This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 30, 2011 - Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder's worst political year ever is ending on another embarrassing note, as he attracts national attention for his once-prodigious, occasionally salacious Tweets.
The nonpartisan National Journal has just announced its top five "Biggest Twitter Losers of 2011."
And Kinder comes in at No. 2.
Only former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-NY, (who Tweeted that suggestive photo of himself, and had to leave Congress because of it) beat out Missouri's lieutenant governor, a Republican who had to drop his planned 2012 bid for governor because of other missteps unrelated to Twitter.
Kinder's Twitter-tapping, curtailed in recent months, has ignited a few political jabs. But for the most part, his typing has been overshadowed by his other antics.
Which is why the national attention on his Tweets is somewhat unexpected, at least locally.
Wrote the National Journal:
"...Kinder never seemed to learn from his social media missteps, tweeting on multiple occasions about questionable things. In November, he re-tweeted a message about free wings at Hooters on Veterans Day while he was still considering a run to challenge Missouri Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon. It was far from the first time Kinder's tweets were scrutinized. He had urged his followers to "vote for [a] hot wife in the Top 25 Political Mom blogs" a day after Missouri was hit by the deadliest tornado in nearly 60 years and tweeted about "hostage situation" in a government building in 2009 only to later discover the incident never occurred."
The three politicos ranking right behind Kinder in the Twitter Troubles department included another member of Congress, and a couple of political aides.
