We’re not sure what we did for entertainment before we could watch what probably should be journalists’ private feuds unfold in public on Twitter. For all the talk about teens who have no social-networking shame, there are a few grownups in the media who haven’t seemed to learn the lesson either. Some days, our Washington Twitter lists look more like a Beltway Fight Club than they do a group of media elites.

Not that we’re complaining. We do need something to watch between episodes of Veep and Scandal reruns, and the journalists on our list below don’t disappoint. Fair warning though—if you take some of them on, you doing so at your own risk.

Honorable mentions: The Daily Caller’s Jim Treacher, Conservative radio host Dana Loesch, WaPo‘s Greg Sargent, the DNC’s communications director, Brad Woodhouse, and NRSC’s Brad Dayspring. If you don’t think Dayspring can fight, read this story published last night in which he was referred to as a “rabid dog.”

Here it is, FishbowlDC’s 10 Journalists You Don’t Want to Fight on Twitter:

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Quotes of the Day

“News helicopters being told to back off because HWY Patrol can’t hear people crying for help #tornado #oklahoma” — Robin Marsh, news anchor in Oklahoma City.

Fallout: Bring Up Politics at Your Own Risk 

“I’m a douche low-life scumbag jackhole ghoul for noting Coburn already wants offsets to fed aid and Inhofe is climate change denier.” – Politico‘s Glenn Thrush, who got bombarded when he wrote this: “It’s striking that OK’s sens are 1) a federal spending skeptic and 2) global warming denier.” In response to the above, Kristina Ribali, director of new media at Freedom Works remarked: “@GlennThrush I didn’t say you were slamming them, I said you were being an ass. Have some class.” Labor reporter F. Bill McMorris wrote simply, “#douche.”

Did someone speak too soon? 

“Thank God tragedies like this one in OK bring out the highest and best in everyone – politicians, first responders, government, media.” — CNBC and NYT‘s John Harwood.

More media in-fighting…

The Nation‘s Katrina vanden Heuvel: “If GOP going to use IRS ‘scandal’ to demolish government,they may wish to look at need for very same government in Oklahoma tornado disaster.”

National Review Online‘s Jonah Goldberg: “.@KatrinaNation what’s really in poor taste how your point is so pedestrian and lame. Why bother? Jeez.”

The Day After: “It is always the next day when the sun comes up that we learn the extent of the horror.” — Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren.

And a few confessionals…

“Sometimes the disaster voyeurism on Twitter makes me uncomfortable.” — Blake Hounshel, managing editor of Foreign Policy mag.

“I lost some family that meant a lot to me in the AL tornadoes. Think I’ll clock out of coverage for the evening and pick it up in the AM.” — FBDC Contributor and Bill Press‘ producer Peter Ogburn.

“The partisanship in the wake of tragedy stuns me.” — WaPo‘s Chris Cillizza.

The Preacher

“When you turn your TV off and stop tweeting tonight — stop. Sit in peace. Too many people don’t have that tonight.” — WaPo producer Jeff Simon.

Emotions on high: A Variety of Calls for Prayer

• “Terrifying photo of tornado damage nyti.ms/10R5Ly2 May the dead rest in peace. May survivors get help to heal and rebuild.” – Conor Friedersdorf, staff writer for The Atlantic.

“Worst part about Oklahoma news is you know it’s going to get worse. And that’s just heartbreaking. #PrayForOklahoma” — Rory Cooper, communications director to House Maj. Leader Eric Cantor.

• “The sad news from Oklahoma keeps rolling in. Everyone at TheDC is thinking of the folks affected, & will keep you in our thoughts & prayers.” — The Daily Caller.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Oklahoma tonight. #okc” — Newt Gingrich.

Uh oh.

“CIA source says Fox News scandal the ’4th Shoe’; says it goes much deeper; says WH also sitting on “something” that has top aides terrified.” — Drudge Report and TWT Columnist Joseph Curl.

