Stdnts hv bst qstns like nclb, Iraq, usps and othr.

June 8, 2009 4:33 PM

The Twitter feed from Chuck Grassley, senior United States Senator from the state of Iowa
posted by thirteenkiller (64 comments total)

"Plsnt conv. w sotomyr. 1 hr mtg. Look frwd 2 hrg and mre details abt recrd."

This mangling of language in the name of progress makes me sad.
posted by gac at 4:34 PM on June 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

Sara Smith at Wonkette said it best:

Jesus fucking christ. Remember back in 1780-something, when we had actual smart people writing our founding documents in beautiful longhand when they weren’t inventing new kinds of ploughs and bifocals and shit? Now our nation’s top legislators just type away like petulant teenage girls, with their thumbs, about how the president is so awful for spending the weekend in Paris. We are all stupider for having read this.
posted by mr_roboto at 4:35 PM on June 8, 2009 [58 favorites]

What is he typing with?
posted by TwelveTwo at 4:36 PM on June 8, 2009

Someone create a "YouTube comment or twitter from a United States senator" website please.
posted by christonabike at 4:36 PM on June 8, 2009 [7 favorites]

WTF, Grsly
posted by dirigibleman at 4:39 PM on June 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

Pres Obama while u sightseeing in Paris u said 'time to delivr on healthcare' When you are a "hammer" u think evrything is NAIL I'm no NAIL

Can I hit you on the head with a hammer a few times to make sure?
posted by Joe Beese at 4:39 PM on June 8, 2009 [18 favorites]

He doesn't use the #bigshittyballs hashtag? GTFO.
posted by mullacc at 4:40 PM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm totally addicted to Twitter and I think this is a terrible post.
posted by desjardins at 4:40 PM on June 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

Oh, I am so embarrassed to be from Iowa right now. Now I know what it felt like to be from Alaska last fall.
posted by webhund at 4:41 PM on June 8, 2009

I'm so embarrassed to be from the fucking internet right now.

Twitter is teh stoopid. Now that it's made the cover of Time Magazine, it's definitely on it's way out the door. Just like Time itself. And the mirrored cover.

This obsession with social media by the chattering and policy classes has gotten so ridiculous. Let them eat tweets, you know?
posted by fourcheesemac at 4:43 PM on June 8, 2009 [5 favorites]

Yeah, he's no nail. Iowa's screwed.
posted by ooga_booga at 4:43 PM on June 8, 2009 [3 favorites]

OMG ROFLCOPTER RT @ChuckGrassley My carbon footprint is abt 25per cent of Al Gore. I'm greener than Al Gore. Is that enuf?
posted by ALongDecember at 4:46 PM on June 8, 2009

I still think that Twitter is kind of dumb, but if it facilitiates weird oversharing like this from public figures I'm all for it. Can we get Joe Biden on this thing?
posted by shadow vector at 4:49 PM on June 8, 2009 [5 favorites]

BNG BNG Cry Dctrw fr Sntr 2010
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:49 PM on June 8, 2009

i typedf this coment using my pennis
posted by BitterOldPunk at 4:50 PM on June 8, 2009

I'm just sad that I actually understand what the hell he's saying.
posted by elfgirl at 4:51 PM on June 8, 2009

Is he using a "feature phone" without a querty keyboard to write all that? Seriously man it's not Morse code here. He's not even close to the 140 character limit on most of these.

He writes like a crackhead four year old.
posted by delmoi at 4:53 PM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Jzs Crst, ths dood sux so bd I wnt kll slf jst TRNG t rd ths BS.
posted by jamstigator at 4:54 PM on June 8, 2009

Also:

My carbon footprint is abt 25per cent of Al Gore. I'm greener than Al Gore. Is that enuf?

Not unless you're actually doing something to fight global warming, douchebag.
posted by delmoi at 4:55 PM on June 8, 2009 [4 favorites]

All legiz pwrs grntd shll B vstd in Cong U.S. whch shll B Sen. & House of Rep kthxbi
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 5:02 PM on June 8, 2009 [4 favorites]

Much as I dislike the blackberry-speak abbreviations, and knowing nothing about his politics, I do have to say: I am pleased by the idea of a public official making his whereabouts at any given time -- who he's meeting with, where he's going, what he's voting on -- publicly accessible, in more or less real time.

