Y’all don’t seem terribly interested in this, since I didn’t get a single comment when I urged y’all to follow my Tweets from the GOP convention at the Columbia convention center Saturday. But I’m going to to ahead and give you all the Tweets here anyway. Because that WAS my report on the event. So there.
Somehow I’d like to figure out how to integrate Twitter more fully into the blog. I used to have a Twitter feeder on the right-hand side of my blog page, but it was always several hours behind, which sort of defeated the purpose. Ideally, I’d like to post things on Twitter, and have them appear here in a format in which y’all could easily react and start a discussion without having to wait for me to get to my laptop and create a blog post — which is tedious, and pretty boring. For me, anyway, posting the same thing twice.
The Twitter strategy was successful Saturday in that people WERE reacting in real time — but via Twitter, or Facebook, not on the blog. You see, I have Twitter set up so that everything I put there automatically posts to Facebook. And I put the headlines and links to all my blog posts on Twitter. So… I have this weird phenomenon whereby people will see a link to a blog post on Facebook, follow it to my blog, read it, then go BACK to Facebook to leave a comment. Which is frustrating, because I’d rather they do it here, where the rest of our discussions take place. Oh, well.
Anyway, here are all my Tweets from just before I went to the convention (when Nikki Haley addressed the gathering) through the second ballot for a chairman, after which I left. This process took longer than the chairman election the Dems had had the previous week, because that one had been such a foregone conclusion.
Note that photography was a bit of a challenge at this one, because they had non-delegates at the back of the room. Hope Butch Bowers isn’t too insulted I thought he was someone else, but look at that picture above. You can hardly see the table, much less who’s sitting at it.
Anyway, here’s my feed, including things I reTweeted from others, and replies from others:
- RETWEET: wesleydonehue Wesley Donehue: For the record, I did not kill the lights on @nikkihaley because she was bashing consultants.
- BradWarthen:@wesleydonehue @nikkihaley Bashing consultants? Who’s she talking about, her senior staff?
- RETWEET: SCTRUTH: Haley just said that she is her worst critic. Last Saturday she said that she didn’t make any mistakes in her first 100 days
- BradWarthen: @SCTRUTH Well… Obviously, she’s not her BEST critic. Certainly not the most discerning…
- michaelrentiers: Looks like the loons are going to try and run the asylum at #SCGOPconvention. Rules will be our friend today.
- BradWarthen: I haven’t even gotten there yet, & it looks like there’s a good bit of dissension, & even (gasp!) IRONY @ the GOP convention…
- BradWarthen: Is that Bob Inglis up there seated on the podium? Can’t tell… Too far away to see. How’m I gonna take pics with my iPhone?
- BradWarthen: Alan Wilson ranting about Obamacare, etc. “Attacking our Constitution…” Always thought he was more mildly reasonable than this…
- LeeCoLibrary: @BradWarthen Is there any live coverage of the GOP convention or just the twitter feed. Which, by the way, is pretty funny!!
- BradWarthen: @LeeCoLibrary Dunno. Hey, TV doesn’t even cover the NATIONAL conventions any more…
- BradWarthen: Eckstrom says you have to go after our enemy “where he lives & plans.” But he’s praising Bush, not mentioning Obama. When did he write this?
- BradWarthen: Speaker after speaker going on repetitively about taking on that awful Obama fellow. Little mention of SC…
- BradWarthen: Mark Hammond actually DID mention some SC issues. Good for him…
- BradWarthen: Bobby Harrell, introducing Mick Zais, says we’re closer than ever to education “reform.” Can’t wait to hear what that looks like…
- BradWarthen: Oh, I see… No. 1, Zais says, is “choice”…
- BradWarthen: Zais wants to run schools “like a business”… I need to go check his bio again… He IS a retired military officer, right?”
- ragley Jay W. Ragley: @BradWarthen Newberry College is a business.
- RETWEET: PoliticalTicker CNN Political Ticker: Huntsman makes debut as possible White House candidatehttp://bit.ly/k7DdQr
- BradWarthen: Got to get closer if I’m going to get decent pictures of GOP convention… yfrog.com/gzn8xxdj
- johnroconnor John O’Connor: @BradWarthen not Inglis, Butch Bowers I think
- dphamilton Dan Hamilton: @johnroconnor @bradwarthen that’s Butch Bowers, separated at birth from his twin Bob Inglis.
- BradWarthen: Boy, do I feel like a dummy. That’s Butch Bowers way up there. I did think it rather unlikely it was Bob Inglis…
- BradWarthen: Chatter at the back has mostly ceased. Candidates for chairman about to speak…
- BradWarthen: @dphamilton @johnroconnor Yeah, I figured that out. It would nice to be closer. Butch is a friend. Embarrassing …
- BradWarthen: When this convention is over, don’t anyone say “conservative” to me for a year. My brain cells that process that word are bruised & frayed.
- nettie_b Nettie Britts: @BradWarthen Obama or Osama?
- BradWarthen: @nettie_b Don’t tell me I mixed up “Obama” & “Osama” again…
- BradWarthen: Connor leading with his strong suit. Last speaker said he’d been a county chair. Whoopee. Connor was out fighting the Taliban.
- BradWarthen: Connor promises to take on Harpootlian aggressively, as a “warrior.”
- BradWarthen: Ashley Byrd of SCRN just asked whether I was “having fun.” Let’s not get carried away. This is, after all, a political party event…
- BradWarthen: SC Republicans now voting on “red ballots,” Kevin Hall keeps saying. I suppose blue ballots would give them cooties…
- scott_english: @BradWarthen Overly snarky doesn’t work either, Brad.
