Blogs and Stories
Karl Rove, Twitter Creep
Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images
Meghan McCain says we need to take back Twitter from the creepy people—like Karl Rove, "America’s Toughest Sheriff," and the other undesirables who now follow her every Tweet.
Karl Rove follows me on Twitter. That’s creepy. I joined Twitter a few months ago; so far, it has been a liberating way to transition from political to personal blogging. It’s allowed me to share the less-serious aspects and humorously uncensored moments of my life. But there’s also been a downside: I am now being followed by Karl Rove, and my local sheriff, and God knows how many other political pundits. We need to take Twitter back from the creepy people.
To be honest, I find Rove’s Tweets boring. Sometimes he takes questions; other times he talks about his appearances on cable news and other shows. But he doesn’t say anything substantive.
On the surface, Karl Rove’s Twitter feed intrigues me. Here’s a guy who for years has been perceived as some kind of inaccessible man-behind-the-curtain figure. And now he Tweets numerous times a day. I’ve never met him in person, which only makes our Twitter relationship even weirder. And to be honest, I find Rove’s Tweets boring. Sometimes he takes questions; other times he talks about his appearances on cable news and other shows. But he doesn’t say anything substantive. If I had to guess, I’d say Rove has a “ghost Twitterer” (as in a ghost writer) or an assistant updating his feed for him.
Oddly enough, Rove’s Tweets seem to reveal a softer side to him. Call it savvy marketing, but I find it disingenuous. And it’s a bit weird to think his people—not even Rove himself—are following me. I’d like to think it’s because they find what I’m saying entertaining, but I can’t help thinking they’re just trying to seem connected to young people.
The Twitter creeps gets stranger. My local Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (who, as the author of America’s Toughest Sheriff, is notorious in his own right) recently sent me a Tweet about an answer I gave a fellow Twitter follower. He tried to tell me to go easy on them. It’s really scary when the guy who houses his inmates in tents in the summer and whose most visible public-relations success involves pink underwear, boxers, and handcuffs tells you to tone it down. The sheriff also inexplicably Tweeted me to say my mother owes him $10. Say what?
But media-hungry politicians aren’t the only ones creeping me out on Twitter. Certain media outlets seem to want to ruin it for the rest of us, too. I was shocked when Think Progress and The Huffington Post reported on one of my Tweets—and even more shocked when HuffPo made it their front-page story. I replied “Hey HuffPo, I am Twittering in bed in my pajamas, wanna report that too?” It went unanswered, of course.
I refuse to “script” who I am, what I say, and what I do. The only person Tweeting on my account is me. I don’t have an assistant, friend, or spokesperson updating my feed to “represent” me. (Seriously, would an assistant swear so much?) But this made me consider censoring myself. Who knows the next time The Huffington Post will have a slow news day and feel compelled to stick a headline next to a particularly unflattering photo of me? My Tweets are not sound bytes. Of course, I recognize I’m choosing to Tweet, but seriously, can’t journalists find something more important and useful to report?
By contrast, my Dad—another new Twitter user—is making a real effort to use it effectively and not just pander. For one thing, it’s really him Tweeting. How could it not be given his sense of humor and constant shout-outs to Arizona sports teams? (In fairness to him, I’d initially assumed he had an assistant writing for him. But when I flat-out asked him, he was almost offended I’d suggested he wasn’t being as real as I am.) Second, my dad prides himself on making his updates more than just, “Watch me on Fox News tonight at 7.” And he’s always amused by the attitude I show in my updates—like father, like daughter.
In the end, Twitter is still maturing as a means to reach out and communicate with people en masse. But I can’t shake the fact that Karl Rove is following me—it can be creepy. So watch out.
Meghan McCain is originally from Phoenix. She graduated from Columbia University in 2007. She previously wrote for Newsweek magazine and created the Web site mccainblogette.com.
The Right Dumps Carrie
Jacob Bernstein is a senior reporter at The Daily Beast. Previously, he was a features writer at WWD and W Magazine. He has also written for New York magazine, Paper, and The Huffington Post.
