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Tag: GOP

  • Debt Ceiling Debate Nears Deadline, Obama Gets Busy On Twitter

    Debt Ceiling Debate Nears Deadline, Obama Gets Busy On Twitter

    As the deadline to raise the debt ceiling fast approaches, the White House is using Twitter to rally support for what the call the “balanced approach.” In the simplest terms, this means an approach to tackle the national debt that both cuts spending and raises revenues through tax increases and/or elimination of tax breaks.

    House Republicans and the President (with congressional Democrats) have been in negotiations for weeks, but a comprehensive plan has yet to emerge that analysts feel could pass the legislature and be signed by the President.

    While the White House’s Twitter account is livening up the mood by Rickrolling its followers during an open Twitter forum, President Barack Obama’s Twitter account is busy rallying support for his vision.

    In a continuation of Obama’s message from Monday night’s primetime speech on the debt situation (that resulted in the shutting down of dozens of congressional websites), his Twitter account is in the middle of a giant feed-swarming campaign to ask Twitter users to tweet their congressman.

    Ever since it was announced that tweets coming directly from the mouth of the President would all be signed “BO,” they have been elusive. But we got one a couple of hours ago –

    @BarackObama
    Barack Obama    The time for putting party first is over. If you want to see a bipartisan #compromise, let Congress know. Call. Email. Tweet. —BO 2 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    After that, his team has been busy tweeting out messages to his near-10 million followers about how they can contact their congresspeople via Twitter to express their support for his plan.

    As of right now, the Barack Obama account has listed the Twitter handles of Republican members of Congress in Alabama, Arkansas, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado…are you sensing a pattern? As of the writing of this article, they are on Kentucky in the alphabetical listing of the states. Here’s what they are saying –

    @BarackObama
    Barack Obama    If you live in Arizona, ask @SenJonKyl and @SenJohnMcCain to support a bipartisan compromise to the debt crisis. 1 hour ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @BarackObama
    Barack Obama    California Republican reps on Twitter: @RepJohnCampbell (CA-48),@DarrellIssa (CA-49), @BilbrayCA50 (CA-50), @repjeffdenham (CA-19) 1 hour ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @BarackObama
    Barack Obama    Voters in Idaho: Tweet your Republican representative and ask them to support a bipartisan solution to the deficit crisis. #compromise 51 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @BarackObama
    Barack Obama    Kentucky voters: Tweet @SenRandPaul and ask him to compromise on a balanced deficit solution. 7 minutes ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Put this in the “aggressive social media politicking” folder, as the White House is in the middle of an impressive Twitter campaign.

    Is this type of Twitter interaction a good thing for either party? Should all politicians be using Twitter to this degree to spur debate? Let us know in the comments.

  • Minnesota Government Shutdown Prompts Strong Twitter Response

    It looks like the battle of the budget has claimed the state of Minnesota, or the government at least. But many on Twitter are quick to point out that although state parks are now shut down over the holiday weekend, you can still go camping in one of Minnesota’s beautiful private campgrounds. (No joke, this is one of the biggest concerns from the Twitterverse regarding Minnesota right now)

    The government officially shut down last night at midnight after a week of hard-fought negotiations. Republicans and Democrats have been in disagreement for months about the budget – specifically how to close the $5 billion budget deficit.

    According to the Washington Post, the state battle mirrored the budget battle on the national front – Republicans putting the emphasis on cutting spending on certain programs and Democrats attempting to raise the taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Minnesotans.

    This isn’t the first government shutdown in recent memory. In 2005, the government shutdown under then Governor Tim Pawlenty. That one lasted 8 days and resulted in the temporary layoff of about 9,000 workers. Pawlenty is now a candidate for President.

    During this government shutdown, only necessary government functions will remain up and running. This includes public safety like the police and fire departments, welfare programs, state facilities like prisons, and IT management of governmental systems.

    Like I noted earlier, the state parks will be closed this weekend. This is estimated to cost the state $12 million in revenue for each week the government remains shutdown.

    The state government was close to a deal, but Democratic Governor Mark Dayton could not approve the GOP’s cuts to the health and human services department. Earlier in the negotiations the Republicans proposed a budget that included some layoffs for state workers and teachers. It also included some non-budgetary items such as a vote ID bill and abortion restrictions. The Democrats refused that proposal.

    So, with the two parties in a deadlock, the government is now shutdown. Twitter is reacting strongly to the news, with opinions coming from all sides of the political spectrum. Here are a series of tweets blaming the GOP for the shutdown –

    @garak99
    Bill King    Hey #gop Minnesota is a example of what happens when 1 side takes a no tax increase position things collapse #p2 #toct #teaparty 44 minutes ago via Twitter for BlackBerry® · powered by @socialditto

    @ninahale
    Nina Hale    .03% of Minnesotans (those who earn $1M) have shut down our state due to refusal to raise taxes on them. #7700donors #mnshutdown 3 hours ago via Twitter for Android · powered by @socialditto

    @schup
    Paul Schupanitz    Thank you #mngop for shutting down state government to serve your selfish ideology and your corporate masters. #mnleg #mnshutdown #dfl 2 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    Some on Twitter point to Democratic ideals as the cause of Minnesota’s budget problem –

    @LacusCurtius
    Bill Thayer    I’m glad Minnesota is no longer caving in to tax & borrow & spend; but it makes no sense to shut down the lottery, a source of State income! 45 minutes ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    @jtomli
    James Tomlinson    Every state that spends too much of the tax payers money on parasites always goes broke. Minnesota is well known. http://bit.ly/jw0ytd 45 minutes ago via Mozilla F1 · powered by @socialditto

    Many have just decided to take a crack at the state of Minnesota –

    @oshakarow
    Osha Karow    #MN is known for 2 seasons: Winter & Road Construction. Since the roadwork has stopped due to the #MNshutdown are we technically in winter? 1 hour ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    @tonybarlow03
    Tony Barlow    Hey Minnesota campers. You are welcome to come and join us in South Dakota. We are open for business over here! #mnshutdown 1 hour ago via HootSuite · powered by @socialditto

    @Caissie
    Caissie St.Onge    To all my Minnesota pals, so sorry your government has SHUT DOWN! I know you’re all very polite, so riot politely, but do riot. 9 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    @BillCorbett
    BillCorbett    The Minnesota government has been shut down. Even the state moose-shampooing plant. #MNshutdown #dirtymooses 8 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

  • Michele Bachmann’s Presidential Campaign Kicks Off, Her Social Media Accounts Oddly Quiet

    Although she participated in the last Republican primary debate, Michele Bachmann wasn’t an official candidate at that point. She used the stage that night to declare her intentions to run for President. And today, she officially kicked off her campaign in Waterloo, Iowa.

    The location has the dual-benefit not only being where Bachmann grew up, but also being located in the early primary battleground state. Bachmann, who is thought of by many to be the first officially backed Tea Party candidate in the race, said that “American aren’t interested in affiliation; they are interested in solutions and leadership that will tell the truth” at her speech today.

    Her campaign kick-off speech on the steps of an historic Waterloo building was attended by about 200 people, says the New York Times.

    Here’s what seems odd about her official announcement today – Where’s the social media connection?

    Bachmann has a little over 56,000 followers and Twitter and over 220,000 likes on Facebook. She uses both networks semi-frequently to post messages to her supporters. In the last couple of weeks, she has posted messages about her votes on various bills, linked to articles about job creation and even told her fans that she had won an award. But her last Facebook post was last Friday. And her last tweet was last Friday as well.

    Where’s the social media announcement of her campaign?

    Most of the candidates who have already entered the crowded GOP field this year have made it a point to thoroughly incorporate social media when officially announcing their campaigns. First, frontrunner Mitt Romney used Twitter to link to a YouTube video where he announced the formation of an exploratory committee. Newt Gingrich did the same thing, only incorporating Facebook as well.

    Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty used both Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to announce the official start to his primary campaign. Most recently, Jon Huntsman announced his candidacy in New Jersey and created two new Twitter accounts simultaneously to promote his announcement.

    Moral of the story: Social Media has already been key this election season. But Bachmann hasn’t said anything on Facebook of Twitter since Friday.

    (image)@MicheleBachmann
    MicheleBachmann    Recently, I received @club4growth’s “Defender of Economic Freedom” Award for consistently voting in support of economic freedom.(image) 3 days ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    There is no doubt that social media helped Barack Obama beat John McCain in 2008. And the President is still active on both Twitter and Facebook. Whatever candidate that ends up facing him in the general election is going to have to step up their social media game. I’m not sure it’s a great sign for her that Bachmann has failed to incorporate Facebook and Twitter into the most important day of her candidacy so far.