- BradWarthen: This young man, Eric Miller of Chapin, is passing out Donald Trump literature. He likes his “common sense philosophy”…yfrog.com/gyxv9onj
- BradWarthen: @scott_english What was that about? The “conservative” thing? You know I can’t stand that bumper-sticker stuff…
- scott_english: @BradWarthen Well, your snark is disproportionate in general. I was referring to the red ballot. That’s an effort at ballot integrity.
- BradWarthen: @scott_english Aw, that was FUNNY. betcha Kevin Hall would laugh if you show it to him…
- BradWarthen: @scott_english As I recall, your old boss Mark Sanford was also inspired to irony by GOP conventions. Always liked that about him…
- scott_english: @BradWarthen I don’t think it was limited to the GOP conventions. That might be why I’m not there today though.
- BradWarthen: Florence County chair (I think) referred gratuitously to “that scoundrel Clyburn.” Crowd went “ooooohhh.” Not what you’d call a cheer…
- BradWarthen: John was keeping count: “@johnroconnor: Connelly tally is Connelly 46%, Brown 30%, Connor 24%”
- BradWarthen: Ran into Ray Moore earlier, and he updated me on how his campaign to shut down the public schools is going. He’s encouraged…
- RETWEET: AlbertBrooks: Sitting in airport waiting to fly Virgin America. There’s a 72 Virgin America joke here but security is watching.
- RETWEET: You must be serving beer… “@donnareedshow: Next- interview w Dem Caucus Leader @PhilBaileySC on @donnareedshow on @560WVOC”
- BradWarthen: Just had a nice chat w/ Alan Wilson, who STILL seems like a mild, sensible young man, in spite of that red-meat speech…
- RETWEET: jimdavenport_ap Jim Davenport: AP – Huntsman takes on Obama role in first SC speech:http://apne.ws/iqok36
- RETWEET: Not today, I hope… “@jimdavenport_ap: AP – Videos show bin Laden watching himself on TV: apne.ws/lOnvTU”
- AshleyLandess: That was pretty funny, Brad! @BradWarthen @jimdavenport_ap
- BradWarthen: Kevin’s getting tough; he just used the gavel…
- BradWarthen: There’ll be a 2nd ballot w/ all three candidates staying in (which I don’t get). Crowd booed, which doesn’t bode well for 3rd place Connor.
- BradWarthen: Kevin repeatedly says 2nd ballot will be on “the white ballots.” I will not make a joke. I will not make a joke. I will not make a joke…
- RETWEET: johnroconnor John O’Connor: First ballot results: Connelly 399.5, Brown 247, 194.5. All three stay in for second ballot. Crowd boos.
- BradWarthen: I need to get close enough to get a picture of that Connelly fellow. Don’t think the one I got of Connor is going to do me much good…
- BradWarthen: On 2nd ballot, only one county spokesman has tried to give a cute speech about his county. Kevin called him up VERY short…
- BradWarthen: Sounds like Connelly might make it this time, bringing the process mercifully to a close…
- TylerMJones: @BradWarthen Can we get a diversity update from inside the convention? Just for kicks.
- BradWarthen: @TylerMJones From where I stand, I see 2 black guys, but really can’t make out most of the delegates from here…
- BradWarthen: @TylerMJones Earlier, a speaker bragged on Tim Scott, got a nice hand. They’re right proud of him, and by extension themselves…
- johnroconnor: Unofficial Connelly count: Connelly 55%, Brown 33%, Connor 12%. Waiting on official result.
- BradWarthen: Just chatted with Katon Dawson, who calls me “Rolling Stone” (old joke). He’s going to be helping Gingrich, expects race to get lively…
- BradWarthen: Chad Connelly promises to be Dick Harpootlian’s “worst nightmare”…
- BradWarthen: Gotta be the signs that did it… yfrog.com/h8bg1cij
- dphamilton: @BradWarthen @tylermjones thanks for keeping it on the “content of character”…
- BradWarthen: @dphamilton @tylermjones Hey, all I did was answer the question…
- lianaorr: @BradWarthen @TylerMJones I’m proud of Tim Scott bc he’s a true conservative & statesman. And his motion just made this conv a lot shorter.
I don’t know what motion she meant. I was gone by then.
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not exactly a fun way to spend a saturday there brad…either in person or following it on twitter
Hey, that’s why I try to force y’all to read it. If I’m going to suffer…
By the way, semi-fun fact to know and tell: This may be a fragmented form of reporting, but in terms of AMOUNT of information you’re getting, it compares well. Those Tweets above add up to 1,229 words. Jim Davenport’s AP story, as published on thestate.com, was 696 words.
Obviously, I’m starting to get the hang of typing on my new iPhone. But I was still fed up with the whole mess by the time I left the convention center, and would not have wanted to go home and write it all again into a conventional account when it was over — even if I hadn’t needed to do Mother’s Day shopping, and do some serious plumbing work on the upstairs bathroom (which according to my wife was the ONLY thing I needed to be doing Saturday). And of course, play with my youngest granddaughter, who was spending the night with us…
Politics, plumbing and shopping; not exactly Saturday’s trifecta.
Just to let you know, I like snarky. I also like irony and satire. Don’t really see how people can immerse themselves in political coverage or politics if they don’t have a well-developed sense of humor. Certainly doesn’t bode well for maintaining one’s sanity!
Let’s review.
First ballot were red paper for “ballot integrity.”
Second ballots were white.
I will not make a joke. I will not make a joke.
I like it. A lot, in fact. Glad I didn’t miss this post.