GOP Spox Prediction: 60 Minutes to land first Obama interview

“White House/Obama scandal tsunami is growing. Odds that the White House offers Steve Kroft the first POTUS interview?” — NRSC Strategist/Spokesman Brad Dayspring in an unfortunate display of using a weather analogy on the wrong day.

Rubin Vs. Shuster

“Watching lefty media meltdown re Obama media spying is like a kid finding out Babe Ruth was a drunk. Sorry to disillusion but long overdue.” — WaPo‘s
“Right Turn” blogger Jennifer Rubin.

Shuster guts Rubin like a fish…“When it comes to RWNJ’s, including @JRubinBlogger, who are mentally ill + psychotic, best to ignore them.” — Lefty radio host David Shuster. “[Jennifer Rubin] proves again she is a habitual liar. And, asking @CNN to cut the mic of somebody responding to her lies? Psychotic.”

Bureau Chief takes firm stance on exposed pits

“Phew, getting people blind drunk in bars in order to get them to tell you things isn’t in DOJ’s list of treasonous acts that reporters do.” — BuzzFeed Washington Bureau Chief John Stanton. And this from a few days ago, but we couldn’t resist it: “I’m a firm believer that sleeves are mandatory for dudes in a restaurant situation. Nobody wants your pits exposed near their food.”

Watch out, ladies, your purses are germier than you think

“Not the dinner hour yet so if you carry a purse tune in at 4. Report shows more germs on your purse than a toilet. News4 @nbcwashington.” — Jim Handly, anchor, NBC Washington.

See more Morning Chatter…

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For its White House Correspondents’ Dinner party, BuzzFeed brought its entire politics team to D.C., but one of its members was noticeably absent from the party.

Andrew Kaczynski, the prolific tweeter and Internet video resurfacer, skipped out. He was at the actual Dinner, the one BuzzFeed had failed to secure a table at. CSPAN brought him as a guest.

“It must be nice, right,” BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith told FishbowlDC that night. “He’s like our celebrity.”

Even without their own version of a celebrity in attendance, the party was packed with hundreds of people, causing long waits at the bar, but even worse: Long lines outside to even get in. Senior Press Director Ashley McCollum manned the mess outside. At one point the general guest line stretched almost 100 people-deep.

For Dorsey Shaw, BuzzFeed‘s resident TV news watcher, it was his first time down from New York since the publication celebrated the launch of it’s Washington bureau in early August last year. He told us he was disappointed that he wouldn’t have time to see the monuments and other sights but that he’d make sure to schedule them in next time he’s in town. (He ended up being able to schedule in some time to see them Sunday, we hear.)

What and who else did we see? Read more

WaPo‘s Jonathan Capehart, a man who rarely makes an appearance without being in full business attire, loosened up his tie Tuesday. In fact, he didn’t wear one at all, showing off some of his chest.

On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Capehart joined the show by satellite from Miami. He was on to talk about Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who spoke at a tea party rally in his home state and referred to some of his Republican Senate colleagues as “squishes.” Leading the discussion was an op-ed by Capehart’s colleague Jennifer Rubin that said Cruz should quit being “a jerk.”

Capehart remarked, “If there’s bipartisan agreement on Capitol Hill it’s that Senator Cruz is a bit of a jerk. Well, maybe not a bit of a jerk. He is a jerk. Democrats don’t like him and Republicans can’t stand him.”

Asked about his tieless appearance by email, Capehart said, “LOL. It was the last morning of my nerd prom-escape vacation.” He added: I usually travel with a spare shirt and tie just in case. This time I thought, ‘Oh, Capehart, let go. Nothing will happen in the short time you’re away.’ So I blame Jason Collins for my state of undress this morning.”

Chalk it up to the often sick, sad world we live in.

The bomb smoke had barely cleared in Boston when some in the media strapped on their red and blue helmets and took partisan pot shots.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof was the first national media figure to bring out the guns. “Explosion is a reminder that ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) needs a director,” he tweeted Monday just after two bombs had exploded at the Boston Marathon. “Shame on Senate Republicans for blocking appointment.” Accompanying Kristof’s tweet was a link to a WaPo story on the ATF’s ongoing status without a full-time director. He has since deleted the tweet and said that he “take[s] it back.”