Sarah Drops the Act
Tina Brown is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast. She is the author of the 2007 New York Times best seller The Diana Chronicles. Brown is the former editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, and Talk magazines and host of CNBC's Topic A with Tina Brown.
Palin's Gold Mine
Duff McDonald is a contributing editor at New York magazine and a former contributing editor at Condé Nast Portfolio. His book, Last Man Standing, about Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, was published by Simon & Schuster in October.
Do Sex Tapes Matter?
Meghan McCain is a columnist for The Daily Beast. Originally from Phoenix, she graduated from Columbia University in 2007. She is a New York Times bestselling children's author, previously wrote for Newsweek magazine, and created the Web site mccainblogette.com.
Hillary and Sarah's Common Theme
Meghan McCain is a columnist for The Daily Beast. Originally from Phoenix, she graduated from Columbia University in 2007. She is a New York Times bestselling children's author, previously wrote for Newsweek magazine, and created the Web site mccainblogette.com.
Joe's No Traitor
Meghan McCain is a columnist for The Daily Beast. Originally from Phoenix, she graduated from Columbia University in 2007. She is a New York Times bestselling children's author, previously wrote for Newsweek magazine, and created the Web site mccainblogette.com.
This user is no longer registered.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
once again a socialist pig who doesn't have anything intelligent to say. For one thing Meghan is hot, and if Mccain was president we certainely would have a debt we could afford. Government control equals communuism, are you ready for that.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
Ditto!!
Poor Meghan.
Haven't you learned how to block people from following you?
And, why do celebrities, even minor ones, complain when they put there personal business out there for the world to comment on, and then they are surprised when someone, or something, does.
I love twitter! I put updates out there three or four times a day. I use hashtags so the audience that I want to see the messages gets to see them.
Most of my postings are political in nature. Many of them are literary news. And, a few of them are about my private life.
But, I'm really just a BookishGirl on twitter.
I don't think this is funny, charming or witty. I think you are doing a disservice by playing lipservice to liberals like Joy Behar and Whoopi Goldberg. Each time you appear on their show (and the ONLY reason you are is because you are a fauxliberal) you help them with their cause. IF you think you are somehow brining young people to the republican party by being ugly to Rove, Cheney or whomever...you are wrong...
It's unfortunate, but Meghan if you were out there espousing the Republican platform, you would NEVER be invited on ANY show...
That's the truth of the matter.
No matter how much you tweet, blog, fb or whatever, your message is that YOU are somehow the new generation of republicans which is what? a watered down liberal? Please.
Dear Mom -- The truth is, GWB is the watered down Lib, and he killed the Republican Party in his eight years in office. The bailouts, nation building, NCLB, (federalizing education in D.C.) Campaign finance, can we talk about Sam Alito being his second choice for the Supreme Court after his first choice Harriet Meirs? How about Terri Schiavo and the Federal Govt interfering with a family dispute in Florida? (Hello? States rights anyone?) Meghan is the next generation of Republicans. The Party needs to be more Libertarian, (that means LESS Government for those of you over 50 and who live in Rio Linda) and less the religious party. Meghan is also correct, All the Bushies need to GO AWAY. You killed the Party and bankrupted the country. Thanks.
Continue to do what you think is right and go where you think it is nessesary. Not confronting any ideaology differnet from your own will not foster understanding and a dialogue between 2 opposing views that must learn to work together in order to assure a prosperous country. Right now we are very fragmented and in the political arena at each others throats.United we stand....... divided we fall. I still maintain that Ms. McCain apearing on different outlets is bold. I haven't scene Rush or Bill go out there and do this. Yet this 20 something women has more balls then they do to do so.
Meghan, you were great on The View. I really hope they make you a permanent co-host. They need an intelligent right-wing voice on the show. By the way, you looked absolutely beautiful.
