One of the most remarkable aspects of Twitter is how its users manage to pack so much personality (or lack thereof) into 140 characters. Some Congressional tweeters are strictly business and post legislative updates and partisan talking points, while others try to cast themselves as the peoples' politician by tweeting casual encounters with constituents or personal updates on their families.

After following every Member of Congress who tweets for a few months now, I've learned a lot about them, from their rhetorical style to the issues they deem worthy enough to tweet. I've also learned which quirky Congressmen with whom I'd love to be pen pals.

The 10 Quirkiest Tweeters in Congress

10. Claire McCaskill

Senator McCaskill may not be the quirkiest but she is, in the humble opinion of your correspondent, one of the most likable. She really calls it like she sees it, and doesn't shroud her opinions, thoughts or emotions in talking points. She tweets on all relevant things-- the outcome of a vote (and all those who came together for it), trips and meetings she's taking, and resonant events (like the Fort Hood shootings, Haitian earthquake...and Mark McGuire's admitted steroid use). Her bipartisan legislative attempts are echoed in her Twitter, and although it is sad that such a goal is relatively quirky amongst her peers, it nonetheless makes her stand out.

9. Artur Davis

Maybe it's because he's running for Governor or maybe it's because he's a representative from Alabama (it's probably both), but Artur Davis tweets about football more often than any other Congressman. As of late, his gubernatorial campaign has taken the forefront in his tweeting priorities, and he's been working to illustrate how he's really making his dutiful campaign rounds, including events with the National Black Farmers' Association, Jackson County Democrats, and the School Superintendents of Alabama. Perhaps it is his busy campaign schedule that prompted this multi-tasking New Years tweet:

8. Cynthia Lummis

She does it all (a bit brazenly): post videos and pictures, spout talking points and legitimate points, reply to questions, and promote TV spots and op-eds. Few could have live-tweeted the Budget Committee's hearing withg Orszag better than she. Choice phrases from that afternoon include Mr. Edwards "hating on Paul Ryan's proposal" and "800 lbs gorilla: entitlements". She's unquestionably adept at Twitter and undoubtedly one spunky tweeter.

7. Orrin Hatch

Senator Hatch has mastered a new art: sequential tweets. Akin to tweetnovelists, his style typically consists of a few complete, concise tweets ordered as argument-proof-proof. If you get one tweet from him, its safe to expect about two more. Some may call this binge tweeting, but I think it's just his legal training translated into today's technology. 

6. Chuck Grassley

This Senator understands that ambiguity often leads to blamelessness. By peppering his tweets with random capitalizations and nontraditional abbreviations, its hard to pinpoint any concrete spelling or grammatical errors. His is a nouveau slang, inspired by either a desire to be hip to tech or a need to be brief. Motivations and explanations aside, his tweets always make for interesting reads, and not only for his questionably avant-garde rhetoric; he always tweets about where he is, what he's doing and who he's with.

5. Glenn Thomas

99% of Congressman Thomas' tweets start with a verb--he seemingly took the lesson on "action words" to heart. He really represents his district through his Twitter--he's constantly meeting with Boy Scouts, touring local factories, and speaking to Fire Departments. His Groundhog Day coverage was appropriately unmatched, considering the fame and acclaim of the Punxsutawney groundhog. His quirk comes from his down-home, approachable rhetoric, but his dedication to his district is evident through it all.

4. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

Florida's 18th district's representative tweets for all occasions-- Honduras' elections, national Go Red for Women day, New Years appeals to worrisome parents and well-wishes for LSAT takers. Her political tweets are typically Republican soundbytes (although not as offensively partisan as some). However, the bit that solidifies her status as a quirky tweeter is a matter of semantics: she often tweets that she has posted a youtube video and proceeds to put the name of the video before the link without any quotations, so at first glance it merely looks like a case of multiple voices. More than anything, her Twitter style illustrates her desire to keep her constituents informed, and although the means may be quirky, the outcome is commendable.

3. Darrell Issa

Aside from an endearing message on his efforts to catch up on responding to direct messages, Darrell Issa is quirky due to his quips. He dubbed the Administration's Christmas Eve promise to fund Fannie and Freddie Mac as Obama's "secret Santa xmas blank check" and referred to a few TV interviews he had on Geithner's AIG bailout as some derivative of the early bird's earned worm. Oftentimes, the hometown maxims he employs for his tweets end up a bit too stretched for maximum resonance, but his quirk and charm truly lies in the fact that he's trying.

2. John Shimkus

If you're looking for some inspiration, specifically religious in nature, Representative John Shimkus is the tweeter for you. He starts each morning off by tweeting a Bible verse that, assumingly, reflect his mood, or the state of the Congress/nation/world at the time. His daily dose of the divine mimics his legislative strategy, and thus blends well with his other tweets of meetings and legislation. Other quirky highlights include his real-time tweeting of choice passages from the House's Healthcare Bill as he read it, and his 3-in-a-row messages that he "just finished voting on the House floor; we named 3 post offices". 

1. Leonard Boswell

Although not as frequent as others, Representative's Boswell's tweets are often the most enjoyable. He definitely uses the most exclamation points, often employs the word "WOW", throws in little quips and generally assumes a positive tone.  I can't help but think that his July 13th tweet "I had a good exchange with Chairwoman Slaughter (Rules) regarding use of antibiotics in livestock" is an attempt to make a joke about Slaughterhouse Rules, and although slightly confusing, it's definitely quirky. Representative Boswell understands that, in Congress, personality counts, and he's definitely got plenty.