On CNN, National Security Analyst Peter Bergen said that the attack may have been executed by al-Qaeda or “another kind of right-wing extremism.”

On MSNBC, Chris Matthews said that “normally, domestic terrorists, people tend to be on the far right.” He immediately amended his language to “just extremists.”

Esquire‘s Politics writer Charles Pierce cautioned readers against “jumping to conclusions” that the attack may have been executed by foreigners. But, noting that Monday was Patriots Day, he took a trip back in time to remember that it was “waterer of the liberty tree” Timothy McVeigh who bombed a federal building in Oklahoma City.

Across the aisle… Read more

Like many scandals involving sex, politicians and extramarital affairs, it’s hard not to mention it each time the lawmaker pops up in the news. Think Weiner. Craig. Foley. Edwards. Vitter. Ensign. Condit. Spitzer. Hart. Clinton. Up front, bold and in the most clever manner possible is the way many publications go. But in the case of former S.C. Gov and Congressman Mark Sanford, news outlets appear to be scattered on how to handle the situation.

The Wrap poses a simple, entertaining question in an email promo for a story: “Can Stephen Colbert’s Sister Beat Disgraced Ex-S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford?” Drudge appears to be aligned with some of his GOP colleagues. They headlined it and highlighted the affair, calling him “philandering” in the headline. HuffPost‘s headline doesn’t have anything about philandering. But they do call it a “Race For the Ages” on the homepage.

National Journal, meanwhile, went with the refined, understated “Stephen Colbert’s Sister Could Beat Sanford” promo. The headline was similarly understated: “Why Stephen Colbert’s Sister Could Beat Mark Sanford.” But the deck went for the dirt: “Scandal-plagued candidates have a lousy track record winning elections.” Like HuffPost, NJ writer Josh Kraushaar calls it a “matchup for the ages.” Number of sentences it took before referring to Sanford’s cheating ways: 5. Number of references to the cheating or scandal in the 12-graph story: 8.

WaPo‘s conservative writer Jennifer Rubin humorously plopped down the news with no sensitivity whatsoever. “Well, you can’t say former South Carolina governor Mark Sanford is trying to hide the woman with whom he had an affair and for whom he abandoned his office for several days and ultimately his wife and children,” she wrote in a sentence leaving a reader gulping for air. And later, this: “I can’t wait to hear Sanford explain his position on same-sex marriage and hear his definition of the institution (one man and one woman, a hike, and another woman ?).”

Capitol Hill pubs reacted as follows… Read more

MSNBC’s Chris Hayes has found himself in the most unusual company of late. And no, we don’t mean No. 1 Hayes fan Tommy Christopher hovering over Hayes while he sleeps at night.

On Saturday Hayes leaped to the defense of the gay Republican group GOProud, which was banned from participating in this year’s CPAC. Hayes had previously been secured by organizers of CPAC, the annual mega gathering for conservatives and Republicans, to speak on a discussion panel.

“My initial reaction was, ‘Of course I’ll go!’” Hayes, an outspoken liberal, said on his show Up! “As someone who attempts to convene discussions across various ideological boundaries, I have a special appreciation for CPAC’s willingness to invite someone with my politics to speak to the attendees.” He said he opted not to attend once GOProud was banned from participating as a group. “It’s not okay to ban organizations for reasons of pure bigotry,” he said.

GOProud was also banned from speaking at CPAC last year after other conservative groups boycotted the event, citing GOProud’s inclusion as the reason.

