Taking their talking points to Twitter
In the past couple of weeks, Washington lawmakers have spent time behind closed doors (presumably) negotiating a two-year budget.
When asked about the details, many have repeated they “don’t negotiate in the media.”
(That changed on Friday, when the governor kicked off a series of press conferences, followed by both House Democrats and Senate Republicans.)
But really, they should clarify they aren’t going to speak to reporters directly. Because if you’re on Twitter, you have likely noticed they are doing their best to negotiate (or at least push their talking points) via social media.
Here’s a taste of the partisan warfare that has been fought on Twitter this session.
On Tuesday, Washington House Democrats tweeted, “Simple math shows that House budget moves a lot closer to the Senate’s budget.”
On Wednesday, Senate Republicans used their 140 characters to tell their 4,723 followers, “To all those commuters stuck on I-167 and I-5 … @AP reports ‘House Democrats stop transportation talks.’
On Friday, Washington Senate Democrats sent out a Tweet, “Compromise is how we avoid a govt shutdown. Democrats are working to avoid a shutdown – will Republicans?”
You get the idea.
Lauren Dake
Lauren Dake covers politics for The Columbian. You can reach her at 360-735-4534 or lauren.dake@columbian.com. Follow her on Twitter .