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Schakowsky To Host Twitter Forums Thursday
The Congresswoman will invites questions and ideas at 9 a.m. and will respond at 6 p.m.
Jan Schakowsky addresses a crowd of about fifty residents at the Lipin home in Skokie.
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Is the Twitterverse outside the beltway? That's a question for philosophers to ponder, but U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky is planning to host her first Twitter town hall tomorrow (Thursday, Oct. 13) from her Twitter account @janschakowsky.
She's inviting constituents in Illinois 9th District to submit questions, ideas, and comments via Twitter on Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to noon Central time. Schakowsky will answer questions on Thursday at 6:00 p.m.
“I am always looking to use new ways to stay engaged with constituents while I represent the 9th district in Washington,” said Schakowsky. “I believe it is important to use any tool available to not only listen to people’s concerns but to also let them know what I’m doing as a member of Congress. I encourage people to use this forum to ask me questions directly and I look forward to an informative discussion.”
Earlier: Schakowsky Raises More Than 200K
To participate, individuals can submit a question by including #AskJan within a tweet. Participants are encouraged to identify their town in their tweets, ie. Niles, Morton Grove, Evanston, Skokie, etc.
Schakowsky will respond to as many questions as possible from 6 to 7 p.m.
Her office said participants who are unable to get a question answered or have a follow-up question are encouraged to contact the office at http://schakowsky.house.gov or visit www.facebook.com/janschakowsky.
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grandpa
9:37 am on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
If you have face-to-face townhall meetings you cannot control embarrassment caused by "awkward" questions. Twitter allows for censorship by the Congresscritter's staff. It's not about being "engaged" with constituents, it's about controlling the message.
Red Sam Rackham
11:46 am on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
grandpa should be ashamed of himself for such a rude attitude. There's nothing wrong with using new technology to keep in touch with constituents. Folks unable to get to townhall meetings will appreciate this opportunity for a virtual meeting without having to leave the comforts of home.
grandpa
7:48 pm on Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Red Sam;
You have seen enough of my postings to know if I want to be rude I do it very well. This was not rude, this was an opinion based upon observation. The congresscritter ran into some pushback when she had townhall meetings last year. Twitter is so much more easily controlled. You can pick and choose which "questions" to answer and take the six or so hours between receiving the questions and the "tweeting". New technology is neither good nor bad. It is the transparency or lack thereof in the use of the technology that I call into question. Politicians, no matter the flavor, like to control the message. If Ms. Schakowsky wanted to have a free exchange, at the very least a truly live exchange would make more sense.