Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who captivated millions this week with an Instagram Live monologue about her siege experience in the Capitol, shared her social media with her Democrats during a masterclass on Wednesday.
Why it matters: One of the party’s best digital practitioners in particular is trying to help the Congress Progressive Caucus become stronger, more sophisticated and productive so that it can better shape policy in the 117th Congress.
- Progressive people feel encouraged and acknowledge that Democrats’ control over the House, Senate and White House gives them fresh bandwidth to blow out their message.
- Ocasio-Cortez specifically insisted on concentrating individually on the key elements of the COVID bill, because ‘it’s too much to give a message in one week.’
Send the news: The New Yorker actually spoke to more than 140 people during a Zoom call, including CPC members and staff. She said the inauguration of President Biden is a turning point for the kind of messages Americans want to see from Democrats.
- “We are now in the era of receipts. People now want to see the real cuts of legislation. They want to hear less about our views.”
- Axios was able to independently monitor the meeting and make notes.
Inside the virtual room: Ocasio-Cortez has acted as a creative director for Democratic colleagues who are generally unfamiliar with the interpretation of authenticity on social media.
- She has put together a video series that Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) Could start sharing her personality better with contestants, and talked about how the streaming platform Twitch could be used to mimic a more engaging city hall.
- “We’re just mortals and we rely on our staff to do it all,” Frankel told her.
- Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.) Asked what kind of content Ocasio-Cortez decides to post on her official Twitter account versus her personal Twitter account.
The whole picture: Democrats are not just trying to figure out their best message as a party; they are desperate for strong messengers who can reach more voters by meeting them wherever they are – online.
- The Zoom meeting indicates a shift within the party.
- Progressive people who are on social media have been criticized by colleagues with the well-known refrain that ‘Twitter is not real life.’
- Now they sit in the driver’s seat and teach their colleagues how to use their personalities to drive progressive policies like the Green New Deal.
What they say: The quick response is the Democrats’ biggest opportunity to improve and compete with Republicans, AOC said.
- Republicans “want to bully you to use your strongest resource. That’s what they do with our party, and that’s what they do with our policy, “Ocasio-Cortez added. They’re trying to get us back before the fight. “