This may not be anywhere close the ideal realization of such an idea, but it's a gesture in the right direction, anyway.
posted by ook at 5:04 PM on June 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

Dude's totally bringing the lulz, you can all fuck off.
posted by The Straightener at 5:10 PM on June 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

I just thought it was hilarious that he was complaining about WORKING ON THE WKEND!

That poor man. With all that government health care he doesn't want to share.

I think he IS a nail.
posted by Max Power at 5:14 PM on June 8, 2009

I can't find the original comment, but apparently someone at Kos agrees that Grassley can't be a nail: “A nail would have a head and a point.”

I'm sorry.
posted by maudlin at 5:14 PM on June 8, 2009 [24 favorites]

via?

As someone from Iowa, and someone that uses twitter, I both follow, and am followed by @chuckgrassley

And while I don't agree with many of his politics, and he does say some batshitcrazy things, he is the only Republican I consistently vote for. He's honest, refreshing, and gets more right than wrong. HE also admits when he's fucked something up.

And as the Finance Committee's ranking member (and chairman twice) he brings home the bacon to Iowa. I'm not for pork, but as long as it exists I want it coming to my state.

My favorite Grassley quote:

"If part of our problem is that the Chinese are going to eat meat and you've got to have corn and soybeans to feed the Chinese their meat, then why isn't it just as legitimate for the Chinese to go back and eat rice as it is for us to change our policy on corn to ethanol?"

I don't think he thought that one through, you know, representing a state that exports a lot of meat to China. Still love the guy.
posted by cjorgensen at 5:30 PM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

I'm not for pork, but as long as it exists I want it coming to my state.

Oh, goooood for you, Iowa!
posted by zardoz at 5:40 PM on June 8, 2009

#pantsburnlegwound
posted by tehloki at 5:40 PM on June 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

Republicans genuinely think that twitter is going to save them.

They've been on a path of making their talking points dumber and shorter for 30-odd years now. In another 5 years, they'll simply be posting " (ditto).
posted by empath at 5:42 PM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Iowa has gay marriage, I swear I will forgive them anything. Even this.
posted by jessamyn at 5:44 PM on June 8, 2009 [15 favorites]

Oh, I am so embarrassed to be from Iowa right now. Now I know what it felt like to be from Alaska last fall.

Don't worry. I'm embarrassed to be from America based on this, so we can all share our shame. That's what America is all about, right?
posted by Stochastic Jack at 5:45 PM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Oh, I am so embarrassed to be from Iowa right now. Now I know what it felt like to be from Alaska last fall. posted by webhund

As an Iowan living in Alaska, I feel embarrassed all the time. I am not sure why but I blame it on my Lutheran upbringing.
posted by Foam Pants at 5:48 PM on June 8, 2009 [9 favorites]

Jessamyn makes a good point. Iowa did have the good graces to do same-sex marriage, which puts them ahead of my "liberal" home state of California.
posted by Stochastic Jack at 5:50 PM on June 8, 2009

watchoo tryin' to say 'bout iowa
not an east coast state
EAST COAST
not a west coast state
LEFT COAST

SHAWTY
posted by DU at 5:59 PM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

And I failed to mention, but I am pretty sure he uses a Blackberry. And in interviews he's said he does all the posting. Considering how far outside the demographic he is for twitter I'll cut him some slack.
posted by cjorgensen at 6:02 PM on June 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

Lul all you want about the weird text diction, but the guy's on Twitter and talking. That's good. Casual conversation with government officials is good.

What I'm curious about is what flavour of text slang he's speaking. A lot of Capitol Hill uses Blackberries; do they all talk to each other this way? Is he imitating his granddaughter? What is this argot?
posted by Nelson at 6:11 PM on June 8, 2009

Is he our first Down Syndrome Senator?
posted by tkchrist at 6:28 PM on June 8, 2009

I'm all about making fun of bad texting (turn on your T9, Senator!), but there are plenty of liberal tweeters who do this too. For instance, Scott Simon.
posted by rossination at 6:45 PM on June 8, 2009

Casual conversation with government officials is good.

