Last week, WikiLeaks released 19,000 emails from the Democratic National Committee, apparently lifted by Russian-government hackers. The document dump was a feast for journalists, activists, and close students of the political process: There were discussions of donut licking and butt eating — revelations so powerful that DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz resigned yesterday. But amidst the rubble of a unified Democratic Party, a hero has emerged: Pablo Manriquez, a former DNC media booker.
In one exchange that’s making the rounds on Twitter, Pablo goes head to head with his colleagues about a CNN appearance. From the emails, it seems that the appearance was scheduled for six a.m., but one of Manriquez’s colleagues wanted to pull a last-minute switch.
Pablo, however, wants to stick with the predetermined plan.
From there, things start to get heated.
Pablo kindly volunteers to staff the appearance himself.
It is not well received.
But Pablo, our intrepid hero, fights back.
It seems to work and one of the people in the email chain jumps, begrudgingly, to team Pablo.
Not everyone was sold, but in the end it appears, at least on this day, good (Pablo) triumphed over evil (everyone else on this terrible thread.)
This email exchange dates to May 17. A quick search of the WikiLeaks emails for “Pablo” brings up an email discussing Pablo’s mysterious absence on May 10, “if we’re rewarding his incompetence/insubordination by taking him off of sunday rotation, least we can do is would make him do more monitoring.” By May 24, Pablo had sent out an email that he was quitting his role at the DNC and invited his colleagues to a going-away happy hour. And that was the end of Pablo at the DNC.
But not the end of Pablo. Pablo’s urgent advocacy, his clear-eyed pleading, and his co-workers’ creative insults, have launched Pablo into viral mini-fame, as a quick search of the hashtag #ImWithPablo will reveal.
And Pablo, true to form, has leaned into his internet fame by chatting with his new fans, and retweeting their compliments. (Also, in case you were wondering, he’s single.)
Now, it seems the only thing Pablo still lacks is a verified Twitter. Though at the rate he’s been tweeting about it, it should only be a matter of time.
