It’s time to put your political sleuthing skills to the test. Can you guess which party these members of Congress belong to based solely on one of their tweets?
If all you know about Congress is what you see on the news every day—or even what you read about on the Daily Dot—you might think the entire institution is nothing but partisan attacks, lies, spite, and acrimony, especially when communicating on Twitter. For the most part, you’d be right.
Sometimes, however, you see politicians on Twitter who take care not to inflame the other side when communicating with their constituents and other followers. Instead, they tweet positive messages and call for solutions to problems that we can all agree are pressing, or tweet across the aisle and thank their colleagues from the other party for co-sponsoring legislation..
See if you can figure out if the following members of Congress are Democrats or Republicans. The answers may surprise you. And remember: No Googling! That would make you just as honest as, well, a politician.
1) Rep. Joe Garcia, champion of tax-free purchase
Calling all #students & #parents: It’s #TaxFreeWeekend for all clothing, #schoolsupplies & electronics https://t.co/XlZpXE4h9Q
— Rep. Joe Garcia (@RepJoeGarcia) August 1, 2014
2) Rep. Mike Honda, student performance crusader
It’s time go #beyondthebox & ensure that #allstudentscount. So proud to work towards better and more inclusive performance reporting.
— Rep. Mike Honda (@RepMikeHonda) August 1, 2014
3) Sen. Tim Scott, civil rights field trip coordinator
Took our DC interns on a field trip this morning to see the Civil Rights Act on display at the National Archives. https://t.co/ree0qcFLd1
— Tim Scott (@SenatorTimScott) July 31, 2014
4) Rep. Rick Larsen, watchdog of our rail crossings
Asked @SecretaryFoxx today for better investments in rail crossings to ease impacts of increased rail traffic https://t.co/h5C3qydUpI
— Rep. Rick Larsen (@RepRickLarsen) July 31, 2014
5) Sen. Pat Toomey, veteran supporter
Voting for VA accountability/more health care options for vets. Vets should be first in line for the best quality medical care.
— Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) August 1, 2014
6) Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, coastal defender
I introduced a bipartisan bill to strengthen our tsunami warning center and protect coastal communities: https://t.co/MPUFvg6iDw.
— Suzanne Bonamici (@RepBonamici) August 1, 2014
7) Sen. Ron Wyden, critic of government agency overreach
Tune in to @nbcnightlynews tonight. I’ll be discussing holding @CIA accountable for hacking Senate computer files – a threat to democracy.
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) July 31, 2014
8) Sen. Martin Heinrich, critic of CIA Director John Brennan
I have lost all confidence in Director Brennan’s leadership of the CIA and forthrightness in dealing with the Senate Intelligence Committee
— Martin Heinrich (@MartinHeinrich) July 31, 2014
9) Rep. Peter Roskam, scourge of superbugs
My #DISARM Act will encourage the development of next generation antibiotics to help fight superbugs https://t.co/RDWYetUKkg
— Peter Roskam (@PeterRoskam) July 31, 2014
Answer key: 1) Democrat; 2) Democrat; 3) Republican; 4) Democrat; 5) Republican; 6) Democrat; 7) Democrat; 8) Democrat; 9) Republican
Photo via Phil Campbell/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)