Why do we care what you think, you are boring and are a nothing? The only reason I read half of your boring, unimportant piece is because it was about the great Carl Rove.
Meghan obviously doesn't get that Rove was a behind the scenes guy because that was the nature of his job. He's a public person now and has the same rights as she does.
By the way, Meghan, if you think that Dick Cheney doesn't have the right to speak out -- " he had his eight years, now go away" -- you don't get politics. As soon as Jimmy "Stagflation" Carter, Bill "I did not have sex" Clinton and Al "I invented the Internet" Gore drop back five and punt, perhaps Dick Cheney will "go away."
ROFL!!!
Funny stuff Meghan!!!
supporting censorship is "funny stuff"?
Thanks, Meghan. Twittering is such a great way for me to stay connected with all sorts of good folks all over the interwebs. But, Karl Rove - what a creeper! hehehe. Go Diamondbacks!
Love,
Your super cool daddy
Hey Meghan, guess who creeps me out on twitter.....UR DAD!
Apart from her family connection to one of the worst GOP candidates in modern history, does this silly woman have any standing whatever to comment on issues? People like her give nepotism a bad name.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
This user is no longer registered.
"does this silly woman have any standing whatever to comment on issues?" You're own self-importance aside, from mccainblogette.com:
"McCainBlogette.com recently received the Golden Dot Award for Best Blog - Candidate for Local, State or Federal Office from the 2009 Politics Online Conference. We also won two Pollie Awards from the Association of Political and Public Affairs Professionals. That's incredible and thanks to both organizations for these honors. "
Clearly someone does.
I like her. The Republican party hasn't been the Republican party for a long time. These Republicans want more government than the Dems but try hide it under "moral/conservative" values. She is definitely trying to get that message out there!
You'd be hard-pressed to find a more vacuous political commentator. Maybe Joe the Plumber, but it's close.
This user is no longer registered.
Megan, c'mon. Talking about "taking back" Twitter from the "creepy people" sounds a bit childish.
Actually, I take it back. It sounds a lot childish.
So you've been exposed to a "softer side" of Karl Rove, and you find that disingenuous? Is it because of some twittering dishonesty you perceive on his (?) part, or because it disenchants your perception of a man you admit you haven't even met?
You leave us with the thought that you're now thinking about "censoring" yourself because people are listening. This is the most disingenuous part of this post; we all "censor" what we say in public to some degree, but to suggest that it's because "creepy" people are following you makes you guilty of the same predilections you accuse them of--regardless of whether you type your tweets yourself or have a "ghost tweeter" type them for you.
This comment has been removed by The Daily Beast's editors.
Talk about being self-consumed...WGAS what you're doing and who's following you...
Um, you read the article, so obviously you do...
She is now reaching the point where the reality of a regular column his become apparent. I can just see the thought process: "let's see, who can I insult this week?" How long before she runs out of conservatives and has to start insulting liberals?
Why would she start insulting her own?
Meghan,
This really isn't doing you any favors if you ever want to be taken seriously as a political or cultural commentator. Calling Karl Rove "creepy" is not exactly the stuff of insightful or daring commentary.
You have chosen to spit out the banal details of your life in public on the Internet for all to see. The express purpose of Twitter is to get others to follow what you write about yourself - as narcissistic as that is. It takes a good deal of gall to then complain that Karl Rove--or anyone else--would take notice. You act like he's stalking you. But you are the one using your "column" on the Daily Beast to make unflattering characterizations of Rove (who you admit you've never met). You accuse him of having a ghost-tweeter without having any evidence (who cares if he does?).
You denigrate Rove's tweets as boring, although you are the one writing about them. Whatever people think about Karl Rove, he is unquestionably one of the most interesting political minds in a generation. Dumb and uninteresting are not adjectives that even his many political foes level against him. On the other hand, what exactly is it that you have accomplished for which people should read your shlock? You're enjoying your 20 minutes of fame on your dad's coattails. It appears that you fancy yourself as something of a conservative-liberal crossover. That's fine, really. It's easy because it's en vogue these days anyhow. But don't assume that you should be a model for, or be listened to by, the conservative movement. There is something amusing about how today's moderates decry traditional conservatives as outmoded purists even while castigating them in their own superior sense of self-righteousness.
