Congress scares up some Halloween tweets

by Grace Mahan - 10/31/12 8:10 PM ET

In a Halloween-themed tweet, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) highlighted the United States’ “scary” wage gap as he stressed his unwavering support of fair pay, a trending topic among other Democratic congressmen.

Today is #Halloween so let’s get #America talking about something really scary – the wage gap!I’m for #fairpay #RU4fairpay @npwf

— Charles Rangel (@cbrangel) October 31, 2012

On the other side of the aisle, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) gave a grown-up twist to the discussion of Halloween candy by arguing that recent agricultural legislation is to blame for this year’s spike in candy prices.

This #Halloween remember that Farm Bill sugar subsidies force consumers to pay more for treats – $3.5B/year #Spooky usnews.com/news/articles/…

— John McCain (@SenJohnMcCain) October 31, 2012

Some lawmakers approached All Hallows’ Eve as an opportunity to campaign. The Democratic Party urged the public to take the Halloween spirit into the poling booths, appropriating President Obama’s frequent campaign-trail phrase “Don’t boo, vote!” And possible first lady Ann Romney and Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) boasted jack-o’-lanterns with campaign messages: Romney on her Pinterest page and Gardner as his Twitter avatar.

Happy Halloween! As @barackobama says on the campaign trail, “Don’t boo—vote!” gottavote.com twitter.com/TheDemocrats/s…

— The Democrats (@TheDemocrats) October 31, 2012

The president often tells crowds on the campaign trail to get out and vote instead of booing his opponent, Mitt Romney.

In other Halloween news, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) postponed Halloween in the Garden State until Nov. 5 to give the state time to respond to Hurricane Sandy. He and several other members of Congress, including Reps. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Lynn Jenkins (R-Kan.) and Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) had safety on their minds in tweets urging a safe holiday.

Its just not safe yet to be out trick-or- treating tonight, so Halloween has officially been postponed until Monday.

— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) October 31, 2012

Wishing everyone a safe and fun Halloween night!

— Gary Peters (@RepGaryPeters) October 31, 2012

Here are some safety tips for those out trick-or-treating this evening. Happy #Halloween! bit.ly/SeOhI3

— Lynn Jenkins (@RepLynnJenkins) October 31, 2012