Chamber of Commerce Pre-Emptively Thanks Sen. Lincoln For Opposing EFCA; Republicans Call Foul
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) isn't generally considered a friend of organized labor. But the U.S. Chamber of Commerce may be trying to fence her in anyhow.
Lincoln has opposed EFCA in the past, and has said she could not support it now without significant concessions, and the Chamber--pleased with her position--seems to be trying to make a "no" vote on robust worker protections legislation a fait accompli. That's not how her Arkansas opponents see things, though. When he saw the ad, Arkansas Rep. Davy Carter--a one-time potential Lincoln opponent--took to twitter.
"I can't believe the chamber ran the Sen. Lincoln ad on page 6a of the Dem-Gaz today.. After all her back-and- forth on the issue this looks like a first-class butt kissing to me .. The people of Arkansas will see right through it."
It must be tricky for a Republican when his opposition to even a fig-leaf version of EFCA is so strong that he's willing to lash out at the Chamber of Commerce. But that seems to be what happened here. At least for a while. "I shouldn't have used that particular phrase," Carter said in a later statement. "[B]ut for the ad to imply she has been a staunch opponent of card check? Give me a break."
He also made sure to follow up his original tweet with a caveat tweet. "BTW---the Lincoln ad was not ran [sic] by the Ark. Chamber (U.S.)," Carter wrote. Good to know.
Josh
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Brian
I don't think Twitter is really enhancing the communication skills of some individuals. I really don't.
July 13, 2009 4:39 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's kind of ironic that all of these advanced communication devices and techniques will ultimately evolve into our communicating using grunts and chest beating.
Language? What the Hell's that?
July 13, 2009 4:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think what we're seeing is a communications medium that requires so little effort (140 characters) that the officials actually write these themselves. An email or a letter requires enough substance that it will be written by more competent staff, because they can easily convince the official that it will take too much of his/her valuable time, but with Twitter, there's no way to argue against "I could do that" other than risking your job by telling the boss he's an idiot with fifth-grade communication skills.
So Twitter hasn't degraded their personal communication skills, it's just allowing us to see how incoherent the officials are without their handlers.
July 13, 2009 6:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
That's an excellent point. Twitter is unwittingly revealing. Tweevealing?
July 13, 2009 6:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
At least he used real words. Ever seen Sen. Grassley's twitters? Even 13-year-olds can understand them. Paraphrasing Groucho, get me a 13-year-old. I can't make heads or tails of this.
July 13, 2009 5:49 PM | Reply | Permalink
To the main point -- gosh, I can imagine what an outrage it is that the "nonpartisan" Chamber of Commerce had something nice to say about a Democrat. Everyone knows they're not allowed to do that, even if the Democrat is falling in line with Republicans!
July 13, 2009 6:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
It's nice to know that Carter thinks Blanche Lincoln has a first-class butt.
July 14, 2009 10:44 AM | Reply | Permalink