Heard on the Hill: Color Me Jersey

By Emil Heil and Elizabeth Brotherton
Roll Call Staff
August 28, 2008

State delegations have a long history of vying for the dubious distinction of having the craziest hats on the convention floor, but this year, HOH thinks the New Jersey delegation might be running for another title: best makeup.

Cosmetics guru Bobbi Brown, creator and CEO of an eponymous line of makeup, is a delegate from the Garden State. And she’s helping her fellow delegates look their

best, giving consultations to the female members of the state’s entourage, HOH hears. Brown is famous for “natural-look” makeup, by the way, not the stereotypical Jersey-girl style.

Heavy Petting With Kennedy. Who says celebrities are having all the fun in Denver? Certainly not HOH, who’s loving these tales of Members of Congress out on the town:

• A tipster dishes that Rep. Patrick Kennedy was spotted lip-locking with a “youngish blond woman” around midnight at the Democratic Leadership Council party on Tuesday. The Rhode Island Democrat (who is single, for the record) and his spit-swapping lady friend were upstairs in the VIP area, “making out like high-schoolers,” according to the witness. And Kennedy must have needed extra energy for all that exertion: He was drinking caffeine-laden Red Bull from a can. “There were some gawkers, but it wasn’t anything I haven’t seen before,” our tipster said of the Congressman’s public smooching session.

• The “Rednecks for Obama” contingent is going strong. An HOH operative saw Rep. Lincoln Davis stopping by a shoe-shine stand just off the 16th Street Mall to spiff up his cowboy boots. “You ready to give these boots a whoopin’?” asked the Tennessee Democrat, as he mounted the stand. The shoe-shine man introduced himself as “Claude, better known as the Shoe Shine King.” Davis, a native of Pall Mall, Tenn., replied that he was “Lincoln, better known as a redneck.”

• Politics is a family affair for Sen. Ron Wyden. The Oregon Democrat was on the convention floor on Tuesday with his wife, Nancy, proudly showing off the couple’s 10-month-old twins to admirers gathered in front of the podium.

Technical Difficulties. Director Stuart Townsend and actress-girlfriend Charlize Theron have been all over Denver this week screening their latest flick, “Battle in Seattle,” a fictionalized account of the protests at the 1999 World Trade Organization meeting. But during a screening at the Starz Green Room on Tuesday afternoon, the battle mirrored one that occurs in living rooms across America every day — trying to get the dang DVD player to work.

Throughout the screening, the film skipped. A lot. The sound sporadically went silent, and the picture jumped around, making it difficult to watch. Eventually, the skipping became so unbearable that theater crews actually stopped the screening to switch the movie to a new deck.

But their efforts were to no avail. Moments after officials tried to fix things, the film froze entirely, effectively canceling the screening just as the movie reached its climax.

Still, the 50 or so attendees on hand were gracious about the whole thing, with most hanging around for a panel discussion afterward. Townsend personally offered his sympathies, declaring, “Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the shortest film in motion picture history.”

Musical Notes. All these A-list musical acts in Denver are making it difficult to tell whether this is a political convention or a weeklong mega-concert. Here are a few of HOH’s favorite musical moments so far:

• Former Fugees star Wyclef Jean chatted up Speaker Nancy Pelosi after the Democratic leader joined him onstage at the DCCC party at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science on Tuesday night. The musician, who moonlights as an activist for Haitian causes, is a huge fan of the California Democrat, HOH hears.

• Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner (and Senatorial aspirant) was spotted backstage at the Pepsi Center just moments before giving his big speech. The upbeat Pointer Sisters tune, “I’m So Excited,” was blasting on the hall’s speakers, and an HOH spy saw the gangly ex-guv bobbing to the beat. Says our fly on the wall: “He might make a good Senator, but his rhythm needs some serious work.”

Subscribe to Roll Call

Already registered? Login at the top of the page.

Roll Call is the first and only call for the people, politics and personality of Capitol Hill. Sign up today to get Roll Call delivered to your inbox and/or doorstep.



Already a print subscriber? Click here for instant online access.

Work on Capitol Hill? Click here for free access.

Questions? Call 202/824-6800

Highlights

Guide to the Conventions

Parties, transportation and hot spots in Denver and St. Paul

Roll Call Video

Video

C-SPAN — August 27, 2008

Video

Ethics Rules - August 26, 2008

Video

C-SPAN — August 26, 2008

Video

Heard on the Hill - August 25, 2008