Don't like Karl Rove or your Sheriff following your tweets? Then don't put the details of your life on the Internet - that's like what the public Internet is for. And maybe consider getting a real job and a life.
Trashing Meghan wont get you any closer to the man you love, (Karl Rove)...............Get off your knees Gandolf !
Very well said Gandalf, Im with you 100%.
bravo! it's truly amazing that someone could post the most banal aspects of their life online and then complain about who is listening.
either embrace having your life out there for all to see or don't post in the first place.
Gandolf- you say " Whatever people think about Karl Rove, he is unquestionably one of the most interesting political minds in a generation". Politics is not a game of whi=o can be the most interesting. ROve had a theory that he could get W elected, and keep him there for 8 years. H ewas right. Does that make him the most successful political advisor in history? Sadly, the way he kept W in power was taking a leaf out of Maggie Thatcher's playbook anf going to war. No-one gets thrown out of office during wartime... great move Rove, but look where it has left us...
I thought it was hilarious that she called Rove a creep! He is, someone had to say it. I also think it's hilarious that you're attempting to castigate MM for "spit[ting] out the banal details" of her life...nice wording, Shakespeare. But here in the modern world, that's called "social networking" and everyone younger than their IQ does it. Jeez, MM, where'd you dig up these clueless haters?
Yes!!!!
This user is no longer registered.
I love Meghan, but I think she got played on that stuff about Joe Arpaio, her sheriff. In fact, it's a fake Joe Arpaio site. A guy at the Phoenix New Times snuffed it out. Read this:
"Sadly, Meghan McCain's "Twitter creep" isn't the real Slim Shady (read, "McCoy.") Rather, it's the faux Joe Arpaio that New Times has blogged about in the past. Score one for faux Joe. After painstakingly going through Meghan McCain's Twitter correspondence, I found only one comment from "Joe Arpaio," and it turned out to be Joe's satirical Twitter-doppelganger. Sorry to get everyone all excited. I should have scrolled through MM's Tweets after reading her blog online in The Daily Beast. Didn't know what I was missing. All this talk about her tattoo, Rock of Love, Fall Out Boy, etc. is way-painful to read. One more reference to her weight issues, and I'll be crying blood like the Bond villain Le Chiffre in Casino Royale."
Here's the link:
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/bastard/2009/04/meghan_mccain_calls_jo e_arpaio.php
Can somebody tell me how in the he$$ tweeter works ? When Rick Sanchez first brought it to light I was intrigued so I signed on , But I'll be damned if I can figure it out, I even went on youtube and watched some vids on it, But no help ! I thought I was puter illiterate until I saw where Jack cafferty can't figure it our either
HA! Im with you...
I signed on to twitter and sent tweets to the FOX"News" pin-ups to ask what issues of Penthouse they are in (i.e. Julie Banderas) but No One 'Tweets' me back :-(
Thise site is so bogus. I believe Meghan McCain has a valid opinion on the BK Value Menu, but doubt her creds for commenting on anything more serious.
And yet here you are reading and posting on it lol Good going!
On the book all friends must be approved.
I thought twitter was annoying when it first came out, and I stand by that. Meghan, I think you have a lot of smart and relevant things to say, and as someone a year older, I know where you're coming from in terms of how you see the uses of the media. That said, please try to be a little less silly. You've got a good message, but leave too much space for people to take shots at you.
Rove is a kingmaker. Kingmakers are always looking for future kings/kingettes. Maybe you're on his long list Meghan. You can't like/use the system but hate all the 'different colored crayons' with which it is made.
