Let’s see. Last week on the first working day of Congress, House Republican lawmakers were prepared to vote on a proposal meant to reduce the powers of the Office of Congressional Ethics, the independent committee that enforces ethical standards among US lawmakers. The proposal would have put the ethics committee under the control of the very lawmakers who attempted to reduce its powers. PEOTUS tweeted his displeasure:
With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it … may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS,
And before noon, the same day, GOP Republicans backed off all plans to target the independent ethics panel. US lawmakers, who had already voted 119-74 the night before to go ahead with their plans, made an about face after a tweet. (In this case two consecutive tweets). PEOTUS didn’t issue a memo though the transition team or hold a press conference, the traditional ways that elected leaders voice their opinion. He tweeted from his personal account and lawmakers responded. This is huge. Tweets are official business.
From his mind to your Twitter feed.
The decision making process has changed. It now takes from seconds to hours come to arrive at and announce a high-level government decision. And the public, or U.S. lawmakers for that matter, can find out about authoritative decisions immediately. From his mind to your Twitter feed. Governing, as we know it, is changing. Or has already changed.
And there are growing instances where PEOTUS has directly addressed lawmakers and the public by tweet. PEOTUS has also used Twitter to:
– Disagree with Russia’s role in shaping recent U.S. elections
– Request that the Senate and House investigate NBC’s access to top-secret intelligence
– Discuss (in 3 consecutive tweets) the notion that the DNC didn’t allow the FBI to examine its servers
– Invite people to his Presidential Inauguration
– State that Mexico will reimburse the US for the southern border wall
And there are lots of other instances. Just google Trump tweets. Or cut to the chase and follow him on Twitter.
So is the US a Tweetocracy?
Is the U.S. governed or ruled, (from the word ‘cratia’) through tweets? If lawmakers need to follow the PEOTUS on Twitter, to know what he’s thinking then yes. If the Press covers a tweet with a full article in which each of the 140 characters is discussed and speculated about, the substance only guessed at, as if it were a detailed press release. And there are no follow-up interviews or other means to clarify the tweet. Then yeah. If the leader of a country responds to issues of cyber terrorism, the global economy, and immigration in 140 characters or less then again I’d say yeah. And if the U.S. is not yet a Tweetocracy, we are nearly there.
Eventually we may vote by liking a tweet or by retweet.
To be a full Tweetocracy
We need officially rules and procedures (and sanctions for breaking rules and procedures) aimed at running an efficient government by tweet. There has been a system change and the new system has no rules and procedures. The real issue is that we the people, journalists and lawmakers, are still operating under the rules and procedures of the pre-tweetocracy. In fact, much of what people considered to be the ‘rules of engagement’ in governing the U.S. is not bound by law, but by tradition. We’ve always done it that way. Strange, for a country that claims to be governed by the rule of law.
We’ve elected a president who, mega-conservative policies aside, is doing things a different way, his own way. People cry foul. You can’t say that in a tweet! That kind of behavior is unbecoming of a president-elect? Your son-in-law can’t do that. The president elect is doing things his way. Has done things his way. And mostly, there isn’t anything anybody can do about it, except to roll with the punches. When this is all over, the U. S. will likely create a Book of Leviticus for the Presidency. Let’s never let that ish happen again.
When this is all over, the U. S. will likely create a Book of Leviticus for the Presidency.
In the meantime, for the tweetocracy to work, Twitter accounts will be mandatory for all members of the demos, the masses. Eventually, we may vote by liking a tweet or by retweet. Hell, policies could be issued by tweet. Lot’s of people will know immediately. Tweets are short and to the point, a great way to gain a consensus, the cornerstone of successful policymaking.
And we’re going to need new words to talk about the upcoming system. Words like twittercrat and tweedict.
What is a Twittercrat?
An individual who is one of a group of people who run a tweetocracy and who does everything according to the rules of the tweetocracy. Used in a sentence: Before noon, the same day, Washington’s twittercrats backed off all plans to target the independent ethics panel.
What is a Tweedict?
A tweedict is an official order or command issued on twitter by a person in authority or an authoritative body. Tweedict, obviously, is an amalgam of the words tweet and edict. Used in a sentence: Once PEOTUS issued the tweedict, GOP Republicans made an about face and withdrew the proposal.
As I write this, confirmation hearings for Senator Jeff Sessions are underway. The Senator seems, in some statements, to be going against ideas on torture and immigration expressed by PEOTUS. Over the next few days, I expect PEOTUS to issue a barrage of tweedicts about the hearings and whatever he feels like. No doubt these tweedicts will be directed at the press and the tweetocrats in Washington, moving our tweetocracy along, one tweet at a time.
