Rep. Billy Long tweet compares Amy Winehouse with debt-ceiling negotiations (UPDATE)

UPDATE: The Springfield News-Leader has received an apology from Rep. Billy Long. The paper reports Long texted it to them Monday night:

“Although I do believe spending 42 percent more than we take in is an

addiction, I certainly meant no disrespect to Amy, her family or her

fans. She was one of the few true artists to come along in a long time.

What happened to her was a senseless tragedy and drawing an analogy

wasn’t meant to minimize the loss of life. If anyone took offense, I

sincerely apologize.”

Original post: Someday, politicians will learn how to effectively use Twitter. Maybe. Until then, we’ll just have to continue to stare in total befuddlement at the stream of projectile vomit that some of our elected officials choose to spew onto the Internet.

Rep. Billy Long, he of tweets mocking rural tornado-alert systems fame, made the connection everybody was grasping for yesterday. Long tastefully compared Amy Winehouse’s death with the squabble in Washington over raising the debt ceiling. Well done, congressman.