Hot Mic'd: MTG's book, interview w/ PolitiFact, and bonkers tings from the campaign trail

Author

Sammy and Maddie
November 30, 2023

“Let’s not put a label on it and see where this goes” – No Labels & ex-situationships

Something positive I spotted… is that Jilly B made an ice rink on the South Lawn. Can I skate? No. But having a spot to ice skate and give that holiday magic at the White House is really cool. - SK

Something bonkers from the campaign trail is… Dean Phillips suggesting that Biden should smoke weed, declaring that he’s probs never tried it, made me LOL. The quote and comment was part of a larger convo on weed legalization in NH, but it immediately painted a pic of Biden with a blunt, and at least in my head, it’s kind of iconic. - SK

Something absolutely nutty that’s not getting eyeballs is… the fact that when a member of Congress leaves office, they’re not required to handover constituent case files. The result is that those that had open cases, like for example related to passport issues, basically disappear, and the constituent has to start all over. It’s like ‘heyy let’s go back to square one.’ It seems like sometimes the resulting failure to share is about being petty over losing a race, but the pettiness impacts the constituent more than the outgoing and new rep…so ick. It’s interesting to see the suggestions for fixing this, like these. - SK

Something that makes everything seem like a simulations… The Menendez scandal had a peak in the news cycle a few weeks ago and then kind of drifted…but it really does get weirder and weirder, which Vanity Fair gets into in this deep dive. I’m so curious what will happen with this…and whether he’ll run again? I hope not for so many reasons and there are two formidable Dems runnings so… - SK

Something positive I spotted… while it will do absolutely nothing in shutting orange man up, seeing the gag order get restored feels fantastic. - MM

Something bonkers from the campaign trail is… Newsom and DeSantis debating each other. I think I’ve said it before, but I’m kind of into it? That’s probably an unpopular opinion, and like do we need a ring match of two middle aged white dudes? Not really – however, if it can bring a spotlight on the extremeness of not just DeSantis but his cohorts, it could be a helpful long game media moment. #politicalsportingevents - MM

Something absolutely nutty that’s not getting eyeballs is… the crew behind the No Labels party, which includes this anti-abortion dude who is a fan of a national abortion ban. If they’re going for being an independent or middle of the line option, they’re clearly missing the mark by a mile. My thoughts on No Labels and other third party candidates in 2024 echoes this. - MM

Something that makes everything seem like a simulations… MTG’s book… which apparently (haven’t read it, don’t plan to) details her time in Congress. Teen Vogue did a write-up on it saying that it basically is an audition for Veep, and that just makes me hope that at the very least, a silver lining of this absurdity, is that a screenwriter will take inspiration from the book and create a spinoff.  - MM

FACT CHECKING 101 WITH POLITIFACT

Interview with EIC Katie Sanders runs through best media literacy practices

The way we consume media, the way media is shared, and the speed at which it’s shared has evolved rapidly in recent years. What hasn’t caught up is media literacy, a critical understanding of how to decipher media. The consequences of this gap are dangerous – they change the course of world events with too many clicks of a share button on fake videos; they put people in danger and spur hate crimes with comment sections filled with false claims; they sow division with unverified claims, so much more. As we’ve seen in recent weeks, and well before it across different issues areas, an inability to intelligently digest and consume media is a dangerous problem that needs solving. One organization that’s working to keep facts fact and fake claims in their deservedly fake news category is PolitiFact. And naturally, we wanted to get up to speed on their methodology, their recs for best practices, and more.

So, cue, Katie Sanders, PolitiFact’s Editor in Chief, who is well-versed in the fight for facts. She joined the pod to discuss our Q’s on the topic, as well as  the essential nature of fact checking and strategies for identifying info that does not meet the smell test. She also shared strategies, tools, and what’s next on the horizon in the fight against misinformation, which viewers can dive into here:

The conversation can also be listened to via…

SUGGEST A FACT CHECK

See something, say something, suggest something

Come across a piece of media that you’re not sure of? Send it in to PolitiFact for a fact check. Grab the links, the deats, and add them to this quick and easy form for review. Then bookmark the page because let’s BFR, you’ll most likely need to submit another piece of media at a different point in time. 

OOTD → OOTE

Outfits of the Episode; similar items to shop

SAMMY

INTRO OUTFIT

INTERVIEW OUTFIT

MADDIE

INTRO OUTFIT

INTERVIEW OUTFIT

SOCIAL POSTS WE’RE SENDING EACH OTHER

From one DM to another

IN THE WORKS → POLITICAL SIGN AWARDS

Something we’re working on

ICYMI, a few weeks ago we were toying around with the idea of doing an awards or superlative-esque roundup of the best campaign signs that pop up over the course of 2024. We’re still hashing out the details, but in the meantime, if you see a campaign sign that makes you go WOW – good or bad, send it our way at marketing@girlandthegov.com. In addition, please send the town/city/ and state that you spotted it in and when. From there, stay tuned.

PS we’ll be bringing our TikTok series Text Mess to Text Success back shortly. If you receive an annoying/bad/heinous campaign text that needs a makeover, send ‘em our way for a spruce up using the email above.

KEEPING IT CURRANT

The November issue is live

The built for creators newsletter from Girl and the Gov® and Social Currant is back for its November drop. The edition features helpful tutorials on navigating the comment section, deats on an upcoming PR-focused creator event, an interview with political creator Beverly Hart, a methodology for vetting an org’s rep, and so much more. All of the features can be read online here – and you can sign up to get upcoming editions to your inbox here.

LET’S GO VIRAL

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Make life a bit easier for yourself or your favorite co-worker, by subscribing to #VIRAL, The Newsletter. Sending content ideas, tutorials, and the latest need-to-know in creating political content for political professionals, the newsletter is a digital team’s inbox BFF. It’s also like having a consultant without having to sit in on a meeting that could’ve been email…because it literally is an email. Right now through the end of December, new subscribers can get 15% off their first month [$17.85]. Grab the deal and go [and create meaningful content].