Why Americans Increasingly Hate Politics, "Democratic Idol" Edition
Last September, Rep. Laura Richardson (D-Calif.) laid down the law to her staff when it came to showing up at a god-awful fundraiser called "Democratic Idol," which featured lawmakers as performers and judges. From Roll Call:
"All staff are required to attend Ms. Richardson's event," said an email sent by the Congresswoman's chief of staff from her official House account. "Bring spouses and tell interns they have to be there as well."
"The Congresswoman is asking all staff that has one to wear their staff shirt to tomorrow's event so we can be visible and easily identified," said a second email sent the night before the event. The shirts in question were emblazoned with "California's 37th Congressional District" on the chest and had the official House of Representatives logo.
Besides being a crime against humanity in the international court of public opinion, Richardson's commands "appear to reveal an improper use of official government resources for re-election and campaign events that may run afoul of Congressional ethics rules or federal laws, legal experts told Roll Call."
I wasn't able to find out what song Richardson did at Democratic Idol (please send along, esp. if there's vid!) but I figured I'd play an awful song. Here's David Bowie's theme from Cat People, "Putting Out the Fire."