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Tweeted, deleted and fired by Rep. Larsen

December 8, 2011 @ 3:47 pm (Updated: 6:41 pm - 12/8/11 )

Three staffers in Congressman Rick Larsen's office set out make this a "December to remember." They succeeded. They've been fired and have deleted their Twitter accounts after writing about drinking binges in the office.

Representative Larsen's office issued this statement after firing legislative assistants Seth Burroughs, Elizabeth Robbee and legislative correspondent Ben Byers - ironically, his Twitter name was @Byers_remorse.

"Neither Congressman Larsen nor his other staff were aware of the actions by these three staff members before today. Congressman Larsen is disappointed by their actions and takes this very seriously. He has made it clear that he will not tolerate this kind of behavior," the statement read.

What did the trio tweet about that was so bad? Their accounts have been deleted.

Deleted

Unfortunately for them, the NW Daily Marker took screenshots of some of the tweets before breaking the story. The staffers tweeted from their personal accounts, so some might think, what's the problem? They admitted tweeting while they were supposed to be working. Most of these tweets are from November and the first day in December.

Of the three twits, Burroughs, aka @TheRocketship1, has the most self-incriminating tweets. Taxpayers, here's what you get from him:

"Obviously you can tell I've been drinking by my stellar spelling skillz."

"I really like DC, but I could have used another day away. The silver lining is that I don't have to see my idiot boss #smallvictgory."

"We're only drinking to cope with the fact that we work for such a selfish asshole. Trust me, you want no part of this."

"My coworker just took a shot of Jack crouching behind my desk. We have unabashedly given up on just about all things work related."

"My D2R team showed up this morning at 9:00am with shots of Jack. What a glorious and frightening way to kick off the month."

D2R meaning December to remember. Mission accomplished three musketweeters.

The editor of the Bothell-based NW Daily Marker, Bryan Myrick, tells me why they investigated these tweets.

"As people in Washington State and Washington, D.C. consider the sloppy environment that was allowed to exist in Congressman Larsen's office, alarm bells should be going off in the offices of every elected official," Myrick says. "At a time when so many hard-working Americans are still earnestly seeking jobs and Congress is still wrestling with an enormous budget deficit, people may not be as willing to look the other way and tolerate this sort of behavior as a byproduct of youthful exuberance."

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Comments (12)


  • Add A Comment

  • roomtemp wrote...
    "Their accounts have been deleted."
    December 8, 2011 3:15 pm
    I wonder if their posts got archived in the twitter to library of congress data transfer? Your tweets belong to .gov now.

    http://www.federalnewsradio.com/?nid=493&sid=2658996

    Isn't that special...

    The aides we're wrong for drinking on the job and probably right about Larsen being a [see description above].

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Concerned wrote...
    WOW
    December 8, 2011 4:01 pm
    How quickly this info must be erased, so only the republican looks bad. I find it very interesting that those who had worked for Larsen called him bad names & insisted everyone on twitter knew about it, but unfortunately those morons in King County obviously likes those Democrats that are Aholes & will still vote him in!!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tacomaguy wrote...
    Wrong Thing to Do
    December 8, 2011 5:19 pm
    This is seriously the wrong thing to do, the three employees. Good job Rep. Larsen for firing these guys. The employees are idiots.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Is that wrong...
    December 8, 2011 6:19 pm
    I'm willing to bet that 2/3 of Obama's staff are drunk and on acid most of the time....
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rational wrote...
    Hard to disappear the entire internet...
    December 8, 2011 8:08 pm
    Not to worry, here's a link with some of the tweets from: Seth Burroughs, legislative assistant (@therocketship1); Elizabeth Robbee, legislative assistant (@betsysbites); and Ben Byers, legislative correspondent (@byers_remorse).

    http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/nw-pub-reports-larsen-aides-booze-it-up-at-work_b58351

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • cg5611 wrote...
    work ethic
    December 9, 2011 4:28 am
    is what the article is about. WHY oh why do sheeple insist on making it a Rep or Dem issue? I've worked for my share of jerks. I did not go around mouthing off about them. I hired on to do a job, if the bosses jerkness got in the way of me doing my job I quit (several times my boss's own behavior put me in the 'quit with just cause' seat and I was awarded UE). I beleive when you're hired you have a contract with that employer to do your job to the best of your abilities.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Whidbeyboy wrote...
    Right on cg5611
    December 9, 2011 5:40 pm
    Unfortunatley, rational thinking is not allowed. If we can get in a jab to the other party, no mater how unrelated, we have did are job for the day. Seriously, being a rational, honest, fact finding, people not politics person is rare these days and glad to see your here. Charlie Mike!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Answer42 wrote...
    "All Your Tweet Are Belong To Us"
    December 9, 2011 6:10 am
    Yep, that's right. The LOC has the tweet archive. But these days, who doesn't know that the internet is forever? Deleting it doesn't make it go away. Someone has it, somewhere, and if it was juicy, probably everyone has a copy by the time it is deleted.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Edmund Fitzgerald wrote...
    time for
    December 9, 2011 9:36 pm
    old-fashioned values and punishment; throw the book at these punks; then--save their names for future job-hunts & cross-references; you want THEM in YOUR hard-working company? nope. "make your bed, sleep in it." rules still apply to this generation as to any before or after; boo hoo
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • grow up/get real wrote...
    You know what they say. . .
    December 10, 2011 7:11 am
    Any group or organization is only as strong as its weakest link. Let's see, who is ultimately responsible for hiring these people? Who is responsible for routine evaluation and oversight of these staffers (employees)? Point the finger directly at yourself Mr. Larsen and man-up. If this was a Republican, he would have been expected to resign by now.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }