Politicians who twitter

If you want to see what Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) is up to, you join him online on twitter.com, where he's been narrating his doings on the House floor.

If you're not familiar with twitter, it's a rather simple, elegant idea. You sign up for a free account. You invite people to "follow" you and select people you want to "follow." You then proceed to post about what you're doing, or thinking, or reading, or whatever you want. The folks that "follow" you get the updates. You can also have a conversation with somebody by sending them direct messages.

The advantages are obvious for the typical teenager. "R u going to the party?" "lol" and whatever else those kids today say--I wouldn't really know.

But when a politician gets ahold of twitter, it's a way to communicate to ordinary people. Here's one of Culberson's messages via twitter:

Major bills like Farm Bill, Iraq War funding bill were written in total secrecy by a handful of people and then filed the night before floor vote w no comm hearing, and then floor amendments are either prohibited or limited...Why not create a Sunshine Index for every day the House is in session? For every bill - how much time between bill filing and floor debate? Was there a Comm hearing? Amendments allowed in comm or on floor? How many? How much debate time? How many pages long is the bill? How much money does it spend? This is where Democracy is being killed every day - on the floor.

Says Ellen Miller, my boss over at the Sunlight Foundation,

It's refreshing to see a member of Congress who personally tweets updates about his work as a legislator, often from the House Floor. We love that he talks specifically about bills being considered in real time so we know how he is going to vote on a pending bill and why.

And Micah Sifry of Tech President, another Sunlight consultant, compares and contrasts Culberson's use of twitter with members of Congress who are "crackberry" addicts. That is, lawmakers who use blackberries to keep in close contact with donors, lobbyists, and other insiders while they are on the House floor. As reported in Politico today:

While average citizens still reach out to their elected representatives via letters or e-mails to a general inbox, donors and friends are more likely to have a member's personal e-mail address - and with it, a virtual hotline to the member's hip.

Whether or not you decide to make a habit of twittering, it's worth checking out Culberson's. You can find John Culberson on twitter.com as @johnculberson.

Bookmark/Search this post with: