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Twitter accounts
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For my money, there’s nothing that makes sense out of the Twittersphere better than a list. Making a list out of related Twitter accounts built around a theme is one of the best ways to organize what otherwise appears as a cacophonous info dump of unrelated jibber-jabber in a user’s feed.

To that end, my OKpolitics list constitutes one of the most useful (and entertaining) lists in my account. It’s an organically compiled collection of lawmakers and wonks on the inside of 23rd and Lincoln. As the list has grown, a few accounts have stood out for their irreverence, insider knowledge and, in one case, sheer brutality.

In the interest of fairness, the following list unfolds in order of highest number of followers as of Wednesday. Incidentally, more followers generally indicates a higher activity level and greater humor/usefulness with regard to political gossip.

Feel free to suggest your favorite #okleg-related Twitter accounts in the comments. (Swipe to browse the included accounts.)

1Stipe 2016 (@TeamStipe)

Followers: 842

Bio: “Why the hell not? Former State Senator, Attorney, Author, Philanthropist, Distiller & Foodie. Stipe 2016 -One More Time! #OKpolitics”

Leveraging the reputation of one of Oklahoma’s most notoriously crooked and powerful politicians, the user behind this account rabidly follows and comments on all things #okleg. This tenacity, combined with the parody account’s creation in 2011 (the real Gene Stipe died a year later), has led to the largest following among the accounts chosen for this list.

Sample tweet:

2Alfalfa Bill ()

Followers: 692

Bio: “Oklahoma’s capitol building and state chamber annex. As we always say, 49TH AIN’T LAST!”

Combining the personification of an architectural element with the actual personage of one of the state’s most controversial governors, the Alfalfa Bill account uses GIFs and memes to playfully troll local politicians and media.

Sample tweet:

3Oklahoma Lawmaker (@OKLawmaker)

Followers: 517

Bio: “Makin’ laws the Oklahoma way… solving fake problems for real people.”

Taking a decidedly more antagonistic approach, the Oklahoma Lawmaker account revels in retweeting sitting politicians and then roasting them. Recent targets have included Rep. Sean Roberts (R-Hominy), whose Twitter feed seems recently infected with spam, and Majority Floor Leader Greg Treat (R-OKC, see below). The account’s avatar was recently switched from former Sen. Ralph Shortey to Treat.

Sample tweet:

4OK House Sergeant (@OKHouseSergeant)

Followers: 108

Bio: “Sergeant at Arms of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.”

Created in April, the person posing as one of the Capitol’s grandfatherly Sergeant at Arms takes a decidedly more behind-the-scenes approach to their #okleg tweets. Whether posting House calendar info as a sort of public service for the civic-minded or criticizing lawmakers for being absent, this account typically treads a bit more cautiously/responsibly than the previous two in this list, although a recent post illustrated a willingness to cross boundaries.

Sample tweet:

5Coney is the name. (@realconeyisland)

Followers: 62

Bio: “Owner of Coney Island of Shawnee and Oklahoma State House Representative for House District 26.”

The user behind an account purporting to be the House District 26 representative (currently occupied by Dell Kerbs, R-Shawnee, who actually does own Coney Island in Shawnee) constitutes perhaps the most bizarre member of this list. Using photos of Kerbs as both avatar and cover photo, almost every tweet includes either a subtle or overt reference to hot dogs (usually phrased as “hot weiners”).

Sample tweet:

6(Dis)Honorable Mention: Ralph Shortey (@shortey4babyboy)

Followers: 31

Bio: “Oklahoma state senator. Family values conservative. Trump campaign chair. I love Jesus, guns, and underage boys. They call me daddy.”

This brutal satire account relishes in the schadenfreude created when self-proclaimed Christian conservative Ralph Shortey was caught with an underage male prostitute and weed in a Moore motel. It uses Shortey’s mug shot as its avatar and an image of the transcript from Shortey’s text-based communications with the unidentified male as its cover photo. And it. Is. BRUTAL.

Sample tweet:

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