There was quite a collective meltdown on social media Tuesday after Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Secretary of Education, which had some fretting that her policies would kill children.
Two Republican senators joined the Democrats in voting no, leaving it up to Vice President Mike Pence to step in as president of the Senate and break the 50-50 tie.
Opponents of DeVos had been lobbying hard in an effort to flip one more GOP senator and avoid a tie-break, with actor Mark Ruffalo tweeting Marco Rubio, John McCain, Lindsey Graham and others, and singer Katy Perry urging her 96 million Twitter followers to get on the phone Monday night.
NOT TOO LATE TO PICK UP THE PHONE! https://t.co/PniWx9qi36
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) February 6, 2017
The effort went down in flames Tuesday, but Igor Volsky of the Center for American Progress Action Fund found a bright side in the fact that two GOP senators had joined the Democrats in a bipartisan effort to stop DeVos, calling it “a big win” for the resistance movement.
The fact that Pence was forced to cast the tie-breaking vote in the DeVos nomination is a big win for the resistance movement pic.twitter.com/jGIXz64ZG2
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) February 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/peterson_m/status/829020958765809670
People don’t seem to be buying that “big win for the resistance movement” thing.
https://twitter.com/adhlawyer/status/829022881870921728
I just did a follow-up tweet. Gonna be hard to implement an agenda after you're exposed as incompetent& had bipartisan opposition
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) February 7, 2017
Recommended
@Stonekettle Some "win". SMH
— Matt Harriman (@MattHarrimanNM) February 7, 2017
Gonna be hard to implement agenda after you're exposed as incompetent&had bipartisan opposition
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) February 7, 2017
Not trying to be a wiseass. How is that a good thing for the resistance?
— Glenn (@Glenn_OBX) February 7, 2017
See follow up tweet: I think she has been severely weakened and it will be hard for her to lead the agency.
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) February 7, 2017
About that bipartisan opposition and being exposed: only two Republican senators voted against DeVos’ confirmation — both recipients of thousands from teachers unions — and neither was able to convince that critical third member to join them.
This reminds us of that piece in Lena Dunham’s newsletter that spun Hillary Clinton’s election defeat as a win, since the presidency would have been too small for “an epochal heroine far too extraordinary to be contained by the mere White House.”
https://twitter.com/Amyloukingery/status/829081419561496576
lol, nope. #MAGA
— GoAskaMomma (@GoAskaMomma) February 7, 2017
apparently, you don't know how to count. despite the arm twisting of the NEA, you LOST and De Vos WILL be education secretary
— Rani ~ Science Skeptic ? (@MilitaryRosary) February 7, 2017
No, just showed how badly democrats screwed up by blowing up the filibuster
— Zaggs (@Zaggs) February 7, 2017
The fact that the New England Patriots were forced to go to overtime is a big win for the Atlanta Falcons.
— Grant Bosse (@grantbosse) February 7, 2017
you misspelled "participation trophy"
— John Blackout (@SomewhatSeattle) February 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/PhilPrange/status/829025122178703360
https://twitter.com/RobProvince/status/829022675129483264
No, because they can't force us to bake them cakes anymore! pic.twitter.com/HoNmEyLDMy
— That's LIEUTENANT COMMANDER Crapplefratz! (@Crapplefratz) February 7, 2017
Lol. The search for a moral victory continues.
— Palmetto Joe (@Palmetto_Joe) February 7, 2017
https://twitter.com/NetConscience/status/829036084361314304
https://twitter.com/mimimayes9/status/829078512128708608
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