It’s not news that our House and Senate have chosen to not do their jobs in representing the people who elected them. Imagine for a minute that you refused to do your job. You simply didn’t feel like it. You show up at work but instead of doing you job, you do whatever it is you wanted to do. Chances are you’d lose your job sooner or later.
In the wake of the Orlando tragedy, I was naively hoping that there would actually be a meaningful and long overdue conversation on gun control in the US. That perhaps, this close to an election, something good would come out of an act so heinous. It seems that at least some members of Congress are showing leadership. Earlier today, the Democratic Congressman from Georgia, John Lewis led a sit-in – from cnn.com
In a move rich with historic symbolism, the civil rights icon and Democratic congressman from Georgia led a dramatic protest inside the House of Representatives. He and fellow Democrats sat down at the front of the chamber in an unusual demonstration of civil disobedience challenging Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan.
Whether the sit-in will lead to real change is yet to be determined. Republic Congressman Ted Poe (thanks Texas) declared a recess after the sit-in started which in turn cut the live feed that CSPAN normally airs.
This is one of those times where social media worked for good! The network was able to
take advantage of Rep. Scott Peters’ (D-Ca) Periscope stream and broadcast footage. Periscope jumped on it and created a specific channel for viewers to follow the bill online.
When the feed ended, CSPAN switched to FacebookLive.
#NoBillNoBreak is currently trending on Twitter and on Facebook – it’s a good sign that there’s a conversation around the activity. That the public is paying attention, and that our chosen “leaders” can’t avoid their responsibilities, not this time. Not with the public watching and talking about them.
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