This is anything but "casual conversation with government officials."

It's propaganda utilizing the cheapest and most efficient means possible to distribute a politicized message.

The sad thing is that people are buying this bullshit as being a good thing.
posted by torquemaniac at 7:00 PM on June 8, 2009 [5 favorites]

he sounds like my mother when she texts. except i guess, political.
posted by fuzzypantalones at 7:22 PM on June 8, 2009

OK, I swore that I would never do this but:

MetaFilter: He writes like a crackhead four year old.
posted by R. Mutt at 7:23 PM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

tIt's propaganda utilizing the cheapest and most efficient means possible to distribute a politicized message.

I accept that any word out of a politician's mouth is going to contain a politicized message. That's what they do.

But more public communication of any sort, especially realtime off-the-cuff stuff like this obviously is, equals more opportunities for the politician to screw up and accidentally tell the truth, or to be unintentionally revealing about attitudes or opinions that wouldn't come out in a regular speech or on CSPAN. At the very least it forms a public record of the wheres and whens.

None of this is a bad thing.
posted by ook at 7:24 PM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

4 skr n 7 yrs ago r fthrs brt fth n tis cntnt a nw ntn cnsivd n lbty n ddktd 2 ppsitn tht al mn r cratd =.
posted by Balisong at 7:26 PM on June 8, 2009 [7 favorites]

Two of Metafilter's most hated topics (Republicans and Twitter) in the same post? Woah.
posted by educatedslacker at 7:44 PM on June 8, 2009 [3 favorites]

Sen. Grassley's had a show on local cable access for a long time where he answers constituent questions. Now they've set up this giant TV screen behind him, the "Twitter board", which shows all the questions that people ask on Twitter. The discontinuity abounds.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 7:45 PM on June 8, 2009

grndpa grassley ur embrrsng us. pls sty off the intrnet. pls.
posted by ericb at 7:46 PM on June 8, 2009

India's Minister of External Affairs and author, Shashi Tharoor on Twitter
posted by infini at 7:48 PM on June 8, 2009

Two of Metafilter's most hated topics (Republicans and Twitter) in the same post? Woah.

Chuck Grassley talks 'Power of Twitter in Politics.'
posted by ericb at 7:48 PM on June 8, 2009

cjorgensen: This post isn't actually via anything except my friend who called and said I should look at ChuckGrassley's Twitter. We've both been following him for a while (and have been followed back! [not that it means anything?]).

I agree it's cool Chuck Grassley posts regular updates about what he's doing and thinking. He provides information as well as entertainment! I am however concerned by his apparent lack of savvy, not to mention his bone-headed policies.
posted by thirteenkiller at 7:52 PM on June 8, 2009

Pres Obama while u sightseeing in Paris u said 'time to delivr on healthcare' When you are a "hammer" u think evrything is NAIL I'm no NAIL

Uh, yeah you're correct, you're more of a tool than a sharp penetrating entity.
posted by edgeways at 8:05 PM on June 8, 2009 [2 favorites]

I'm all about making fun of bad texting (turn on your T9, Senator!), but there are plenty of liberal tweeters who do this too. For instance, Scott Simon.

Scott Simon's no liberal. He's one of those unfortunate journalists who think "balance" means treating both sides as equally correct, regardless of the facts involved.
posted by EarBucket at 8:22 PM on June 8, 2009 [1 favorite]

Haha! That Senator is using Twitter! He thinks he is like a young person! Except that he is an old Senator. And a Republican! Silly old Republican Senator. Everyone should make mean-spirited jokes about him.
posted by Slap Factory at 8:33 PM on June 8, 2009

delmoi: "Is he using a "feature phone" without a querty keyboard to write all that? Seriously man it's not Morse code here. "

Actually I've often thought that a simple momentary switch and some software to decode Morse would be a far better input device than most predictive text entry systems that use numeric keypads. And you could build it into as absurdly minimalist a phone as you wanted to design.

