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Before the election, Twitter was a liberal's paradise. I updated with conservative commentary when provoked - or I updated live while on air - only to be drowned out by a pretty antagonistic chorus. Conservative friends who had not yet left the closet would DM me: "OMG you are so taking heat for that one, doesn't it bother you?" It never did, as I have a predilection for swatting hornets' nests; however, it did feel incredibly lonely. Out-and-proud conservatives were few and far between and unconnected for the most part. My liberal friends would converse with each other about their political picks; their banter rolled throughout my stream and all I could do was watch and feel very much alone on the Web.
Then something remarkable happened.
Nancy Pelosi stuck a "gone fishin'" sign on the doors of the Capitol Building rotunda, turned off the lights and ordered C-Span to shut down cameras during crucial debates of the energy bill this past summer. Congressional members took to Twitter and the #Dontgo movement was born, effectively uniting the few conservatives who had the brass to be openly conservative online. They volleyed links and responses back and forth. I and others like me felt less alone.
Then we lost the election.
An entire half of the country, asleep for the better part of four years, finally woke up. They looked around and saw that while they were sleeping, the other half of the country, the Democrats, had continued perfecting their netroots organization after Howard Dean lost his 2004 White House bid. They were entirely connected and could push an action through the grapevine with speed matched only by that of a headline traveling in a news feed.
For conservatives, Twitter was therapy before it was a tool. Sometimes it takes loss to spark great action.
As natural in stages of grief, we became angry, angry at a dysfunctional party and we schemed as to how to fix what went wrong.
This set the stage; Michael Leahy, and Rob Neppell created the Top Conservatives on Twitter, or #TCOT, for short. Requirements for acceptance, as per their website:
"You must primarily tweet on conservative themes and cannot be merely a "campaign profile" "political office holder profile" or a "radio or television program or publication promotional profile" to be on this list. New participants are welcome. Just nominate someone you follow or yourself and show that you are primarily on Twitter as a conservative."
Suddenly, conservatives came out of the proverbial woodwork, free from the restraining thought that they were alone. Many of those publicly-silent conservatives, once so afraid of risking a political confrontation, are now publicly proclaiming their political affiliations and opinions on Twitter. Out of its many uses, Twitter has become a platform for conservative action. Even more are creating accounts to sign up.
It's been common conservatives who've ushered in the age of "new" media for the GOP, not the GOP elected officials themselves, as the majority of them are barely using social media and think they're participating by simply creating an account on Facebook. Melissa Clouthier notes:
"One of the problems Republicans have had is their absolute recalcitrance when it comes to embracing the new and advanced. It was to our demise this last election. Barack Obama used and embraced all forms of new media. So did DNC chair Howard “Crazy Man” Dean. Crazy like a fox, that guy. So did Ron Paul followers. Republicans who ignore this new phenomenon are going to suffer not only losses generally, but losses personally. The interconnectedness, sharpens a person, ads value and helps people get involved in meaningful, concrete ways."
Stacy of Smart Girl Politics adds:
"It's not necessarily important to understand twitter itself, but how conservatives are using it to network, exchange ideas, strategize and even speak one on one with GOP members. In fact, one of the RNC chair candidates, Saul Anuzis, is a favorite on twitter because he openly communicates about his daily political life with average conservatives."
#TCOT has already enacted a few calls-to-action, one concerning raising awareness on various radio shows, another concerning the bailout of the Big Three. The speed with which this information flows, how quickly members react; it's astounding - especially when compared to conservatives' previous game of telephone. #TCOT's membership has climbed to nearly a thousand and
