Like many people all around the world, politicians took to Twitter to broadcast their thoughts about the Oscars, as Hollywood gathered on Sunday night to honor its brightest stars. Although the film industry has no shortage of conservative elements, Democrats, in particular, were active and open about their interest in the gala. Their party, after all, is the primary beneficiary of Hollywood’s largesse.
So it came as little surprise that when Patricia Arquette–during her Best Actress award acceptance speech–sounded off on the gender pay gap, Democrats were quick to praise the “Boyhood” star. From White House adviser Valerie Jarrett to Secretary of Labor Tom Perez; from Sens. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Democrats pounced on an issue they have repeatedly raised throughout the Obama administration.
The messaging continued into Monday morning, too.
“A top Oscar highlight? @PattyArquette’s call to action: ‘It’s our time to have wage equality & equal rights for women.’ #equalpay,” tweeted Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
“.@PattyArquette was right to call out for #EqualPay during her acceptance speech,” Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) echoed. “It’s time we pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.”
And yet, the most thorough and deliberate political statement made on Sunday evening, recognizing one of the most troubling developments in the modern age–pervasive, ubiquitous government surveillance–was met with a veritable wall of silence from Democrats.
Commentators and politicians alike had time to prepare for the very strong likelihood that Laura Poitras would win an award for her Edward Snowden documentary, “Citizenfour.” But when she did, there were not even milquetoast tweets from Democratic lawmakers–at least in the United States Senate–about the need to balance “national security and civil liberties.” The only post on the matter written by a US Senator came from Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), and it was laden with apologia for authoritarianism.
“Academy applauds Edward Snowden, who even Sen. Dianne Feinstein says committed ‘an act of treason’,” he said.
It might be one relatively light-hearted night, and Twitter might not be the best place to make serious observations, but the forceful (and justified) reaction to Arquette’s speech from Democrats contrasts sharply to their response to “Citizenfour” taking the top documentary honors—a collective head-in-the-sand move. The silence, at least, should speak volumes to anyone who naively believes that that the Democratic Party has any kind of desire to take on the National Security State’s excesses.
