Category Archives: 2016 Election

My Little Experiment

Back in 2016, I had the unique opportunity to attend the Republican National Convention in Cleveland.I had never been to a political convention before, nor had I been involved in party politics, but the Senator was a delegate at the convention and I tagged along for the ride.

When I wasn’t acting as Cliff’s personal photographer, I became starstruck by all the members of the media we had rubbed shoulders with in the convention hall.

During the opening ceremony that first evening, I sat up in the rafters and decided to follow the media on Twitter. I figured it was the place where all the cool kids were hanging out and it would be helpful to follow what was going on down below on the floor.

I was also curious about how Twitter was being used for political messaging. Trump had recently pioneered the platform for this purpose and I remember sitting up there, following what was being said in the arena and reading what was being reported on Twitter and thinking, huh? Is this for real?

What was actually happening on the floor and what the media were tweeting as a result were night and day! So much of the commentary seemed clouded in personal bias or twisted to fit a narrative being promoted, but it certainly wasn’t an honest or accurate depiction of the event. It was a fascinating experiment to watch live and read about it simultaneously.

I still follow the media on Twitter and it has become like a sport for me. It is a place where I get my news and fake news. I can tell when the narrative is damaging to one side of the aisle based on the twitter feed of various “reporters” or if Twitter censors a certain story or individual. I read about all the current trends, polling data, and mini dramas on my Twitter feed. This may or may not be a healthy habit, so if you know about a Twitter 12 Step program, I am probably a good candidate.

Old Home Week

I spent some time this morning watching the Senate confirmation hearings for Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of State, and it took me down a path to my past.

Sitting at the front table with Tillerson was Sam Nunn, former U.S. Senator (D-GA), and Bob Gates, former Secretary of Defense, head of the CIA and probably a lot of other National Intelligence entities I neglect to mention.

My knowledge of both those gentlemen (Nunn and Gates) dates back to the early 1990s when I was a research assistant on the Senate Intelligence Committee. I was a young, naive and politically passionate twenty something year old out to save the world. Senator Nunn was a member of the Intelligence Committee and served as Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He was also a very close friend of my boss, David Boren,(D-OK), Chairman of the Intelligence Committee. They worked closely together as did their staff.

Let me just say, I have the utmost respect for Senator Nunn. Total class act. His wise words before the committee this morning reminded me of how much I loved working on that secret committee years ago. He always asked the best questions in the closed hearings of the Intelligence Committee, and with a gracious demeanor and subtle southern accent to boot.

I learned so very much about the world from these people, but also about how Washington and politics worked. Sure, there was political posturing and partisanship up on the Hill-even in those days. But when it came to the nation’s safety and security, they worked together to find the common ground.

My memories of Bob Gates are a little more specific. At the time, Gates was being confirmed by the Senate Intelligence Committee to head the CIA, and many conjured that his confirmation was going to be controversial. The Senate was controlled by the Democrats and Gates was a Republican – nominated by a Republican President (George H.W. Bush). You can imagine there would be hearings, not just to confirm, but to question his qualifications.

My boss, along with Senator Nunn, seemed to want no part in politicizing the process and both were resolute in their belief that Gates was more than qualified for the job, maybe even the best person for the job. As a young and admittedly partisan Senate staffer, I was skeptical.

I attended those hearings, taking notes, doing my job and watching those two men skillfully and briliantly navigate such an important national security confirmation process. I think my parents even have a tape somewhere in their basement of the CNN broadcast that showed me sitting behind the members in my role as a staffer. I should really try to find that sometime just for fun or, to show my children what a VHS tape looks like.

What I particularly remember was the loyalty I felt toward my boss, David Boren. He came under some fire for his desire to confirm Bob Gates for no other reason than they were on opposite sides of the political aisle. His most notable opposition came from the head of the House Intelligence Committee, Dave McCurdy, a fellow Democrat also from Oklahoma. In an attempt to derail the process, McCurdy wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post questioning Boren and his support of Gates. The inflammatory piece landed the day of the hearings.

Boren appeared to pay minimal attention, if any, to this back stabbing by a fellow Oklahoman and proceeded to chair the hearing with his concise and skilled leadership. I was so proud to be a member on his staff that day – never mind the life lessons I learned throughout the process.

