State legislation is frequently buried in the news under national issues, but Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has found a way to get the public’s attention with his quirky new Twitter videos, which are going viral.
The governor’s Twitter videos show him signing popular bills, including bills that ban red light cameras, allow alcohol to be delivered to your home, and protect free speech on college campuses. In a video earlier this week, Abbott gave a toast to children across the state as he signed the “Save Our Lemonade Stands Bill” to ensure kids are legally allowed to operate neighborhood lemonade stands. This video was particularly humorous and garnered attention from the national press.
It’s now legal for kids to sell lemonade at stands.
We had to pass a law because police shut down a kid’s lemonade stand.
Thanks to @RepMattKrause. #txlege #LEMONADE pic.twitter.com/xwfCob2nvV
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 11, 2019
Previously, the governor had been sharing graphics to inform his followers about new legislation. The graphics looked nice, but they never received more than a couple hundred likes. Now, Abbott is engaging far more people with his video tweets, which consistently receive tens of thousands of likes, as well as several thousand retweets.
Abbott is informing the people of Texas (and the rest of America) and local legislation unlike ever before. I’m from Nevada myself, yet I can name more new laws in Texas than I can in Nevada because of Abbott’s Twitter videos. As simple and odd as it may seem, Abbott’s communication model is working, and it’s a scheme that other politicians should follow.
If politicians want to communicate with their constituents and get them more interested in politics, some of that communication has to happen on the constituents’ terms. Abbott’s videos have filled Texans with even more state pride than usual, and they’ve made the rest of America wish they had a governor like him too.
