Yesterday afternoon, Michigan congressman Pete Hoekstra, after what must have been deep contemplation, tweeted: “Iranian twitter activity similar to what we did in House last year when Republicans were shut down in the House.” Yep, he’s comparing that time Republicans tweeted a bunch after Nancy Pelosi prevented a vote on an energy bill to the Iranian protesters who are tweeting about the beatings, murders, and overall oppression from their government. A Hoekstra spokesman soon clarified, “The two situations do share the similarity of government leadership attempting to limit debate and deliberation, and the ability of new technologies to bypass their efforts and allow for direct communication. That’s the only point that he was trying to make.” Nevertheless, the Twitter community, deeply immersed in the Iranian conflict, was appalled. An utterly hilarious Hoekstra-mocking meme spontaneously emerged, and, as memes are wont to do, quickly spread throughout the site. It continues relentlessly today, and a new blog devoted to the meme has already sprung up. Here are the best of the tweets so far:
mike_bosworth @petehoekstra I got a sunburn last weekend. Makes me think of Hiroshima.
KyleOrl @petehoekstra My softball game was rained out today. Now I know what Hurricane Katrina felt like.
stealingfrom @petehoekstra Sitting in a chair, feeling a good deal like Stephen Hawking. #GOPfail
mattortega RT @petehoekstra Walked out onto Constitution Ave in D.C. and was almost hit by a taxi. Reminded me of Tienanmen Square.
mmnowakjr85 @petehoekstra our office cooler ran out of water. this must be what its like in Sudan.
curtsmith @petehoekstra, fell off my surfboard in Malibu today, now I know what D-day felt like.
jwzich @petehoekstra Didn’t have breakfast this morning, it was exactly like the Great Potato Famine
stevensantos @petehoekstra Still haven’t got paid for a job I did. Now I know what slavery is like.
trisloth @petehoekstra Just got into a snowball fight. Reminded me of the Hundred Years’ War
donnahon @petehoekstra Got some sand in my shoe. Now I know what it’s like to be on my third deployment in Iraq.
ceedub7 @petehoekstra I got a splinter in my hand today. Felt just like Jesus getting nailed to the cross.
netw3rk @petehoekstra Someone walked in on me while I was in the bathroom. Reminded me of Pearl Harbor.
trisloth @petehoekstra My toilet just overflowed a little. Now I know what it was like for the Indonesian tsunami victims.
paganmist @petehoekstra Had to move all my stuff to a new office w/o a corner view. Now i know what the Trail of Tears was like. #GOPfail
benhuh @petehoekstra I had to sit in the last row of our corporate jet this morning. This is what Rosa Parks must have felt like.
BrianYoung @petehoekstra: Missed lunch today cuz I was late and walking to a meeting. Reminded me of the Bataan Death March.
