I've been noodling around on Twitter quite a bit lately, making tools for the Blog Workers Industrial Union, and today I wrote a tool to look at what is happening in the hashtags for all 435 Congressional districts. I used both styles, for example #MN-06 and #MN06. The dash free tags are somewhat busier, but the ones with the dash are cleaner and a pretty good representation of the volume and activity out there.
The silence on the Progressive front is deafening. The National Republican Congressional Committee, on the other hand, seems to have something of a plan.
So that below is what I found. Pretty thin, but there's @NRCC and #NRCC in nearly everything. Come election time these hashtags may become news sources for the districts in question ... and I'd hate to see this new media format be a playground for the #kooks on #tcot.
Anyway, this is what I found, and I plan on continuing to make sharp instruments here in my software forge and then leave them out where Spedwybabs, andsarahtoo, and the other Blog Workers Industrial Union members can find 'em.
The BWIU did messaging for the October 20th Rally in Harrisburg, PA and I hear it was a resounding success. I see that someone has set the Progressive Public Service Announcement bot loose on Maine's No on 1 marriage equality campaign, and I bet as soon as people notice we can query all of the Congressional hashtags at once they'll be asking if we can put our message out there, too. A flow of news and activism on a per district basis is an obvious next step ... just gotta spend a little time here at the keyboard making it happen.
#AR-02
GOPMichael: RT @NRCC: Good article on the successes of #Pearce #NM-02 and #Griffin #AR-02 GOP candidates http://bit.ly/... #NRCC #TCOT
Jbroks86: RT @NRCC Good article on the successes of #Pearce #NM-02 and #Griffin #AR-02 GOP candidates http://bit.ly/... #takebackamerica
NRCC: Good article on the successes of #Pearce #NM-02 and #Griffin #AR-02 GOP candidates http://bit.ly/... #NRCC #TCOT
#CA-10
GOPMichael: RT @NRCC: Good video from #Harmer campaign in #CA-10 highlighting Garamendi's pledge 2 support govt run hlthcare http://bit.ly/... #TCOT
ecp5: RT @NRCC: Good video from #Harmer campaign in #CA-10 on Garamendi's pledge to support government run healthcare http://bit.ly/...
NRCC: Good video from #Harmer campaign in #CA-10 highlighting Garamendi's pledge to support government run healthcare http://bit.ly/... #TCOT
#CO-07
GOPMichael: RT @NRCC: A new top tier candidate in #CO-07 http://bit.ly/...
LonnyLeitner: RT @NRCC A new top tier candidate in #CO-07 http://bit.ly/...
WCrosswell: RT @NRCC: A new top tier candidate in #CO-07 http://bit.ly/...
NRCC: A new top tier candidate in #CO-07 http://bit.ly/...
#IL-13
TXTransPecos: HA Scott Harper : almost 3x as much debt as cash on hand (only 54k) at end of Q3, high burn rate too. @JudyBiggert2010 will bury him #il-13
#NM-02
GOPMichael: RT @NRCC: Good article on the successes of #Pearce #NM-02 and #Griffin #AR-02 GOP candidates http://bit.ly/... #NRCC #TCOT
Jbroks86: RT @NRCC Good article on the successes of #Pearce #NM-02 and #Griffin #AR-02 GOP candidates http://bit.ly/... #takebackamerica
NRCC: Good article on the successes of #Pearce #NM-02 and #Griffin #AR-02 GOP candidates http://bit.ly/... #NRCC #TCOT
#NY-23
patriot101: @newtgingrich RT @C0MM1TT3D (#Romney) A message from #NY-23 #conservative candidate Doug Hoffman http://tinyurl.com/... #teaparty #tcot
souleyes65: Mr. Gingrich should take his own advice and research candidates before endorsing. #NY-23
cayankee: If #NY-23 race is conservative vs.liberal, there are enough conservative voters to hand Hoffman a surprise victory. http://bit.ly/... #rs
cayankee: WSJ on the GOP's Scozzafava fiasco: Running candidates who believe in nothing will keep them in the minority for years to come. #rs #NY-23
jeffreyeas: @EllenChin it's important, but I mean...c'mon #ny-23 will be forgotten in a month
diggleft: could this be a new low, even for the Weekly Standard? What a truly pathetic publication http://digg.com/... #digg #p2 #tpm #ny-23 #tpot
maniacmiler: Watching the GOP self destruct in NY-23 is rather glorious. #NY-23 #p2
EdDriscoll: RT @cayankee: Scozzafava calls the cops when the Weekly Standard asks her about abortion and Obamacare http://bit.ly/... #NY-23 #right #rs
cayankee: Scozzafava calls the cops when the Weekly Standard asks her about abortion and Obamacare. http://bit.ly/... #NY-23 #right #rs
Taniel: Remember when unions were saying they might not get involved in #NY-23? Well, me neither: http://bit.ly/...
cayankee: #NY-23 Geraghty starts the week off with a bang: No righty should complain about RNC, NRCC help for Scozzafava. http://bit.ly/...
cayankee: Today's must read. RT @ PatrickRuffini: just posted NY-23: Doug Hoffman for Congress http://bit.ly/... #NY-23 #tcot #rs
cayankee: Obama and Bill Clinton enter #NY-23 battle. http://bit.ly/... #tcot #rs
cayankee: #NY-23 #beatcancer RT @ttjemery: ~Conservatives lets help get this one house seat back to conservatives http://bit.ly/... Please RT
CDA_Rob: The NRCC is aparently filled with asshats - what else explains this?
#Gingrich endorses in #NY-23: http://im.ly/...
#NC-08
GOPMichael: RT @NRCC: Please take a moment to sign Lou Huddleston's bipartisan "No More Nancy" pledge: http://bit.ly/... #NC-08 #TCOT #Pelosi
CFHeather: RT @NRCC: Please take a moment to sign Lou Huddleston's bipartisan "No More Nancy" pledge: http://bit.ly/... #NC-08 #TCOT #Pelosi
NRCC: Please take a moment to sign Lou Huddleston's bipartisan "No More Nancy" pledge: http://bit.ly/... #NC-08 #TCOT #Pelosi
#PA-11
edwardmitchell: Political opportunist Corey O'Brien #PA-11. http://bit.ly/...
#TN-08
Republicist: Meet Stephen Fincher #TN-08 http://bit.ly/... (via @NRCC)
GOPMichael: RT @NRCC: Meet Stephen Fincher #TN-08 http://bit.ly/... #NRCC #TCOT
NRCC: Meet Stephen Fincher #TN-08 http://bit.ly/... #NRCC #TCOT
GOPMichael: RT @NRCC: Candidate for Tanner's seat raises $300,000 http://bit.ly/... #TN-08 @StephenFincher
RightAtHomeBlog: RT @NRCC: Candidate for Tanner's seat raises $300,000 http://bit.ly/... #TN-08 @StephenFincher
johnsscott2: RT @NRCC: Candidate for Tanner's seat raises $300,000 http://bit.ly/... #TN-08 @StephenFincher
NRCC: Candidate for Tanner's seat raises $300,000 http://bit.ly/... #TN-08 @StephenFincher
#WA-08
GOPMichael: RT @NRCC: Fuzzy fundraising math by the Democrats in #WA-08 http://bit.ly/... #TCOT #NRCC
NRCC: Fuzzy fundraising math by the Democrats in #WA-08 http://bit.ly/... #TCOT #NRCC