Republicans make Twitter their own

The White House announced with some fanfare this month that its Twitter account had passed the 1-million mark. Big deal. Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican who lost to Barack Obama in the 2008 election, passed the 1-million mark six weeks ago. He declared tweeting "a phenomenal way of communicating." Like most things that come out of Silicon Valley, Twitter was assumed to be in the purview of the left, another tool for tech-savvy liberal netroots to use as they besieged the political system in the name of progressive change, in 140-character bites. But the left has usually used Twitter to promote ideas, according to Alan Rosenblatt of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. But, he added, there had been "nothing that brings everyone together." By contrast, he said, the right has been using Twitter to create new pressure points in politics. Conservatives have a website, Top Conservatives on Twitter, that ranks various right-wing tweeters (former House Speaker Newt Gingrich currently rides on top), and offers pointers on how to organize. Liberals are fighting back -- Rosenblatt has created a rival website, TopProg.org -- but it's in its infancy.