they are, they are too busy to act on whatever concerns they have. The onslaught of bad news & scandal has numbed rational America into irrational silence. THIS is what must change. /2

Ultimately our elected officials are swayed by numbers. Why haven’t THEY stood up to say, “enough is enough”? Because the people haven’t. We are their bosses.

Our leaders likely perceive political Twitter as aberrant. And rightfully so. We are not a representative sample. /3

So when we shout at them on Twitter, their staff likely see it and take a bit of notice - but it’s not going to move them. And calling our Democratic leaders weak and feckless repeatedly only makes Vladimir Putin smile because we’re reinforcing core GOP-Kremlin messaging. /4

There are some great activists on here. We need to turn that activist energy toward educating the populace and preparing them to act. Do we want to occupy DC? Who’s stopping us? Do we want a national strike or economic walk-out? The only people in our way is us. /5

While Twitter is a great tool for spreading information, the vast bulk of Americans don’t engage on here.

If we want to move the needle, we need to ask our activist institutions - @MoveOn, @IndivisibleTeam, etc - to organize a public messaging campaign and clear strategy. /6

The fact is, Donald Trump has committed many #HighCrimes. We know it. Even the GOP knows it (they just don’t care).

The populace at large needs to get the message & engage. Congressional phone lines *should* be jammed 24/7. Think 2017 ACA repeal protests. /7

That takes work & activist energy. Let’s direct that energy where it will make a difference. Let’s help our Democratic House by getting the electorate more educated & engaged. /8

IMHO the ends we want are best achieved not by calling repeatedly on Twitter to #ITMFA, but to engage in a sustained, repetitive & loud pronouncement of all of Donald Trump’s #HighCrimes: review & list them all, ad nauseam, until they sink in to the collective consciousness. /9

This has to happen on all platforms, with coordinated messaging, and -most importantly- requires people taking to the case to friends, neighbors & community members through the activist infrastructure we’ve built over the last two years. /10

We need a roadmap strategy about what the *public* will do if *our* demands for accountability aren’t met, with clear dates for escalations of massive protests, strikes and/or economic walk-outs. To maximize participation in such events, we need to take the case to the people. /

[doompatrol39]

1. Important point...

...twitter does nothing but make people who use it feel good about themselves, by making snarky comments or points to other people who believe what they do.

That's not doing shit for anyone or doing anything in the real world. Too many of our political figures live in a bubble in which their snarky tweet getting mentioned by Chuck Todd on Meet The Press is actually considered doing something. It's not and they need to stop acting like it is.