Fast forward to 2014, I had a unique opportunity to meet Senator Bob Corker from Tennessee, the same Corker who has been presiding over the Tillerson hearings today as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

I was in town for a conference with American Mothers, and went to the Hill to have a photo op with the National Mother of the Year, (pictured in white below) who happened to be from Corker’s home state.

He is an impressive individual and possesses a great knowledge of world affairs. He also has some cool art in his Senate office.

We seized an opportunity to chat with him about his efforts and legislation to combat human trafficking, an area he is very engaged in, and how our organization has been involved with same. If you care about this issue – he’s your guy!

So, naturally when I turned on the TV this morning and saw all three of these men in one room talking about national security… it kind of felt like old home week on Hill. “Old” being the key word here. 🙂

Me, My Twitter and Meryl

Along with what appeared to be a flood of Americans, I too, took to Twitter last night debating the merits (or lack thereof) for Meryl Streep’s manic diatribe about the 2016 Election and Donald Trump.

I have been reluctant to share my politics on social media sites like Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook because that’s my personal space where I connect with “my friends.” The people who I have known for decades and such. They pretty much already know my political leanings and probably don’t care either way what I think on this issue or that. Honestly, who doesn’t prefer to keep Facebook full of happy vacation photos, birthdays, weddings and a safe space to brag about your kids? I know I do!

But, Twitter… my Twitter….Wow, what a brave new world! I have made some new friends (or is it followers?) on Twitter this past year. First, let me say that Twitter is where I get most of my news. I follow lots of reporters, journalists, politicians, news outlets etc. on my tweeter feed. During the course of the 2016 election season, I met up with some trolls from the left and right on this forum. I sat up in the rafters at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland and followed these same journalists and main stream media elites on Twitter to compare what was being said in the convention hall versus what was being reported on their Twitter accounts. You wanna talk about media bias? Oh my goodness. I could have compared and contrasted that little experiment for days and days. Donald Trump’s use of Twitter also intrigues me and I have yet to determine whether I think it is inappropriate or just plain brilliant… but I digress.

I am like a bull in a china shop getting to my twitter feed each morning. Just ask my Senator…I can’t wait to read all the random and wonderful and utterly outrageous even crazy on there in the wee hours of the morning. I follow a totally bizarre mix of people, places and things and I love every second of it. It is fair to say I am obsessed. One of my New Year’s Resolutions should have been a month in time out from Twitter, but I’m gonna save that one for another (less exciting) year.

About last night… The Golden Globes. I tuned in to watch Viola Davis and Meryl Streep. Two of the best.

I grew up idolizing Meryl Streep and her incredible talent to transform herself into another human being. I think she is a brilliant actress. I have seen all of her films at least once….I think? I am a total drama geek.

But, can someone please tell me when Hollywood decided it was good to get all political? I know Meryl’s rant was not the first at an award show, nor will it be the last lecture to the American public from the actor’s bully pulpit (emphasis on the word bully) of what life should be like and how people should think, feel and behave.

But, I’m curious if these “actors” have ever once taken into consideration the hypocrisy in all of this. It reminds me of this meme/moment during the 2016 election. Thank you Twitter.

The blatant mockery of anyone who doesn’t think like them only shows a general disdain and intolerance for half of their audience base. It also demonstrates a bigoted blindness to the reality of your average guy living outside of those gilded and gated Hollywood communities, many of whom helped elect the next President of the United States my girl Meryl was lamenting. One would assume this ‘group think’ only hinders an actors ability to create and share a variety of life stories…or are they now only portraying life as they think it should be? Life as they know it? Lecturing the audience on their personal values because they are…..…..actors?

I read an interview recently with the (very cute) actor Mark Wahlberg, about his new movie, Patriot’s Day, where he addressed this very topic.

Here is a quote from that interview as reported on the Washington Times blog:

“A lot of celebrities did, do, and shouldn’t…..You know, it just goes to show you that people aren’t listening to that anyway. They might buy your CD or watch your movie, but you don’t put food on their table. You don’t pay their bills. A lot of Hollywood is living in a bubble. They’re pretty out of touch with the common person, the everyday guy out there providing for their family.”

I think he is spot on. I bet his new movie will be be a huge success too. Can’t wait to watch.
Wonder how that Florence Foster Jenkins movie with Meryl Streep is fairing at the box office…because at some point, this discussion becomes all about ratings and revenue!