As I've mentioned before, I've been following the Twitter feeds of my elected officials (those that tweet, that is). Representative Eric Cantor (R-VA) has really picked up the pace with his Twitter feed. I've been getting something from him every day and then some.
While he -- or most likely his staff -- have got the broadcasting part of Twitter down, they don't seem to do so much with the conversational part. Early on I did receive a response to my reply of one of his tweets, but not recently.
And that's a shame. Because while Twitter isn't the be-all-end-all of communication (or even social networking), it can be an effective way to have an ongoing conversation with constituents. I admit I don't share a lot of Rep. Cantor's views, but I try to be respectful in my conversations. But, alas, we don't seem to talk anymore. Here's our conversation over the past two days.
GOPWhip: Take note: Members who vote "yes" on the rule for Dems' Tax Bill are voting to raise taxes & kill jobs. I'm voting "no."
10:51am, Dec 02
RalphGraves: @gopwhip Just curious: is there *any* legislation you'll vote "yes" to? I understand what you're against. I don't know what you're for.
10:58am, Dec 02
[No reponse]
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GOPWhip: GOP majority must take incremental but significant steps to earn back public trust on fiscal issues starting w/common-sense spending cuts
2:16pm, Dec 03
RalphGraves: @gopwhip This might be a good place to start. What about the Tea Party Caucus taking $1 billion in earmarks? http://ht.ly/3jCvK
[No response]
Gee whiz. Even the equivalent of the form letter would be nice. Something along the lines of "Thank you for your tweet.We value your opinion."
*Sigh*
I guess sometimes it's hard to hear the voices outside the echo chamber.
But I remain hopeful.
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