    Bachmann is one of the more polarizing figures to enter the race. Many in the Republican party branch-off Tea Party think of her as an attractive candidate. She’s already seeing strong poll numbers in Iowa. On the other side, many see her ideas and extremely misguided and radical. She has a history of saying things that put her in the negative spotlight, such as the fact that the founding fathers “worked tirelessly until slavery was no more.”

    Although Bachmann hasn’t commented on her official candidacy on Twitter as of yet, it hasn’t stopped the Twitterverse from reacting:

    (image)@OTOOLEFAN
    Don Millard    Michele Bachmann is the first woman to officially throw her tin foil hat into the ring.(image) 1 hour ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@TurboGrandma
    Nikki Walter    Super pissed at Michele Bachmann for having the best Michele Bachmann joke just by merely announcing her candidacy.(image) 2 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@sbellelauren
    lauren ashley bishop    on behalf of all comedians, a warm welcome to the 2012 presidential race michele bachmann(image) 3 hours ago via TweetDeck · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@DRUNKHULK
    DRUNK HULK    DRUNK HULK ALL EXCITE TO SEE HEADLINE THAT MICHELE BACHMANN RUNNING! BUT DISAPPOINT TO READ THAT SHE NO RUNNING AWAY!(image) 3 hours ago via web · powered by @socialditto

    (image)@Justin_Marks_
    Justin Marks    The press is using Michele Bachmann as the political version of an anti-smoking ad: “Kids, see what happens when you don’t vote?”(image) 3 hours ago via Twitter for iPhone · powered by @socialditto

    To clarify that last tweet, just as she kicks of her campaign in Iowa, this YouTube video has already emerged titled “Michele Bachmann on John Wayne Gacy” where she mixes up a couple of famous American “John Waynes” –

  • Michele Bachmann, Mitt Romney Win GOP Debate According to Likester

    The first Republican Presidential Debate to feature all of the candidates was held last night in New Hampshire. Two notable things happened last night – It was the debate premiere of early front-runner Mitt Romney and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann used her opening statements to declare her official candidacy.

    Apart from these two events, the seven candidates talked health care, immigration, abortion, gay marriage and the whole range of topics one would expect in a televised debate. CNN broadcast the debate and host John King ended every segment with what he called a “this or that” question. We learned that Tim Pawlenty favors Coke over Pepsi and former Godfather’s pizza chair Herman Cain prefers Chicago-style deep dish to NY-style thin crust.

    With all personal politics aside, any early presidential debate, of either party, serves as a barometer for public opinion. It gives voters an initial glimpse at the candidates and shapes the media narrative for the upcoming campaign. It’s impossible to predict the outcome of the primary right now but “global popularity engine” Likester is at it again, this time tackling the 2012 elections.

    Likester is a startup that analyzes Facebook data, specifically “likes,” to determine popularity trends across the social channel. This year they hosted “Likester Idol,” where each week they analyzed changes in the amount of Facebook likes for each contestant and made elimination predictions based on those results. They had a pretty good prediction record and ended up picking Scotty McCreery as the winner six weeks before the finale.

    This time, Likester is looking to predict something “more meaningful,” they say. Their goal is to predict the eventual 2012 Republican nominee, and they kicked off their analysis with last night’s debate results.

    The post debate analysis is in! All seven declared major Republicans were present, and the results of the data is below. We plan on updating this page bi-weekly, so please check back every few weeks for the latest.

    So who won the debate according to Likester? Mitt Romney, as he garnered 19,658 new likes on Facebook from his performance. He is the overall like leader with just under 1 million. Michele Bachmann, who ranks 3rd in overall likes, finished second by gaining 9,232 new likes. Ron Paul, who ranks 2nd in overall likes, finished 3rd in the debate by adding 8,717 new likes.

    (image)

    The remaining candidates finished 4th – 7th in the following order: Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty and Rick Santorum.

    Of course, a presidential primary may be a little tougher to predict than American Idol, but it’s possible that social media clout will play a huge role in determining the winner. Facebook played such a huge part in the 2008 election, there is no reason to think that popularity on the social media site won’t be an indicator of the outcome of this race.

    Who do you think won the debate? Who looked like a strong candidate? Romney, Pawlenty, Bachmann? Or did no candidate look good at all? Let us know what you think.