Post by Admin on Jan 11, 2023 16:55:43 GMT -4
A dose of online brotherly love humanized a chaotic Speaker vote
Tweets from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' younger brother during chaotic Speaker vote brings a much needed dose or humanity to politics
Growing up, my older sister was the faster runner, the cute one (at least until I grew into my teeth), and definitely the person you wanted on your side when you had a beef with someone.
I could talk a big game — but once she took off her earrings, no adversary stood a chance.
So I know a little something about the special brand of bragging and banter necessary to maintain the delicate balance of sibling synergy — and my sister didn’t even grow up to be the House minority leader.
Like many people last week, I was glued — mostly on Twitter — to the chaotic speaker vote where GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy was repeatedly rejected for House speaker while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries secured 212 votes — the first time since 2007 that a Democratic leader has won support from every member of their caucus. (McCarthy finally won after 15 votes and who-knows-how-many concessions.)
But Rep. Jeffries, 52, who made history as the first Black lawmaker to lead a major party in Congress, wasn’t the only Jeffries getting noticed.
Jeffries’ younger brother, Hasan Kwame Jeffries — @profjeffries on Twitter — took to the site to offer the kind of playful ribbing only a sibling could get away with, gaining upwards of 10,000 new Twitter followers in the process.
The younger Jeffries — “by two years and five months” — is impressive in his own right: a historian, author, and professor at The Ohio State University, he regularly lectures on civil rights, African American history, and contemporary Black politics.
He happened to speak with me last month for a column about how we talk about problematic U.S. history, but I wasn’t aware he was half of the Jeffries sib-dynasty until he took to Twitter to offer the kind of bouncy commentary many of us needed.
“Finding you was the best part of the Speaker fight,” said one Twitter user.
When another Twitter user commented that “Kevin McCarthy has broken the record for the number of times one person has lost to Hakeem Jeffries,” the younger Jeffries was quick to correct the record:
“Oh, how I wish this was true!,” he tweeted before going on to acknowledge years of defeats at the hands of his older brother in backyard basketball games in the ‘80s “before my growth spurt,” and the ‘90s “after my growth spurt,” and “a mini streak at the Ohio State Rec Center in 2010.”
“Kev has absolutely nothing to worry about — the record is safe,” Hasan tweeted.
In another post, with a photo of Tuesday’s ballot that showed his brother with a consistent 212 votes, Hasan wrote: “The #GOP needs to get its act together because I already see where this is going.”
Tweets from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' younger brother during chaotic Speaker vote brings a much needed dose or humanity to politics
Growing up, my older sister was the faster runner, the cute one (at least until I grew into my teeth), and definitely the person you wanted on your side when you had a beef with someone.
I could talk a big game — but once she took off her earrings, no adversary stood a chance.
So I know a little something about the special brand of bragging and banter necessary to maintain the delicate balance of sibling synergy — and my sister didn’t even grow up to be the House minority leader.
Like many people last week, I was glued — mostly on Twitter — to the chaotic speaker vote where GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy was repeatedly rejected for House speaker while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries secured 212 votes — the first time since 2007 that a Democratic leader has won support from every member of their caucus. (McCarthy finally won after 15 votes and who-knows-how-many concessions.)
But Rep. Jeffries, 52, who made history as the first Black lawmaker to lead a major party in Congress, wasn’t the only Jeffries getting noticed.
Jeffries’ younger brother, Hasan Kwame Jeffries — @profjeffries on Twitter — took to the site to offer the kind of playful ribbing only a sibling could get away with, gaining upwards of 10,000 new Twitter followers in the process.
The younger Jeffries — “by two years and five months” — is impressive in his own right: a historian, author, and professor at The Ohio State University, he regularly lectures on civil rights, African American history, and contemporary Black politics.
He happened to speak with me last month for a column about how we talk about problematic U.S. history, but I wasn’t aware he was half of the Jeffries sib-dynasty until he took to Twitter to offer the kind of bouncy commentary many of us needed.
“Finding you was the best part of the Speaker fight,” said one Twitter user.
When another Twitter user commented that “Kevin McCarthy has broken the record for the number of times one person has lost to Hakeem Jeffries,” the younger Jeffries was quick to correct the record:
“Oh, how I wish this was true!,” he tweeted before going on to acknowledge years of defeats at the hands of his older brother in backyard basketball games in the ‘80s “before my growth spurt,” and the ‘90s “after my growth spurt,” and “a mini streak at the Ohio State Rec Center in 2010.”
“Kev has absolutely nothing to worry about — the record is safe,” Hasan tweeted.
In another post, with a photo of Tuesday’s ballot that showed his brother with a consistent 212 votes, Hasan wrote: “The #GOP needs to get its act together because I already see where this is going.”