Each week Liberty Nation straps on its Personal Protective Equipment and dives into the TwitterZone to bring you the biggest news, the most outlandish arguments, and the real Zeitgeist of what is taking place in the internet’s wildest frontier.
Over the last week, Twitter has been abuzz with praise over the “star-studded talent” present at the virtual Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee. Many of my colleagues have covered the absurdity of the convention consisting more of pandering and whining than substantive arguments for Democratic governance. Interestingly, a look at Twitter from August 17 to August 20 highlights the obsession Democrats have for both classic entertainment celebrities and the young, celebrity politicians that the average American doesn’t know or care about.
Celebrity Show
Aside from the usual progressive darlings like Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), much of the focus on social media revolved around the celebrity presence at the DNC. Celebrities like Eva Longoria, Tracee Ross, Kerry Washington, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Legend, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Hudson, and many more ended up taking up the spotlight at the convention. Throughout the entertainment, the average working-class voter in Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Ohio was probably wondering why celebrities living in multimillion-dollar homes were going on endlessly about “fighting for their lives” as if they’ve been anything but mildly inconvenienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Political Celebrities
Colin Powell, a Republican who has been idolized by Democrats since coming out in support of Barack Obama in 2008, made an appearance in support of Biden, causing great joy in the Twitter crowds. Other former and current Republicans like John Kasich, Michael Bloomberg, and the McCain family also made their case against President Trump.
While Twitter was absolutely in an uproar about Republicans turning their back on the president, many others pointed out how absurd it was that Republicans, not Democrats, had begun to take the spotlight at the Democratic National Convention. Throughout the entire night, support for Joe Biden revolved around him being, supposedly, a nice guy – not exactly the most encouraging support for the potential President of the United States.
The highlight of the event was probably former President Barack Obama’s speech on the 19th. With the American Constitution – the document he circumvented so many times – as his backdrop, Obama made his case against Trump. At its essence, Obama’s speech simply mimicked earlier criticisms of the president’s shortcomings: his temperament, his obsession with Twitter, and his perceived mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. The only difference was that Obama said it with a professional eloquence not many politicians have. He paid brief compliments to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, not actually going in-depth about their qualifications for the job – even when Harris is clearly being set up to replace Biden at a moment’s notice. Regardless, woke Twitter enjoyed the 20-minute word salad, content with the popular former president’s criticisms of the current president’s shortcomings.
A Learning Experience
Ironically, there is a lot that Republicans can learn from the Democratic National Convention this past week. Perhaps most significantly, stay away from repeating the same three talking points incessantly over four days. Please don’t make the election solely about Joe Biden’s incoherence and his chances of failure; make it about the broad Democratic governance that has failed Americans throughout the country. Show the American people that those cities plagued by violence have been entirely controlled by Democrats for generations. Point out the hypocrisy of elite celebrities speaking like experts about income inequality while being members of a political party that wants to seize the wealth of the successful. Finally, don’t fall for the trap of believing that celebrity support drives turnout for your voter base; it just looks patronizing and tone-deaf.
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