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Ask Roll Call: Twitter Q&A Transcript

By Christina Bellantoni
Posted March 14, 2011 at 9:24am

Roll Call is continuing Twitter Q-and-A sessions, and the latest edition was with Ambreen Ali of Congress.org. She covers grass-roots activism and has been writing lately for Roll Call on the tea party. She also covered Rep. Peter King‘s Homeland Security Committee hearings on the radicalization of Islam.

Follow her: @ambreenali

Since it was on Twitter, of course, her answers were kept to under 140 characters. A transcript follows.



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Congress.org’s @ prepares to take your questions in 3, 2, 1 …



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Welcome to Roll Call’s 8th Twitter Q&A w/ @. She’s a Congress.org reporter. Has been there 1+yrs. Was Bloomberg WH stringer before



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Thanks for all your questions, let’s get started! Short version today just 15 mins so send those questions in.



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Q1! Several Qs from @ on you covered. What did King accomplish yesterday?



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.@ King got convo started, raised profile of issue but yesterday mostly on whether it was appropriate to have convo ^@



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Q2! MT @: when will politicians be honest and do what they were elected to do rather than do what lobbyists want?



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.@ $$ will always influence politics but more individuals raise their voices the more lawmakers will be accountable. ^@



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Q3! MT from person impersonating PeterKing How effective was I in propagating even more fear toward Americans?



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Jokes aside there are serious concerns about tensions the hearings could create but Thurs seemed civil & both sides represented ^@



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Q4! RT @: What would be the best way to get serious consideration of Pvt. Mannings situation if WH is “satisfied” with it?



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.@ Don’t underestimate power of reaching out to Congressmember to be heard on that & anything else. They listen ^@



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Q5! RT @: @ How closely are Corporations and the GOP coordinating efforts to break the unions at the state level?



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.@ There’s corporate & grassroots interests on both sides since such hot topic. Biz’s probably lobbying both GOP & Dems ^@



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Q6! RT @ Why do some politicians reject scientific consensus & favor non-scientific opinions when it satisfies their ideology?



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.@ You have answered your question w/ your question. Politicians want to support own ideological views. ^@



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Q7! RT @: @ Is any tea party-like movement developing on the Left? If so, who, what and where?



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.@ There is the coffee party but if these union fights spread that might become grassroots answer to tea parties. ^@



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Q8! RT @: @ What is the Democratic chatter on spending?



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.@ Dems say cuts go too far, could hurt economy & GOP only targeting fave targets like NPR, Planned Parenthood. ^@



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Thanks so much to @ for our abbreviated Twitter Q&A today. her for coverage of the tea party & more.



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Next Thursday’s Q&A to be with lobbying & influence reporter Kate Ackley @. Tune in!

Follow @rollcall on Twitter and follow our staff list for the full complement of reporters and editors.

Read our previous Twitter Q&A transcripts with Steven T. Dennis here, Jennifer Bendery here, Steve Peoples here, John Stanton here, Stu Rothenberg here, Paul Singer here and the talented (and multiple-award-winning) photo department Tom Williams, Bill Clark, Doug Graham and Andrew Satter here.

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