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37K Followers Ditch Obama After Twitter Bomb

@BarackObama tweets handles of GOP legislators, state by state

By Polly Davis Doig, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 30, 2011 7:05 AM CDT

(Newser) – President Obama's crack campaign staff, normally oh-so-tech-savvy, got a little crazy with Twitter yesterday—and @BarackObama is down about 37,000 followers as a result. The president again used his account yesterday to keep up the pressure on Congress to reach a debt ceiling deal, tweeting, "The time for putting party first is over. If you want to see a bipartisan #compromise, let Congress know. Call. Email. Tweet. -BO." Obama's staff then Twitter-bombed his 9 million followers, tweeting the handles of GOP legislators state by state.

The results were good and bad, notes Mashable: Obama's #compromise hashtag had been tweeted more than 22,000 times as of yesterday, and @BarackObama had been tweeted 28,000 times—40% of which were positive mentions, while 13% were negative. But in addition to losing 37,000 followers, the National Journal notes that Obama also gave his GOP detractors a boost: "Thanks @ BarackObama for pushing @ RoyBlunt over 11,000 followers today!" tweeted an aide to Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

President Barack Obama speaks in front of a screen showing his tweet at the start of a 'Twitter Town Hall' July 6, 2011 in the East Room. (Getty Images)

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37K Followers Ditch Obama After Twitter Bomb

@BarackObama tweets handles of GOP legislators, state by state

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