Hoyer Ups Dems' Twitter Status
GOP has the tweet majority
By ASHA BEH
Updated 9:15 AM EDT, Tue, Feb 9, 2010
Stop the snow. House majority leader and Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has joined the congressional Twitter-verse.
We knew there was going to be some big news that got buried as the snow bombarded the DC region nearly nonstop last week.
That's when the second-ranking Democrat in the House snuck in his debut as "LeaderHoyer."
But Hoyer's tweets on pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget rules approved by the House and other Congress-related items are no match for the opposition's clear lead on the Twitter-verse. The Grand Old Party may be in the minority member-wise in the House and Senate, but Republican politicians dominate the Dems on the social networking and microblogging site, Gawker reports.
A Congressional Research Service report released last week (and published by Secrecy News) found that 60% of the members of Congress with Twitter accounts are Republicans, and that fully half of all congressional Twitterers are House GOP members.
What's more: Republicans also write more tweets. And presumably their own. (Ahem, cough, cough, Mr. President.)
It's a big leap from January 2009, when "GOP politicians were publicly wringing their hands over the party's failure to embrace social networking, and then-candidate for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee Michael Steele was touting his Twitter followership as a qualification for the post," Gawker noted.
Yep, between 124 Republicans versus 81 Democrats with Twitter accounts and Sarah Palin contemplating a run at the White House, you know it's only going to get worse -- or better, depending on your point of view.
So, Steny, instead of telling us how disappointed you are by the "GOP’s rejection of efforts to address our nation's fiscal challenges," maybe it's time to rally your peeps. Tweet, tweet!
First Published: Feb 9, 2010 8:49 AM EDT
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