Jimmy LaSalvia, GOProud’s executive director, commended Hayes. Though CPAC organizers have invited GOProud members and supporters to attend as individuals, LaSalvia told FishbowlDC in an email that he won’t be going. As for calling for a boycott of the event: “I think boycotts are stupid.  I’m sure that there will be plenty of people there who will show their support for GOProud.” Read more

On the heels of Steve Capus resigning as President of NBC News late last week, WaPo’s Jennifer Rubin took it upon herself in a Sunday column to offer tips to the network. Among her pearls of wisdom:

• “[D]ump David Gregory as host of ‘Meet the Press.’”
• “[S]teal Jan Crawford Greenburg from CBS…”
• “Get some capable conservatives (instead of a left, lefter and leftist panel) and New Media liberals” for the roundtable shows.
• Designate MSNBC’s prime time lineup as “entertainment” rather than news.

Rubin has been especially critical of Gregory as of late. In mid-January she accused him of conducting a “softball interview” with President Obama on New Years Day. She also said Gregory was “ill-prepared, doesn’t listen to the answers or has no interest in conducting tough interviews of the Obama administration’s surrogates.” In her weekend column, she described Gregory as “incapable of asking hard questions and whose most distinctive moment was a stupid, illegal gun stunt.”

Rubin’s suggestion to replace Gregory… Read more

Quotes of the Day

STEIN’s NEW DAWG: “Meet the newest addition to my family.” — HuffPost‘s Sam Stein, following in the footsteps (we hope) of Fox News’ Dana Purina (or Perino) and her beloved Jasper.

Romance at the Kucinich household

“Mmm. I could get used to this…breakfast in bed served by my perfect husband Dennis Kucinich. Something to be said about our new schedule!” — Elizabeth Kucinich on her ex-congressman hubby.

Paul Wharton drenches himself in cashmere

“It’s freezing outside… Looks like ill be in cashmere all weekend long and I love it!!!” Hey boo! Sending u love! Bundle up!” — Real Housewives of DC star Paul Wharton to his boo,  food and restaurant blogger BJ Coleman.

A backup plan for Chuck Hagel

“Howard Kurtz, if Hagel loses he can be the anchor for Gore Jazeera.. perfect fit.” — WaPo‘s right-wing blogger Jennifer Rubin. President Obama has nominated ex-Sen. Chuck Hagel to be Sec. of Defense.

Huh?

“Deadly flu season set to be moderate to severe.” — WTOP on the flu season, which is expected to be “deadly” unless it’s moderate….or severe.

The weekend’s most uplifting headline: “Retired firefighter, dog named Pumpkin credited for saving Bowie woman.” — WaPo.

Kurt Loder, Patrick Kennedy, and marijuana laws

“Oxycontin enthusiast Patrick Kennedy opposes marijuana legalization.” — Ex-MTV VJ Kurt Loder, a columnist for Reason magazine.

Is this a prank phone call? 

“Pizza Hut just called about our order. They’re out of pepperoni. Really. Did every single house in Washington order pizza for this game?” — CNBC’s Eamon Javers, who then asked, “Is your refrigerator running?” (Joking…)

Sunday complaints

“Meet the Press is ideological advocacy journalism. It’s fine, do your thing, but be honest about it.” — Seth Michaels, writer for the Working America website.

“Any rational person that watches George @GStephanopoulos interview a GOP official and then a Democratic official will see his bias. #phony” — Ex-Mitt Romney aide Richard Grenell, who does spots on media criticism for Fox News.

Radio journalist finds relief from hacking cough and BuzzFeed’s Bureau Chief has a stern warning for Washington State lawmakers… Read more

By Betsy Rothstein and Eddie Scarry

We asked Washington journalists to tell us something they want or something they want to happen in 2013. There’s a few New York-based political scribes sprinkled in here. Here’s what they told us.

CBS Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett: “I want political courage and skill commensurate with that demonstrated by our armed forces and diplomats in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and other places of peril since 9/11.”

The Daily Caller‘s Editor-in-Chief Tucker Carlson: “I’d like to catch more trout. And I plan to.”

