Capitol Hill

The American Mustache Institute, an entity we’ve been intermittently quarreling and laughing with for the past few weeks, offered up their hairy leader, Aaron Perlut, yesterday for a deep afternoon dive into the Fishbowl by phone. We accepted the challenge as Perlut comes to town this weekend for a Million Mustache March on Capitol Hill to raise money for Millions From One, which builds water wells in third world countries with poor drinking water. He talked press strategy, shared what it was like having facial hair at an obscenely young age and offered his delusional thoughts on how sexy he thinks mustaches are. Perlut has chaired the Institute since 1965. Heed this warning Fishbowlers: Perlut speaks with the driest of humor. We went beyond five questions because we just couldn’t help ourselves. Read what you like and leave the rest.

What is your personal mustache history? I’ve had it since I was 7. Parents were afraid to let their children play with me because I was alarmingly developed. It’s tough being this ruggedly handsome for this many years. I have a horseshoe style mustache. Basically, are you familiar with a Fu Manchu? It hangs over the corner of the mouth,, half way down the chin but it doesn’t hit the base of the chin. It’s pretty awesome though. (At this point, however unsolicited, Perlut explained that there are people who compete in facial hair contests. “They call it competitive bearding,” he said. We were frightened but he continued. “Physically we tend to be the JV team compared to them. We’re advocating for the lifestyle more than anything else.

How many people to you expect to attend Sunday’s mustache march? At least one million if not two, but probably two.

Your press strategy is unusual for Washington. Lots of jokes and quirkiness that sometimes amounts to horse shit. Without a doubt. Quite frankly, if we were to deliver our message in straight-laced manner it would get far less traction. We have found by injecting humor into our efforts it goes further. We don’t mind people getting a chuckle out of the mustache.

Do you think women find the mustache sexy? I’ve had my wife tell me that she’s tired of it at times, because not only am I living the lifestyle but I am talking it ad nauseam. But she also never tires of the dashing handsomeness associated with it. She’s very familiar with the science that it raises a man’s good looks by 38 percent according to AMI science so she knows she’s getting the whole package.

Have you ever experienced ridicule for your mustache?

Read more

We’re not fashion consultants, but we might as well be because we have no idea what in the world Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) was thinking when she woke up this morning, got dressed and pulled this crazy ass ensemble out of her closet. Is it Halloween? Was she going for a peachy cowgirl look? And what is that giant peach octopus doing on the left side of her blazer?

Of course, the topic during her morning MSNBC appearance was deadly serious as Trayvon Martin lived in her district. Her fashion failure only serves to strip her message. “It was a not a shock to me,” she said of Trayvon’s death. “I have seen it happen over and over again and it’s a conversation that must never end. We must talk about it. We must educate our young boys. We must talk to police officers. We must educate them, because there is this natural tension between black boys and the police. It is not a perceived tension. That tension exists and we need to find ways to calm that tension because it always leads to trouble.”

Good message Frederica. Very questionable attire.

After snagging George Clooney at Union Station last night, Colin Drummond (who’s now setting up shop at ColinDaily.com) caught up with him today and found out from George himself that he’ll be attending the State Dinner tonight at the White House.

No word on whether he’s bringing his girlfriend Stacy Kiebler. All bets are on his father, Nick Clooney. Colin shot this picture of George outside the Senate Dirksen building today.

By the way, we hear that this dinner is expected to be loaded with big names.  Word has it John Legend and his Sports Illustrated model fiance Christine Teigen will be at dinner tonight as well.

CQ Roll Call launched a revamped version of its site Congress.org today.

The site used to be a simple way for people to write their representatives. Now there’s up-to-date information on what’s happening on Capitol Hill, making it easier for readers to get up to speed on an issue and write their congressman instantly. Fun times for members of Congress, right?

“Already, people rely on the site as their primary communication tool for emailing Members of Congress, this is an additional benefit we can provide using CQ Roll Call content,” Editorial Director Mike Mills said in a press release.

Manned by Ryan Teague Beckwith and David Hawkings, the site is formatted like a standard vertical blog with roughly five posts per page. “The new site has a sleek look and feel for news, while retaining the award-winning Capwiz software that sent over 25 million messages to Congress last year,” Mark Walters, SVP and Group Publisher of CQ Roll Call, said.

The only oddity so far is the current survey featured on the right side of the site. It asks, “Which American industry is promising to deliver ‘more choices, fewer calories, smaller portions’?” You can select an answer and it will display the results, but it doesn’t tell which answer is correct and leaves you hanging and yearning for more.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) apparently has some time on his hands today. This morning he flipped on the TV and was disappointed with what he found. Does he need a hobby?

Turned to history channel.No.HIstory again

— ChuckGrassley (@ChuckGrassley) March 11, 2012

Our favorite react comes from Teddy Partridge, a “midfifties liberal gay male” in Portland, Ore. who writes, “You’re a US Senator. You shouldn’t be WATCHING the History Channel, you should be MAKING history.”

The Newseum hosted a celebration of Comcast’s new independent networks last night. These are networks that can be found on Comcast’s lineup that offer a new spectrum of programming for the company. Each channel is independently managed and owned by minorities. The new networks are:

Aspire, which is run by basketball player Magic Johnson and represents uplifting entertainment for African-American families.

REVOLT, managed by Sean “Puffy” Combs and represents a blend of music and culture.

BabyFirst Americas, lead by Spanish language television veteran Constantino “Said” Schwarz and is aimed at early developmental childhood programming.

El Rey, run by filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. It will be a “general entertainment network.”

