Gingrich Re-Enacts The Battle Of Trenton On Twitter

Twitter is clearly changing the scope of political communication, allowing pols to alter the course of debates in real time -- provided that they can do it in under 140 characters -- and creating a powerful new vehicle for self-promotion.

On Monday morning, Newt Gingrich's Twitter account, with more than 1.13 million followers, became something a bit different. The former House Speaker hosted a forum for the virtual re-enactment of the Battle of Trenton.

Calling the thread a "twitteractment," the posts (which began on Sunday) are meant to promote Gingrich's new book -- "To Try Men's Souls" -- a novel based on George Washington's role in the Revolution. And in order to "authentically" play out the historical event, the brains behind the operation created three accounts: @genwashington76, @colonelrall, and @pvtvandornNJ

Colonel Johann Rall is a "commander of the [pro-British] Hessian troops" while Pvt. Jonathan Van Dorn is "a private in the colonial army" who is from New Jersey and is "ashamed of my loyalist family."

Truly, the whole thing is worth a read, if simply to see just how far the spectrum of Twitter use extends. The tweets are in the following chronological order:

RT @genwashington76: Ordered The Crisis to be read out loud as the men get onto the boats. It will remind the men of what is at stake. #1776
about 15 hours ago from web

RT @pvtvandornNJ Instructed to get some rest Sleeping is hard in this cold, harder still with my lungs on fire. www.totrymenssouls.com #1776
about 14 hours ago from web

RT @colonelrall Alarm! Rebels attacking outpost north of town. Order men to turn out. www.totrymenssouls.com #1776
about 13 hours ago from web

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RT @GenWashington76 Knox interrupts my thoughts, saying it is time for me to cross. Finally. www.totrymenssouls.com #1776
about 11 hours ago from web

RT @pvtvandornNJ Colonel Glover has asked for volunteers to get out, lighten the load, and pull the boat to the dock. #1776
about 10 hours ago from web

RT @colonelrall Damn rebel raiders! Cowards! Maybe thirty to forty. Fired some shots at outpost and ran off. www.totrymenssouls.com #1776
about 6 hours ago from web

RT @GenWashington76 Column has stopped! What is going on? Why the holdup? www.totrymenssouls.com #1776
about 5 hours ago from web

RT @pvtvandornNJ Peter and I now across. Most horses have been moved, but only a few artillery pieces thus far. www.totrymenssouls.com #1776
about 4 hours ago from web

RT @pvtvandornNJ The good: The artillery wheels are breaking up the ice, making traction easier as we continue. www.totrymenssouls.com #1776
about 4 hours ago from web

RT @pvtvandornNJ The bad: Our feet are sinking halfway to the knee into the mud with each step. Less slippery now, but harder to walk. #1776
about 4 hours ago from web

RT @GenWashington76 "Forward men, forward! Victory or death. Now forward!" www.totrymenssouls.com #1776
about 4 hours ago from web

RT @pvtvandornNJ What is happening? Some Virginia militiamen have met up with us. @genwashington76 seems upset with them. #1776
about 2 hours ago from web

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Comments

[1differentdrummer]

Yep, that's his era.

[cliffhammond]

Newt is gearing up for a run at the presidency. Won't happen. The religious right, the base of the GOP, simply won't have him. His personal history is just too full of infidelity. He announced his intention to divorce to two different women who were in the hospital for medical crises, each time having a mistress in the wings. Love to see him and Giuliani team up just to see how many fundamentalists chock on their morning bacon.

[Ron44]

Newt is a legend in his own mind!!! He will say or do anything to get on TV!!!!

[cliffhammond]

I want to see him do an historical reenactment of dumping his first wife because "she wasn't pretty enough to be a Congressman's wife."

[delvis]

Newt has an idea this will make him look more presidential by reliving historic battles. Just another flag waving GOPer chickenhawk

[cliffhammond]

I want to see how he revisions the "I cannot tell a lie -- I cut down the apple tree" story. You know he was a liberal until he decided to run for office and figured out quickly that Georgia wouldn't send anyone but a conservative to Washington. Later, to convinced James Dobson that he really was a Christian, he cried crocodile tears of remorse over his history of infidelity and asked to be born again. Heh.

[flahkoh]

Can't stand the guy's politics, but as an internet and advertising professional I think this is marketing brilliance. The man has over a million followers and now they all have his new book's email address. Great way to use twitter to tell a story.

[serindipity803]

This is sort of weird - as if Gingrich cannot stand to be alone....so he pulls out his... twitter....

[DocSyracuse]

Looks cool to me. Not a bad way to learn some history.

[serindipity803]

Seriously? look who your teacher is....how do you know he isn't omitting or adding his own view??

[DocSyracuse]

LOL! When is that NOT a risk when reading historical accounts? I really don't see why Newt would spin the details of a well-documented historical battle, and if he did he would be called out by experts in the Revolutionary War.

[dlswriter]

Twits over a book?

Twits are for twits, not reading.

[jqcitizen]

Newt, the Professor of History, refuses to consider his own.

John Yoo is a Professor of Constitutional Law, so what?

Students really should check out the background of the professors before enrolling in their classes.

Don't believe everything these former 'high level politicians' say, just because they say they are honest.

[CoronaDischarge]

What a pointless exercise. Other than the profit motive to in theory create "buzz" for his book, I don't get why anyone would even follow such twaddle. With such a ham-handed promotional approach, my interest in the book has appropriately waned to below the threshold for even being curious about it.

Besides, this stunt is the kind of thing that Beck would try, and in this regard, no one can out beck Beck in pointless misinterpreted symbolic acts. Why was Gingrich even trying to compete in such a derby?

[Bloggerrogr]

Friends don't let friends Twitter. Ever.

FWIW

[Estreet1964]

He needs to do the re-enactment with the Batley townswomen's guild from England.

I hear they did a great re-enactment of Pearl Harbor and Newt works well with mud.

I would definitely pay to see that!

[kenEBport]

maybe he can join it together w/ The Fish Dance for some rare interpretive "moments"

[littlepuffycloud]

Do any 'regular' people really tweet or twitter?

[Piatt]

Who cares?

[EWeiss]

Kinda neat. Kinda.

[BachelorJohnnyCool]

Must be a slow day in Presidential Ambitionland.