Submitted by Conor Kenny on
Over at Congresspedia, we’re starting to track the members of Congress who are using Twitter, a micro-blogging site consisting of posts of 140 characters or less (it makes more sense once you spend some time there, really). We’ve compiled a list of 30 members thus far, and if you go to their Congresspedia profile page you can read their latest posts – we’ve built them right into the contact section.
Members who “tweet” aren’t exactly something new – some have been doing it for months. However, there’s been a flurry of recent activity, including several recent adopters, thanks to the House Republicans’ revolt this week. If you haven’t heard, members of the GOP caucus have taken to the House floor to protest the August recess. They’ve argued that Democrats decided to adjourn without holding a vote on energy legislation. While the protest itself has been garnering news coverage, the use of Twitter and other online tech has also prompted headlines. Some members are twittering from the location, while others have used Qik to broadcast streaming video with their cell-phone cameras. John Wonderlich has the backstory in a post at the OpenHouseProject and the conservative activists behind the campaign have created the #dontGo website to track their activities. You can also find more government officials at the US Government page on the Twitter fan wiki.
At any rate, please check out our list of members using Twitter, and let us know if you find any others. You can email us at amaestas@sunlightfoundation.com or ckenny@congresspedia.org or send a message via Twitter at @ConorKenny or @Avelino. Also, we’re on the lookout for congressional candidates that are using Twitter, so please let us know if you run across any.
Printer-friendly version