The whole "text-speek" crap is just a sad attempt at reinventing the wheel; the Morse people pretty much condensed the English language down to its practical limit a century ago. I mean, dropping vowels? That's bush league. Prosigns are the way to go.
posted by Kadin2048 at 8:55 PM on June 8, 2009

And while I don't agree with many of his politics, and he does say some batshitcrazy things, he is the only Republican I consistently vote for. He's honest, refreshing, and gets more right than wrong. HE also admits when he's fucked something up.

I'm pretty sure that's incorrect. But i you have some examples of him being "more right" then wrong it would be interesting to hear them, and how they make up for being a solid bush supporter on the things like the war, Gitmo, voting against the stimulus, etc, etc, etc.
posted by delmoi at 9:38 PM on June 8, 2009

And also, why would you ever abbreviate "schedule" as "skedul"
posted by delmoi at 9:45 PM on June 8, 2009

ofjgu lsode jgohd cmtog djsua gktyp vbkcu OMGWTFAMIRITEROFLCOPTER???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, that's really bad and it's good that it's a matter of public record. THAT'S REALLY HOW CHUCK GRASSLEY WRITES!
posted by fuq at 9:56 PM on June 8, 2009

It seems that he's hitting the bottle at around 9 AM every day, which probably explains the incoherent posts.
posted by Burhanistan at 9:59 PM on June 8, 2009

Most twitter apps have an option right next to the post button that will automatically attempt to shorten / abbreviate / tweetspeek the tweet, regardless of it's character length.

My guess is he got some random memo from an over-enthusiastic young republican that wants to "take back the internets" from the Dems who then proceeded to download the app for him, show him in 3 minutes how to type tweets and shorten them so he appears somewhat tech savvy, and then promptly left to go drink some jagerbombs or something.

And no, Twitter isn't jumping the shark. Regardless of one's personal opinion on it's usefulness or validity, it's the first time you can micro blog without blogging knowledge, an internet connection, or a computer. It, or something like it, is here to stay.
posted by lazaruslong at 10:33 PM on June 8, 2009

Will we start getting posts marked SLTF?
posted by ActingTheGoat at 10:43 PM on June 8, 2009

Hopefully Sarah Palin will pick him to run the Department of Education in 2012.
posted by tapeguy at 1:30 AM on June 9, 2009

Ok, this has to be a hoax. His grandchild is named Reagan. There's no way a real person could be this much of a parody of himself.
posted by aftermarketradio at 6:51 AM on June 9, 2009

"Jesus fucking christ. Remember back in 1780-something, when we had actual smart people writing our founding documents in beautiful longhand when they weren’t inventing new kinds of ploughs and bifocals and shit? Now our nation’s top legislators just type away like petulant teenage girls, with their thumbs, about how the president is so awful for spending the weekend in Paris. We are all stupider for having read this."

I increasingly feel the same about Ana Marie Cox, founder of Wonkette and current celebrity political gossip ... I mean commentator.

But Grassley is still an idiot.
posted by krinklyfig at 8:18 AM on June 9, 2009

For those that are not conflating the quality of the content with the qualities of the medium: Grassley isn't the only Congressperson that tweets.
posted by thebestsophist at 8:22 AM on June 9, 2009

aftermarketradio: Ok, this has to be a hoax. His grandchild is named Reagan. There's no way a real person could be this much of a parody of himself.

That's what would make unwitting self-parody so funny, were he not a 5 term Senator:

By Associated Press; 5:18 PM CDT, May 28, 2009
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley has a fourth great-grandchild, and she has a name that makes clear her family's political leanings.
Reagan Clara Grassley was born at 2:30 a.m. Thursday.
She's the second child of state Rep. Pat Grassley and his wife, Amanda.
Pat Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, holds the Iowa House seat once represented by his grandfather, Sen. Grassley. The baby was 7 pounds, 12 ounces.
posted by webhund at 8:56 AM on June 9, 2009

Ok, I like the name Reagan for a woman. Been enough movie character named this. Also, guessing Chuck didn't have a lot of input on this.
posted by cjorgensen at 5:01 AM on June 10, 2009