Blunt’s Other Problem
Roll Call Staff
Forget about the search for weapons of mass destruction or thorny ethical questions raised by The Washington Post about whether House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) has been secretly doing the bidding of Philip Morris USA.
Blunt is currently locked in a struggle to uncover another mystery: Who stole five bags of Chips Ahoy cookies from his office on the second floor of the Capitol?
In a hysterical memo making the rounds of the GOP leadership, senior
Blunt aide Mildred Webber established a new “Eating Policy” in the Whip’s office because of a burgeoning crisis. It seems that staffers and assorted hangers-on are chowing down on the food Blunt’s office orders for GOP Members during late-night sessions, thereby leaving angry lawmakers with empty stomachs.
“The food is intended to be for Members Only,” Webber wrote in the memo sent to all GOP leadership staff. “This applies to everybody, including our staff. Occasionally, there is extra food and [Blunt staffer] Michelle [Hawks] will notify our staff if and when you are allowed to eat. At that time, unless otherwise specified, this will mean that you can eat, not your friends. No one should come up to Michelle before getting an e-mail and ask her if they can eat.”
There is one notable exception for Blunt. “Floor staff from the Whip and Leader Offices can eat at any time,” wrote Webber.
Blunt’s staff typically orders in Chinese food (Young Chow on Capitol Hill is the fave among Members) or BBQ (Rocklands on Wisconsin Avenue is the source the Members crave), which are apparently irresistible to some staffers as well. That’s why Webber is laying down the law.
“If you are seen eating without permission, you will not be allowed to eat [at] Member nights in the future under any circumstances,” she wrote. “Sorry it has come to this.” (Wonder why Blunt isn’t this hard on smokers?)
Webber added: “Also, it has come to my attention that 5 cartons of Chips Ahoy cookies have disappeared since they have been relocated to the H-226 kitchen. Please remember that all food provided in the Whip office, including snacks, is for MEMBERS — not staff.”
The memo left at least one self-described “hungry leadership staffer” puzzled. “This Congress should not rest until we find the Monster that ate those cookies,” said the aide. “Perhaps next week, we’ll get a memo regarding overzealous use of the water cooler and toilet facilities.”
Webber told HOH: “I just caught one too many staffers with their hands in the cookie jars.”
In the Tank. The liberal think tank being formulated by former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta is finally starting to take shape, with House aide David Sirota signing on to help lead the group’s communications efforts.
Sirota has been the sharp-tongued Democratic spokesman on the House Appropriations Committee, leading the effort to attack GOP spending and budget priorities. He has been working for Rep. David Obey (D-Wis.), the outspoken ranking member on the panel, after a tour of duty for Socialist Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
The new Democratic spokesman at the Appropriations panel will be David Helfert, current press secretary for Rep. Chet Edwards (Texas). “A little exciting, a little scary,” Helfert told HOH. “Sirota is a very sharp guy.”
Sirota will work closely with Laura Nichols, former spokeswoman for Rep. Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.), who will have a senior position with the think tank. The working title for the think tank is the “American Majority Institute.”
The point of the new shop is to help Democrats become a majority party again at a time when they’re being drubbed on talk radio and other mediums. “This is the first effort to stop the 24-hour lurch to the right that this country has been going through, I would say, for the last 10 to 15 years,” said Sirota.
Other than those eight years, of course, that Bill Clinton served as president and had the megaphone.
Paging All Pages. What started out as a comical scene on the House floor orchestrated by Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) may lead to a serious change in the rules for floor debate.
In order to highlight new projections suggesting an annual budget deficit in the neighborhood of $400 billion, Taylor tried to come up with a dramatic way to excoriate the $914 billion that the Bush administration has added to the national debt since taking office.
Taylor: Preventing Another Underwear Bomber
March 19, 4:09 p.m.
The intelligence community faces challenges daily. No example is more emblematic of the problems faced than the so-called underwear bomber of 2009. As threats emerge, the hunt for “persons of interest” must occur in a more reliable and efficient manner because the consequences of inaction can be catastrophic. Read Full Article
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