Politics in Washington, D.C. are becoming less about discussions and crafting the best idea for the people and more a battle of focus-group crafted sound bites spewed on social media.
More than half of U.S. adults get their information, at least sometimes, from social media, according to Pew research. Nearly all (95%) of American teenagers aged 13 to 17 report using TikTok, with 16% saying they use it almost constantly.
Gen Z users use the following platforms: YouTube (93%), Instagram (76%), Facebook (68%), Snapchat (65%), TikTok (59%).
So it’s no wonder politicians are using these platforms to advance their political causes.
And an ongoing Wyoming tempest escalated this week, when Gov. Mark Gordon finally called out Secretary of State Chuck Gray.
Gordon, in large measure, has taken the high road, ignoring Gray like a person ignores a pesky fly. But by Friday he’d finally had enough of Gray’s distortions.
“Social media platforms can be useful ways to connect with friends and loved ones and share useful information,” the governor said. “However, when they are used deceptively by self-seeking individuals as a means of causing discord and dissension for personal gain, they are not.
Gordon added this dark warning: “Spreading gossip through deceptive posts takes its toll — not only on the individuals being defamed, but on our communities as well.”
Gray has embraced social media and Gen Z-style communication. In a video response posted Friday to Facebook the secretary called the governor's statements "bonkers" and "bizarre."
The terms Gray deployed this time match many of his past comments.
They sound like focus-group-tested terms, contrived to win political advantage.
Ever since his inauguration as secretary of state, Gray has been nipping at the governor. Instead of doing secretary of state things, he’s acted like the self-appointed governor-in-waiting.
Anytime the secretary spots a political advantage, he inserts himself into the conversation.
Prism Logistics, LLC obtained a lease on state lands to develop a gravel mine.
Originally, Secretary Gray voted to allow the lease.
When opposition to the mine surfaced, suddenly, Secretary Gray was the champion of preserving Casper Mountain.
I suspect Gray’s opposition to the Casper Mountain project has little to do with preserving Casper Mountain, and everything to do with advancing his political interests.
When the Office of State Lands leased to a wind developer in Niobrara and Converse Counties (which actually form a very small percentage of the project), Secretary Gray stepped in to protect the viewshed and opposed the project.
I suspect the opposition is more about advancing Gray’s career and less about wind projects.
The first recorded dispute between Gray and Gordon dates back to when Gray was a legislator. The governor vetoed Gray’s bill funding litigation for coal ports to China.
Then, Gray was in favor of industrial development.
Now, he’s not.
He carps and whines for political advantage like a bad soon-to-be ex-spouse who doesn't care about anything other than casting himself as the hero spouse in the theater of his mind.
And his motivations are obvious. He constantly criticizes Gov. Gordon to advance his own political ambitions.
Gray, who has never been married, takes that bad relationship behavior and dumps it out for the people of Wyoming to see.
You hear him nagging. One can imagine him saying you are driving too fast, you are driving too slowly, or you chew your popcorn too loudly. He points out every perceived flaw in a transparent attempt to make himself look better.
It is not a coincidence he is now traveling from town to town, holding campaign-like events while employed by the people of the state of Wyoming.
And it is not a coincidence at those events that he does not limit his comments to secretary of state duties but sounds like someone campaigning for governor under the guise of communicating with the public.
We deserve better than someone acting like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, spouting focus-group-crafted political buzz words, launching those at the opposition to gain political traction.
Just do your job.
The people of Wyoming can see through your transparent attempts at programming your own political rise.
Tom Lubnau served in the Wyoming Legislature from 2004 - 2015 and is a former Speaker of the House. He can be reached at: YourInputAppreciated@gmail.com
