My heart's all a twitter

So something unexpected happened today. Nancy Pelosi adjourned the House for a five-week summer vacation specifically to block a vote on an energy bill. All the Dems left and Nancy turned off the lights and unplugged the microphones.

Then none of the Republicans left. Outraged and demanding an up or down vote, they continued the debate in the dark speaking at the top of their lungs. People in the gallery began to cheer. Any other day the rest of America would know nothing of this because the CSPAN’s cameras weren’t rolling. But not today. Today little Congressional fingers got to twittering.

What’s twitter? If you don’t already know, then you need to find out for yourself. Get your own free twitter account and follow me @mattlockett. Then get your own followers–the number depends on how interesting you are. I’ve been raving about twitter for a while now loving every bit of how communication is literally being reinvented.

Reports say that up to 35 Congressmen were using twitter to report on the goings-on from the House floor. Spirited speeches were met with roaring applause and chanting for the Democrats to return and vote on an energy bill targeting high gas prices.

While Americans suffer from the high cost of fuel and are opting for the “stay-cation,” Congress was adjourned with unfinished business. But this isn’t a post about high gas prices or publicly humiliating Nancy Pelosi. This is a standing O for the Republicans that owned this day. The entire tweet-o-sphere was set ablaze this afternoon with updates in real time. C-SPAN was linking directly to John Culberson’s twitter feed and qik videos in lieu of the traditional cameras.

Gone are the days of asking people to “write a letter to your Congressman.” Now you can just twitter them until they cry “UNCLE!!!”

So twitter on Rep. John Culberson (TX), and thank you for schooling us today. Tomorrow America will ask, “What’s a twitter and where can I get one?” I think the Dems need to go to summer school thanks to you and your tech-savvy colleagues. And please keep your qik videos coming. Rep. Pete Hoekstra (MI) is also a twittering stud.

I feel strangely warmed inside having participated today. All I can say is “tweet tweet.”