I enjoyed Meghan's appearance on the Rachel maddow show where she demonstrated a maturity well beyond her (23?) years. I would be creeped out by Karl Rove's following me on Twitter or anywhere. I have met Karl Rove (can't say where as it might give away my identity) and I have met few shallower people in my life. I am also a fan of humourist Will Rogers who famously said he never met a man he didn't like, but he never met Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, or George W Bush, or, or, or.
Well, I too have met Karl Rove, and am not afraid to tell where.
It was while I wasout walking in my north pasture, when I stepped, actually my foot almost slid out from under me. I looked down, and sure enough, there growing right up out of that cow-paddie was old
Turd Blossom hisself, smiling that close-lipped smile of his!
This user is no longer registered.
You saw her demonstrating a maturity well beyond her years? Wow. You must be all of . . . what? 15? What mature insights you have.
Meghan, I'm surprised that you didn't come out of your great speaking engagement with Log Cabin Republicans with a more substantive idea for a column. Instead all you've got is a verbal dump about Karl Rove and twitter?
I find this entire column to be a bit of a performative contradiction. If it's alright for you to write an entire column on the boring and creepy nature of Karl Rove's twittering, why shouldn't it be okay for other Republican pundits to declare you politically dumb and shallow? If you're going to criticize be a bit more substantive - you're welcoming a justified mocking from the Republican establishment.
On the subject of people being real or not, I think the Twitterverse is sorting that one out by itself, nicely enough, I think. People such as Rove that use assistants (we assume), tweet about uninteresting or self-promoting things, tweet too much, or are otherwise unuseful to my stream get unfollowed. And I think most other Twitterers work the same way, so that's self-regulating.
As far as the creepies, they're an unfortunate side-effect of letting everyone and anyone on the public Internet and onto such sites, sadly enough. I find myself censoring some of what I might otherwise say because particular folks might read it -- specifically, I don't talk about family, friends, or work, because any one of those might get me in trouble. I hate that, because I'd rather say what's on my mind all the time, but that's the price we pay for being public.
I say -- don't quit being who you are. Stay real, stay raw, and damned be those who can't handle it or can't help but try to find fault in it.
Meghan step away from the computer and go get a job 8-4pm so you can have the experience of discipline, really handling finances and "see" the world from the ground.You are right Karl Rove is creepy right along with Newt and all the other "political junkies".It is all about strategy and is a big game with money and power as the ultimate victory.Girl go get your own life.You do not have to declare any political party nor so you have to be the watchdog for your famliy.Stay away...go do something meaningful !
Why the long faces, greybeards? Lighten up! Weren't you young at one time in your distant past? I don't tweet, but I hope Meghan keeps the blogs coming here at Daily Beast and at her blog site. I voted for Obama, but if Meghan's dad had not gotten involved with Joe-the-Plumber, and if the election had not been preceded by 8 years of frat-boy misrule, I might have considered putting the Maverick in the White House along with Cindy and Meghan.
Thanks for this, Meghan. I have not been inclined to Twitter, now I know I will really never ever do it. Ewwwwwww.
Karl Rove is a creep. He's also, at best, a dirty trickster. At worst, he's a criminal. He started his criminal career when he was just 18 or 19 when he broke into then politican Alan Dixon's campaign office. Dixon was running for treasurer of the State of Illinois.
Rove stole campaign letterhead and then printed fake flyers with the following: "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing." He then proceeded to have the flyers distributed at homeless shelters and other places.
A few years later, Rove actually admitted that he did this and attributed it to a "youthful prank." He claimed he "regretted it."
That led to a career of more serious "pranks" and in fact crimes.
He's a creep, and people like Fox News should not keep providing him airtime to voice his Bush defenses and other nonsense.
Creeps are part of the deal when you put yourself out there on the Internet. I'm not a fan of Karl Rove, but it could be a lot worse. Actually it probably is, you just don't know it. It's best not to think about it.
You know you can block people, right?
Thank you.
As a first time user, your comment has been submitted for review. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a day or two for your comment to be reviewed, depending on the time of week and the volume of comments we receive.
Please log in to leave comments.