Ep. #37: Chipocalypse Now!

Lucas read every single one of his far-right Congressman's tweets for a year. On today's episode he talks about why he did it, what he learned, and how citizen-activists across the country can use those lessons.

Before we dive in, Antoinette follows-up on Monday's Confederate monuments episode with a story from the UK via Smithsonian Magazine. Then Lucas offers nine lessons he learned from following Rep. Chip Roy on Twitter for a year, and how citizen-activists outside of TX21 can use those lessons in their own districts.

You can read the 2011 Barry Meier story from the New York Times about the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons here. The 2016 San Antonio Express-News piece on Chip's health care hypocrisy can be found here.

Your calls to action:

1. Follow an elected representative in your community on social media for a week. Be cognizant of how they interact with the taxpayers who subsidize them, and whether or not the information they're sharing with constituents is accurate.

2. Think creatively about how to spread the word if an elected rep is playing fast and loose with the facts, spreading disinformation, or treating constituents inappropriately on social media. Journalists can't monitor every politician's social media feed 24-7. It's on us citizens to stay informed and to keep our communities informed.

This episode was recorded on Wednesday, July 1, 2020.