Comments on: House Dems Plan to Regulate Congresspeople’s Twitter Posts

By: Sunshine Review Blog » Bericht: » Transparency via Twitter: Let Congress Tweet!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 21:51:11 +0000

[...] George Donnelly from Arm Your Mind for Liberty [...]

By: House Leadership Moves to Silence Twittering Members « The Batterista Blog

House Leadership Moves to Silence Twittering Members « The Batterista Blog — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:03:58 +0000

[...] #2: George Donnelly has a great list of articles and posts about this issue. Possibly related posts: (automatically [...]

By: Andrew Wright

Andrew Wright — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:58:08 +0000

Yes, it’s time they stepped into the 21st century!

By: George

George — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:16:11 +0000

Thanks Andrew, I liked your article too.

Congress needs to hire some consultants and get smart about the web. With a 9% approval rating, they need to become part of the conversation, ASAP.

By: Andrew Wright

Andrew Wright — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 15:04:40 +0000

Great compilation of the coverage on this issue. I’ve been aware of rules regarding Congressional use of social media tools, but this is the first time I’ve seen it in action (I don’t know if it’s been enforced before though). I hope this incident gets the attention it deserves and leads to the removal of these top-down communication control regulations.

By: John Culberson

John Culberson — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 04:49:57 +0000

Heres how the House leadership will use this rule to control where and what I say and even exercise influence over your website/blog etc

If the Ds rule change were in effect today, before I could post this, your website/blog would have to be preapproved as complying with House rules, my post would require a disclaimer that it was “produced by a House office for official purposes,” and the CONTENT of my post would have to be preapproved by the House Franking Committee as complying with “existing content rules and regulations.”

This is a violation of your First Amendment rights and mine, and is an outrageous attempt by House leadership to stifle and control you and me. If Rs were in charge I would be just as outraged - forget the party label - I do not want the federal gov’t/House of Representatives certifying your website or the content of my posts. I am writing this post personally, in my official capacity, so it would fall precisely under their new rule and you and I would both be in violation unless we subjected ourselves and my words to their prior approval/editing.

I am always ready to admit I am wrong but I am an attorney and this is what the letter means.

This is a story worth following because I am going to continue to vigorously exercise my First Amendment rights on every social media outlet I can reach. Itis my right as an American and my duty as a representative.

thanks

John Culberson

By: George

George — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 01:05:36 +0000

Thanks Cheryl! Following you now.

By: Cheryl Smith

Cheryl Smith — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 00:47:51 +0000

You’re exactly right about the threat to transparency and free speech. Will be interesting to see if Culberson can mobilize his Twitter followers, and others, to make a difference.

Best,
Cheryl

P.S. You can follow me on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cherylsmith999