Pennsylvania members of Congress were mostly silent on social media as students from across the nation gathered Saturday for one of the largest single-day protests in the history of Washington, D.C., an analysis of their profiles found.
Only two of Pennsylvania’s 17 Congressmen used their Facebook and Twitter accounts to post messages during the day hundreds of thousands of people across the country — including many of their constituents — marched to protest gun violence and call directly on their legislators to take action.
Not a single Republican representing the state in the U.S. House posted about the march or anything related to gun violence. Eight of them — Reps. Scott Perry, Ryan Costello, Pat Meehan, Bill Shuster, Tom Marino, Mike Kelly, Charlie Dent and Lou Barletta — didn’t post at all that day, but had used Twitter and Facebook at some point during the five days leading up to the demonstrations.
There were no statements on their House websites, either, except for one by Mr. Barletta on H.R. McMaster’s departure as national security advisor. Mr. Costello commented on the march on MSNBC that day, criticizing the background check system and lauding “the next generation of Americans” for banding together. A spokesman for Mr. Kelly said there was no specific reason why the Congressman didn’t post that day, and that it doesn’t mean he has no opinion on the march. A statement from Mr. Kelly, provided by spokesman Tom Qualtere, acknowledged the demonstrators’ “right to be outraged by gun violence,” encouraged them to come to next January’s March for Life and talked of the need to “seize upon our common concerns and build a safe and secure future for all.”
The other four Republicans posted messages while the March for Our Lives was unfolding, but about matters unrelated. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Glenn Thompson and Lloyd Smucker tweeted about attending different events, while Rep. Keith Rothfus retweeted a message about his criticism of the federal spending plan.
In #Philipsburg #CentreCounty for #EagleScout Court of Honor for Jeffrey Daniel Ivicic #NESA #BSA
— Glenn 'GT' Thompson (@CongressmanGT) March 24, 2018
I’m in Philly today for @yrnf national conference. Glad to have the opportunity to sit on panels to discuss infrastructure priorities in Congress and the US-Israel relationship. @payrs pic.twitter.com/XT5xKi1KS6
— Rep. Lloyd Smucker (@RepSmucker) March 24, 2018
Democratic Reps. Bob Brady, Mike Doyle and Matt Cartwright were also silent, though they, too, had used social media in the five days before. Mr. Doyle spoke at the Pittsburgh rally, though, while Mr. Cartwright and Mr. Brady attended demonstrations in Scranton and Philadelphia, respectively. Though he hasn’t been sworn in yet, Democratic Congressman-Elect Conor Lamb made an appearance at the Pittsburgh march, but didn’t post on social media.
Heather Starr Fiedler, who specializes in emerging media technology as a professor and department chair at Point Park University, said some politicians missed the mark on Saturday in ending "the old top-down model of political communication."
The march was "an excellent opportunity to engage with the next generation of voters," she said.
"This approach is short-sighted on their part," Ms. Starr Fiedler said. "Whether they agree or not with gun control, acknowledging the power of these young people to organize and advocate for what they believe in is something every leader should be celebrating. Silence will not win them any votes."
The only two to post about the demonstrations were Democrats Brendan Boyle and Dwight Evans. Mr. Boyle tweeted out the text of five bills he is cosponsoring to end the “epidemic of gun violence in this country,” while Mr. Evans live-streamed from the march on Facebook and posted messages about gun control on Twitter.
Not all national Republicans followed suit. While House Speaker Paul Ryan and Vice President Mike Pence failed to acknowledge the protests, 2016 presidential candidate and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio posted a message about people “peacefully exercising” their first amendment rights.
Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania used the hashtag #MarchForOurLives in a tweet of support for the marchers, hours after an early morning tweet about Villanova basketball that was criticized by Twitter users. Democratic Sen. Bob Casey posted messages throughout the day.
It feels like we're at a different moment here so I hope we can stop talking past each other and find where there is common ground to make improvements to our gun safety laws. #MarchForOurLives https://t.co/seiEpYHsYE
— Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) March 24, 2018
Great win for @NovaMBB last tonight over West Virginia. Congrats to Jay Wright and his squad! Looking forward to some pepperoni rolls from @Sen_JoeManchin.
— Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) March 24, 2018
And though President Donald Trump was silent about the march, a spokesman released a White House statement applauding the “many courageous young Americans exercising their First Amendment rights today.”
First Published: March 26, 2018, 3:25 p.m.
