Friday, August 1, 2008

Republicans embrace the Twitter

The Revolution is not being televised!

http://twitter.com/petehoekstra
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1 comment:

k-mad said...

Bizarre Scene on the House Floor

UPDATE 4:15 PM: There seems like a decent chance that this spectacle will end around 4:30 p.m. That's when the galleries are officially supposed to close and when the Capitol typically closes to tour groups. In theory, Republicans could keep up the fight even after the hundreds of visitors have filtered out of the chamber, but members usually like to have some kind of audience. A progressively smaller group of reporters is hanging around until the bitter end, as many journalists have already left the Capitol for a traditional bout of last-day-of-session drinking. Capitol Briefing, of course, is very pleased not to be sitting on a bar patio somewhere enjoying the sunshine and a beer. He'd much rather be here listening to the 78th consecutive speech about gasoline prices.

UPDATE 2:40 PM: Capitol Briefing will admit to never having seen anything remotely like this in 10 years of covering Congress. As "The Phantom Session" continues, the chamber is packed with tourists, and the line to get in the galleries stretches down the stairs inside the Capitol. What appears to be an entire troop of Boy Scouts is sitting in the chamber. Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) apparently went to the airport to go home but then turned around and came back. He walked into the House a few moments ago wheeling his suitcases behind him, prompting a huge round of applause and high-fives from his colleagues.

Democrats face a dilemma here. The longer this goes on the more attention it will get. But the last thing they want to do is turn Republicans into martyrs by having the police force people to leave. The GOP would like nothing more than for tourists to be manhandled out of the chamber (especially those innocent Boy Scouts!) and for reporters to be told they have to leave the press gallery. So don't expect the majority to take the bait and kick everyone out anytime soon.

Meanwhile, you can keep reading updates on Culberson's Twitter page. They're pretty dramatic:

"We are speaking without microphones - as though it were 1908 - acoustics of House chamber are good and gallery and you can hear us"

"Retweet these messages - these are the only words being broadcast from the House floor today"

August 1, 2008 at 3:29 PM

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