The Party of Lincoln is shockingly out of touch when it comes to social media. Case in point? A recent graphic tweeted by TexasGOP, which states that “if you can wait in line for hours for testing… you can vote in person.” It’s the disenfranchisement equivalent of “if you can lean, you can clean” and it really doesn’t do anyone any favors, least of all the state of Texas, which has faced lawsuit after lawsuit after lawsuit when it comes to voting rights. On top of showing just how unwilling Texas Republicans are to solve pressing issues for their constituents, the graphic also highlights how unaware lawmakers must be when it comes to what major Texas cities look like. Instead of choosing a background image from, say, San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, or any other major metropolitan area in Texas, TexasGOP went with a photo shot in New York City by a NYC-based photographer. The image has been used by the New York Post and other New York-based outlets.
It’s now made its way to right-leaning Texans. Proving that TexasGOP’s only skill is missing the point, the account followed up with a tweet noting that “this made the pronouns in bio people big mad.” Disclosing your pronouns is a basic act of courtesy that Republicans are somehow still baffled by. The use of stating preferred pronouns in professional and casual settings or even in email signatures dates back quite a few years and the use of a singular “they” dates back hundreds more. Dunking on being polite isn’t exactly the best way to garner support for voter suppression, though it tracks with many of the hateful messages spread by the GOP in the first place.
Unsurprisingly, TexasGOP has been bombarded with replies from Twitter users pointing out that actions—like making a ridiculous statement and attaching a photo barely relevant to that statement—indeed have consequences. This tweet perfectly illustrates what apparently flew over TexasGOP’s head when posting their graphic and subsequently replying to themselves.
Texas Democrats were a bit more concise with their assessment. In the state of Texas alone, more than 75,000 people have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. There is currently a positivity rate in Texas of 30%, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In addition to the TexasGOP having a way with misrepresenting certain issues in order to push their agenda, the larger Republican Party is guilty of the same thing. Take a look at how the GOP spun jobless rates during the Trump administration vs. the Biden administration.
TexasGOP’s failure to thread the needle between COVID-19 testing and the ability to vote in person shows just how little Texas Republicans care about their most marginalized constituents. Waiting in line for COVID-19 tests can be prohibitive for those who lack the time or ability to stand in line in order to prioritize their health and ensure they don’t infect those around them. Working-class folks run the risk of losing money or even their jobs if they choose to secure a COVID-19 test, which have gotten all but scarce and prohibitively expensive due to high demand. Likewise, voting in person can be next to impossible for those working in positions where they cannot just drop everything to head to a polling place that may be inconveniently located and lack hours conducive to voters’ schedules. For a party desperately clinging to a notion of personal freedom and patriotism, I can think of few things less patriotic than metaphorically handcuffing citizens by limiting access to public health resources and the ability to vote.
It’s now made its way to right-leaning Texans. Proving that TexasGOP’s only skill is missing the point, the account followed up with a tweet noting that “this made the pronouns in bio people big mad.” Disclosing your pronouns is a basic act of courtesy that Republicans are somehow still baffled by. The use of stating preferred pronouns in professional and casual settings or even in email signatures dates back quite a few years and the use of a singular “they” dates back hundreds more. Dunking on being polite isn’t exactly the best way to garner support for voter suppression, though it tracks with many of the hateful messages spread by the GOP in the first place.
Unsurprisingly, TexasGOP has been bombarded with replies from Twitter users pointing out that actions—like making a ridiculous statement and attaching a photo barely relevant to that statement—indeed have consequences. This tweet perfectly illustrates what apparently flew over TexasGOP’s head when posting their graphic and subsequently replying to themselves.
Texas Democrats were a bit more concise with their assessment. In the state of Texas alone, more than 75,000 people have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. There is currently a positivity rate in Texas of 30%, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In addition to the TexasGOP having a way with misrepresenting certain issues in order to push their agenda, the larger Republican Party is guilty of the same thing. Take a look at how the GOP spun jobless rates during the Trump administration vs. the Biden administration.
TexasGOP’s failure to thread the needle between COVID-19 testing and the ability to vote in person shows just how little Texas Republicans care about their most marginalized constituents. Waiting in line for COVID-19 tests can be prohibitive for those who lack the time or ability to stand in line in order to prioritize their health and ensure they don’t infect those around them. Working-class folks run the risk of losing money or even their jobs if they choose to secure a COVID-19 test, which have gotten all but scarce and prohibitively expensive due to high demand. Likewise, voting in person can be next to impossible for those working in positions where they cannot just drop everything to head to a polling place that may be inconveniently located and lack hours conducive to voters’ schedules. For a party desperately clinging to a notion of personal freedom and patriotism, I can think of few things less patriotic than metaphorically handcuffing citizens by limiting access to public health resources and the ability to vote.