The Weekly Standard‘ Matt Labash: “I’m hoping this is the year in which  the internet finally craters. It’s had a good run, but nobody ever shuts it off.  So after all this relentless exposure – after everyone having their say, then saying a lot  more – we now get sick of people in minutes that used to take us years to get sick of otherwise. Which is why I’m pulling for less connectedness, and more solitude. Less digital. More analog. More wondering what people think, instead of knowing, then being disappointed. Less concern about trending topics. More concern with staying unconcerned about what everybody else is concerned about. Also, I think 2013 is going to be the Year of Joey Lawrence. He’s due. And with the internet disappearing, we’re going to need something/someone to fill the void. To teach us how to live again. To show us the old ways.”

WJLA’s Rebecca Cooper: “My wish list for 2013: 1) Jayne Sandman’s body WITHOUT Jayne Sandman’s workout schedule; 2) Pamela Sorensen’s social schedule WITHOUT Pamela Sorensen’s late night hours; 3) Dana Bash and Susanna Quinn’s Super Mom abilities WITHOUT Dana Bash and Susanna Quinn’s early morning wakeup calls; And – the thing I would most like in 2013: 4) to see my friends who cover politics without having to go to New Hampshire or Iowa in winter or Tampa or Charlotte in August to see them.”

Raptor Strategies’ David Bass:  “Shock and awe.”

FishbowlDC and Current TV’s Full Court Press Co-host Peter Ogburn:  ”Peace, love and harmony finally coming to the nation’s capital. Also, I’d like to see a fistfight between Tim Grieve and David Martosko.”

FishbowlDC and The Blaze‘ Eddie Scarry: “I’d like Politico to be the first news organization to genetically engineer a reporter with a Blackberry for genitals. Makes anonymous sourcing of political operatives that much easier.”

Queen Levine (a.k.a. radio correspondent Mark Levine): “In 2013, I’d like to see mediabistro get just a few basic facts right. Jon Stewart has proven you can be snarky and a journalist. (If you want to just make shit up, that’s fine too, but then you gotta know you’re doing it and be funny. Like the Onion. Good luck in 2013! And let me know if you need help understanding any of the hard words above. Like ‘journalist.’” (We suspect Levine’s snappy answer is in response to the drama queen’s appearance on our year-end list. He never misses a chance to brag about himself. Long live the queen!)

Current TV’s David Shuster: “In 2013, I want the baby Kera and I are having to come out healthy and happy and to possess a little more tact and patience than me — In other words, be like his/her mother.”

The Hill’s Managing Editor Bob Cusack: After about a year in the works, I finished a new screenplay this month (It’s not about politics). I hope to sell it in 2013. I also want to see Barney Frank get on Twitter in the new year.

Tommy Christopher, Mediaite White House Correspondent: “Besides fetch? In 2013 I really want a federal assault weapons ban (including semiautomatic handguns) with Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s NFA grandfather clause, and a federal firearms registry with a psychological fitness test, to happen.”

The Daily Caller‘s Jeff Poor: “Just off the top of my head, I’d like to see…1) Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher go away — go back to selling men’s suits or something 2) Political journalists to stop acting enamored with Robert Griffin, III and Bryce Harper as if they’re life-long Washington, DC sports fans 3) Media Matters’ Eric Boehlert to find Jesus or some other form of organized religion of his choosing and have a little love in his heart 4) Someone to remind me why BuzzFeed Politics exists.”

SiriusXM’s Julie Mason: “In 2013, Gov. Rick Perry needs his own talk show, a la Huckaboom (but sassier). There must be world recognition of the massive journalistic skills of Josh Rogin, Josh Lederman, Andrew Harnik and Meredith Shiner. We should also pause, as a nation, to admire Suzanne Malveaux‘s new, longer hairstyle. Because that shit is awesome. Also, my favorite shows need to quit the nine-month hiatus between seasons. That is really annoying.”

WaPo‘s Jennifer Rubin: “Real entitlement reform. Gumming up the Obamacare works. Republicans champion immigration reform.”

WJLA’s Steve Chenevey: “Can we extend the telecommuting concept to journalism? I’m all for home studios in 2013. Would love to get PR pitches more than a day in advance. And the freedom to critique viewers on their choice of outfit for the day. Not that I would ever do that, but overly opinionated viewers never seem to surprise me.”

See more wishes… Read more