Each of those celebrities was in attendance along with such D.C. notables as Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), Rep. John Lewis (D-GA), and Hizzoner Marion Barry (DC-Ward 8).

FishbowlDC spies tell us that skewers of tomato and mozzarella were served along with “lamb lollipops.” There was an open bar that included all the usual suspects plus three different kinds of Ciroc vodka. We’re sure that Puff Daddy had something to do with this since he’s a paid sponsor of the beverage.

While there was no live entertainment, giant TV screens showed clips from each network back to back. Which must have made for a bizarre scene. Just imagine Robert Rodriguez’s “Machete” playing side by side with videos helping toddlers learn the alphabet.

All in all, a fun time was had by all.

We recently downloaded a new app from the iTunes store called Banjo. It’s called a “social discovery” app and is described as follows:

Banjo can take you global people watching to view and learn about people anywhere in the world. Search for people, updates and pictures with your shared interests so you don’t miss out.

A simpler explanation would be that it allows you to see where people you follow are hanging out. For example, if you are following someone on Twitter, and they “check in” at a location in your vicinity, you get an alert letting you know who is checking in where. Kind of like Grindr for straight people who aren’t looking for stranger sex. While we were originally drawn to the uniqueness of the idea, it was a little uncomfortable to get this message this morning.

It sort of comes off as a threat. “LOOK OUT! JAKE SHERMAN IS NEAR YOU!” Turns out, our office is just so close to the U.S. Capitol Building, every time Sherman checks in, we get an alert that could make a stalker’s day. Just think about that the next time you think about checking in somewhere like the U.S. Capitol.

Ben Fishel was all bright-eyed and smiling at Media Matters for America’s book party last night for organization founder David Brock. The only thing we knew when we first approached him was that he is the late Andy Rooney‘s grandson. But there’s so much more to this fresh faced young man in a blue checkered shirt and dark tie.

For one thing, he was the press secretary to ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) who first encouraged the congressman to use Twitter. For another, Weiner basically canned him two weeks before the scandal broke. The departure, he explained, was something in between a contentious quitting and a firing.

Fishel, now the press secretary, for the nerdier, wonkier lawmaker and previously a press employee for MMFA for four years, hasn’t spoken publicly about working for Weiner until now. But last night he revealed a few choice details about how Weiner treated his staff. (We’re talking aides, not penis. We know how he treated his member.)

“I had words with him, ” recalled Fishel, who worked for Weiner for one year. “We butted heads. He was really a jerk and called women on the staff ‘fat.’ … He was so unbelievably cruel.” Fishel, who acknowledged the congressman had a quick wit and stood politically for all the things he did, reasoned, “People make mistakes with their penis all the time.” But being cruel? That’s a “day to day decision” a person consciously makes. While other aides would cower under Weiner’s domineering demeanor, he challenged him and called him out for the way he treated office employees. That didn’t go over so well.

Fishel explained that he was the one who initially tried to persuade Weiner to go on Twitter. He sent him a memo detailing why the lawmaker ought to sign up for Twitter. Though he sat mere feet from the congressman, the office red tape was an intriguing clusterf&%k: First he’d write the memo and an executive assistant would take it to the congressman. Next, the congressman would mark up the memo and fax it back to Fishel. “It was very bizarre,” he said.

At first Weiner shooed away Twitter as “trite.” Fishel gave up. But soon Weiner rolled back around and signed up for the Social Media tool that would be his demise. Said Fishel, “I didn’t think I had to brief him on that.”

We attempted to reach Weiner via his Twitter account. His account is up, but he doesn’t seem to use it anymore.

Read about what the aide describes as Weiner’s revolving door of hires as well as Rooney’s phone call to Fishel about Weiner…

Read more

You know it’s a fantastic day in journalism when the American Mustache Institute comes calling. This afternoon they sent us a pitch about the Stache Act, a bill they say is being spearheaded by the mustachioed Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.). The Institute claims that he plans to propose to the House Ways and Means Committee. The gist is that mustache maintenance should be tax deductible. According to the Institute’s website, if adopted by Congress, the STACHE Act would provide up to a $250 annual tax refund for Mustached Americans. We’ve called and emailed Bartlett’s office for more details and to confirm the congressman’s alleged seriousness on the matter.

Favorite line of the pitch: “As you probably know, last week on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol, the American Mustache Institute launched its Million Mustache March.” Actually, we didn’t know. But we’re ecstatic to learn about such a march.

The AMI (which stands for American Mustache Institute, but say “AMI” for a more insidery effect) lists guidelines for anyone wishing  to support their cause. To pledge support they ask that you do the following..Favorite line: “Continue my mustache growth in the extremely rare case that it causes significant decreases in sexual activity, friendships, and approval by society at large.” The AMI disclaimer about how mustache aficionados wear them at their own risk is also incredible. They bear no responsibility for mustaches that make men look like child molesters. See that after the jump…UPDATE from Bartlett’s office after the jump…

Read more

At or just before 8 a.m. this morning, a caller phoned into C-SPAN to ostensibly discuss the “the budget.” The guest of the hour was retiring 16-term Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) But like some C-SPAN callers these days, “Frank” from Largo, Fla. went rogue and quickly began asking questions about closeted Republican members of Congress, specifically mentioning Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) as being one.

Barney said, “I have no comment to make about any individual, and no knowledge about any individual. There are some members of Congress who have not made that public.” He added, “You pay no penalty for being honest about your sexuality.” He said there are great pressures in Republican Party to not be too open about being gay. He said they will tolerate gays in their party “as long as they don’t appear to be too happy about it.”

Watch here. “Frank” from Largo is the very first caller to Rep. Frank.