From a Congressman refusing to pay his cab fare to a certain staffer misusing a listserv, 2010 was a good year for gossip. As the year winds down, HOH will count down our top 10 items of the year. We’ve sifted through dozens of columns and found the most salacious, titillating and hilarious gossip of the year.
In the No. 3 spot is failed Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell, whose bizarre $545.98 campaign purchase from a mattress store caught our eye, especially considering her stance on, er, certain bedtime activities.
“O’Donnell Goes to the Mattresses” From Sept. 16:
Typical expenses for Congressional campaigns: BlackBerrys. Computers. A mattress?
Much-buzzed-about Delaware Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell lists a rather odd $545.98 purchase from Mattress Giant on her Sept. 2 pre-primary filings with the Federal Election Commission. The purpose of the disbursement is listed as a “staffing expense” and was made July 1, according to the report.
HOH contacted O’Donnell’s campaign to find out why she would spend more than $500 at a mattress store — you can insert your own inappropriate joke here — but we didn’t hear back by press time.
Using campaign money for seemingly domestic purchases isn’t entirely new to O’Donnell, however. Back in March, the News Journal of Delaware reported that O’Donnell pays half her rent with campaign funds because she uses her town house as her campaign headquarters.
O’Donnell’s campaign also spent $158.38 for office furniture at Walmart in August.
“More on the Mattresses” From Sept. 16:
GOP Delaware Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell is aiming to put the story about her campaign’s $545 mattress purchase to bed.
An O’Donnell spokeswoman tells HOH that the candidate bought three mattresses in July from a local Mattress Giant store so campaign workers could have a place to crash if they need to catch a few quick z’s. O’Donnell is running “very much a grass-roots effort” and didn’t want staff to have to snooze on the floor, spokeswoman Hayley McConnell says.
O’Donnell is still running her campaign out of her rented townhouse, McConnell says, but she “is looking to change that.”
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
Roll Call has launched a new feature, Hill Navigator, to advise congressional staffers and would-be staffers on how to manage workplace issues on Capitol Hill. Please send us your questions — anything from office etiquette, to handling awkward moments, to what happens when the work life gets too personal. Submissions will be treated anonymously.
