Sen. Charles Grassley stands by his "tweet."

[gls]

Sen. Charles Grassley stands by his "tweet."

The Iowa Republican, who last week used Twitter to criticize President Obama for telling Congress that it's "time to deliver" on health care reform, said Sunday that blasting out the taunt via short-hand text message was in no way beneath the office of senator.

He told "FOX News Sunday" Obama took a "cheap shot" at Congress, and that his response was "very senatorial."

"We've had a dialogue with this president since January the 20th on a program to get a bill to the floor ... for July and we're still on that timetable, and (for) the president to say that we ought to deliver it made it look like Congress wasn't working -- the very weekend that we were working Saturday and Sunday in Washington to keep on schedule while he was sightseeing," Grassley said.

"He didn't need to say that, it didn't contribute to it, it was a cheap shot."

Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, was referring to Obama's "sightseeing" in Paris on the tail end of his trip to the Middle East and Europe.

He offered similar criticism on Twitter after Obama used his weekly radio address last Saturday to pose the health care challenge to Congress.

In his first tweet, Grassley wrote: "Pres Obama you got nerve while u sightseeing in Paris to tell us 'time to deliver' on health care. We still on skedul/even workinWKEND."

Then he wrote: "Pres Obama while u sightseeing in Paris u said 'time to delivr on healthcare' When you are a 'hammer' u think evrything is NAIL I'm no NAIL."



http://twitter.com/chuckgrassley

[malkusm]

Pres Obama you got nerve while u sightseeing in Paris to tell us 'time to deliver' on health care. We still on skedul/even workinWKEND.


Pres Obama while u sightseeing in Paris u said 'time to delivr on healthcare' When you are a 'hammer' u think evrything is NAIL I'm no NAIL.

This is why Twitter should die a horrible death.

[james1906]

This is why Twitter should die a horrible death.

Twitter: Turning every American into a 13 year old girl

[KCIndy]

This is why Twitter should die a horrible death.

+1

I've NEVER been able to understand the appeal of Twitter. Guess I'm getting too old...

[cheapseats]

American politics are being sensationalized and trivialized at the same time. Small is tall.

That said, Barack Tres Hip Obama started this partaaay -- with the Blackberry Bullshit.

THAT said, there is a wonderful quote by a French philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal, that I have obvious cause to use on a regular basis, "I am writing you a long letter because I lack the time to make it short."

The length of the sentence that SENATOR Grassley elected to send in bastardized Wannabe Tres Hip English COULD have been expressed in the ever-so-correct English by which Big Law and Big Legislation binds and gags the populace.

THE POT(US) CALLS THE KETTLE BLACK.

Senator Grassley, in my opinion, is a Grandstander.

I've given up trying to understand why TINY WHITE IOWA kicks off the "race" to the American Presidency. There is NO good reason why. Now I'm focused on why there is no call-more-like-demand to CHANGE THAT before the next election. It is COMPLETELY do-able and COMPLETELY logical.

I think Senator Grassley plays ball by making a public fuss on an attention-getter issue that FAVORS the People's interests . . . WHOA, cool, a heavy-weight Republican is speaking out. But nothing comes from it. He doesn't press the point. But he keeps the Iowa Caucuses, which is a Moneymaker of Bail Out magnitude.

In 2008, he piped up about cracking down on The Churches. I thought, "Right on." I had by then spent quite a bit of time in the South and, let's get real, there are random houses with a cross slapped on the siding and a sign pounded in the ground and, voila, a church. I have lousy photos. Also one of a converted photo kiosk. It's a prayer booth. Put your request and your remuneration in the handy envelope and slip in through the slot. Consider your prayer Heard.

At the time, I was developing an Elder Statesman/Career Politician dichotomy and even pointed to Senator Grassley as an example of the former. It was before I understood how thoroughly Roman our senate is. Not another word that registered on my radar or by way of Reform. All talk, no follow-through.

This past March, he made headlines again when he was obliged to clarify that he didn't mean that he wanted A.I.G. executives to commit suicide but, no siree Bob, he wasn't backing down from his tirade about Bailout Bonanza Bucks being directed to executive bonuses.

From the deep and disorganized drawer of Outrageousness that comes faster than I can file it, I find this quote. "From my standpoint, it's irresponsible for corporations to give bonuses at this time when they're sucking the tit of the taxpayer," Grassley explained.

What became of THAT? Who the hell cares if a Big Name issues high-profile You've Been Very Naughty condemnation if you get to keep the money? Did we get those Bailout Bonanza Bucks back? Not to my knowledge. All talk, no follow-through.

Compared to what is needed, this is cat-and-mouse gamesmanship.

But look what tiny white Iowa, with a tinier Political Junkie Elite, DID deliver . . . Gay Marriage. How unexpected is THAT? 'Bout as unexpected as Barack's Big Bounce.

I don't know whether it should be by population, by land mass, by GDP or by lottery, nor do I care. But no matter which way you slice the pork, it oughtn't to be Iowa that exerts disproportionate influence on national politics.

Just like it oughtn't to be Israel.