Facebook, Twitter muddle our politics

In early 2007, when Barack Obama launched his presidential campaign -- certainly a moment in political history that still seems fresh -- there was no Twitter or iPhone and Facebook was just starting to gain notice.

In just six years -- a tiny forward movement in the timeline of the republic -- social media has transformed our culture and has absolutely revolutionized our politics.

 

Elected officials and candidates – at all levels – who are not on Facebook are labeled dinosaurs. In Washington, members of Congress compete daily on Twitter over who can gain the most retweets and followers. Political reporters inside The Beltway spend every waking moment following Twitter and chasing tidbits of information garnered from a single tweet from a colleague or reliable source.

 

Today, a journalism scoop of two minutes is considered a coup. An official who waits more than an hour to respond to criticism is branded as out of the loop. A political gaffe can gain nationwide attention and thousands of Twitter responses in the time it takes to make one phone call.

Rumors become supposed facts within hours because “it was on the Internet.” Speculation becomes astute analysis because the issue raised by a neophyte included a link to a website. Certain bloggers become equated intellectually with veteran, sage newspaper columnists because, well, they preach to their online choir.

 

Six years ago, many politicians were so skeptical of electronic communication that they did not have email addresses or websites. Today, a state-of-the-art web page with a rotating photo gallery and numerous high-tech links is common even for a city council candidate.

Numerous tea party groups, in particular, have done an admirable job of using email blasts and websites to keep their faithful informed, active and energized.

On a much larger scale, Twitter and Facebook and YouTube force elected officials to act fast when potentially bad news hits, even if they are not sure of the accuracy of the reports. They can get caught up in long Facebook threads filled with talking points and vitriol expressed by the far left or the far right.

 

As a result, many pols use Facebook largely to post photos of baby-kissing, ribbon cuttings and parades. And it’s fascinating how so many political pros – pollsters, advisers, PR experts, campaign managers – avoid weighing in at all on FB. One veteran political consultant told me that he’d rather use Facebook to keep tabs on his non-political interests – everything from hobbies to the latest news from former high school classmates – than engage in the war of words on FB that often degenerates into name-calling.

That’s where the divide between Facebook and Twitter commences.

 

Facebook is viewed as a state/local forum, a strange mix of political tidbits and serious discussion, extremist rants and memes, self-promotion and conspiracy theories. At the same time, FB is a home for fluff such as photos of kids and kittens, inspirational sayings, and posts that simply declare, “Hey, I’m having lunch at the Main Street Bistro.”

This combination leads, increasingly, to Facebook fatigue.

Twitter, despite the endless criticisms of its 140-character limit, is for news alerts and displays of so-called wit and wisdom by major players in the world of politics. It’s fast-moving, it’s snarky, and it’s largely for an audience that wants the latest news and commentary quickly – before the waitress brings the check. Heck, the world of Twitter, which has become a digital fire hose of information, even has its own 2-hour daily political show on satellite radio that recommends “follows” and hashtags and the do’s and don’ts of sending tweets.

 

The outcome is such that Twitter is a Washington world -- local, county and state politicians largely shy away.

 

In the ongoing Twitter contest by political movers and shakers to see who can be the most clever and cynical, critics say that it’s time to lose the attitude. The wit displayed by newspaper columnists for decades may be morphing into shallow snarkiness.

Peter Hamby, CNN’s online guru, recently compared social media to the days when “the boys on the bus” – a group of “sainted” reporters from the big city papers -- traveled the campaign trail with a presidential candidate in intimate surroundings and decided, on a daily basis, what the American electorate should know about this potential resident of the White House.

Today, the rapid-fire coverage of politics, with input from every direction, without time for reflection, has handcuffed countless elected officials.

 

“This filter-free new ecosystem,” Hamby writes, “is having a profound impact on how campaign strategists are deciding to present their candidates to the media and to voters. The speed and

shallow nature of today’s political journalism has rattled elected officials, candidates and

their advisers in both parties, from the smallest city hall on up to the top levels of the

White House.”
In presidential politics, the good news is that the Boys on the Bus have been replaced by a diverse group of boys and girls on the plane from a wide array of news outlets. The bad news is that they’re stuck in the campaign bubble and still expected to feed the beast, to spit out every little tidbit of information all day long.

Many political writers, including Hamby, cherish social media’s ability to reach and involve audiences. But as one veteran said, “reporters are so busy looking after the bells and whistles that they need to on social media that they are not working as finders of fact, asking the tough questions and doing the analysis.”

 

Knowing that video of some kind is recording at every moment on the campaign trail and could be spread nationwide in minutes, our candidates – for president, for governor, for Congress -- have become even more cautious and robotic. And why not?

When a grateful Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey was caught on video last year giving a high-five to President Obama as they played a carnival game on the Jersey boardwalk, that image quickly and preposterously led conservatives across the nation to label Christie a “liberal Republican.”

Those are the once-fleeting moments in time that led Mitt Romney in 2012 to keep his distance from the press – a move that backfired. Hamby believes that social media has forever changed how political decision-makers will engage in campaign tactics. The 24-hour cable news cycle has become the 24-second digital news whirlwind.

 

The speed of Facebook and Twitter in disseminating nuggets of news and opinion is a technological marvel. But I keep remembering that, in a simpler time, as children, we were told not to talk with our mouth full.

Maybe we all need to slow down and digest some things about politics and policy that offer depth and context – and won’t be old news in the next 20 minutes.