Will Reid and McConnell Road-Trip To Springfield?

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wants a piece of his Republican counterpart’s basketball action.

HOH already reported that Kentuckian Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader and the Senate’s No. 1 Louisville Cardinals fan, will be in Atlanta for tonight’s national championship game against the University of Michigan. But Reid had his own cause for basketball celebration with Monday’s confirmation that Jerry Tarkanian, the former coach of the University of Nevada Las Vegas Runnin’ Rebels, would be inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame.

“Nobody has brought more recognition to Nevada athletics and UNLV than Coach Tarkanian. Jerry is a legendary coach and he was a mentor to so many individuals over the years,” Reid said in a statement. “By bringing the best out of his players on and off the court, Jerry built a first-rate basketball program that Nevadans are fiercely proud of.”

When the coach’s son Danny Tarkanian ran for the House last year as a Republican, Reid took a swing at the younger Tarkanian’s financial woes but also highlighted his own role in helping the elder Tarkanian deal with repeated NCAA inquiries. Full story

Will Colorado Remove Restrictions on Cheeba and Voting?

With the news that Kentucky had repealed a law that prohibited alcohol sales on Election Day, we at HOH couldn’t help but spin the story forward, turning our thoughts to other illicit substances and electioneering.

Can Colorado, which decriminalized marijuana last year, be far behind in removing barriers to mixing bud and the ballot box?

Chez Gipper Gets Berlin-Walled

It would appear that no one at the University of Chicago got the memo that real Americans don’t destroy the “Great Communicator’s” hangouts.

If they had, the university would have known better than to sign off on leveling the boyhood home of former president and conservative poster-boy Ronald Reagan to make way for a couple of hundred parking spots:

According to WGN, the university plans to commemorate “40’s” connection to the Hyde Park ‘hood by erecting a plaque at the currently rubble-y scene.

Should that not be enough to sate political road-trippers, there are five Reagan-branded structures to visit (thanks, Grover!) a mere two hours away in scenic Eureka, Ill.

Crash Davis’ Congressman and Other Useful Information

In the spirit of baseball season, HOH is kicking off a new series that examines the congressional representation of our favorite fictional characters in television, literature and the movies.

The rules go like this — we decide where a fictional character lives and then look up who represents them in the House.

We will make the best guess we can with analysis based on shooting locations, historical data, creepy Internet stalker websites, the creators of these characters when available, sources familiar with the region, obsessive friends, thinly-veiled locations and textual geographic references.

We welcome any dispute with our assessments in the comments section below.

And even if the characters are hundreds of years old, we’re only dealing with modern members of Congress. Because, after all, a truly great hero of fiction lives forever.

“Major League”
Pitcher Ricky Vaughn (Charlie Sheen)
Cleveland: Democratic Rep. Marcia L. Fudge

We are not even certain if Vaughn’s criminal record qualifies him to vote, but if he could, he would have Fudge on his ballot, according to Ohio-native Christyn Keyes, communications director for Ohio Republican Rep. David Joyce.

“Rick ‘The Wild Thing’ Vaughn lives on West 6th in downtown Cleveland,” she wrote in an email. “Close proximity to two of his favorite things: the baseball stadium and the bar scene.”

That puts him smack in Fudge’s 11th District.

Keyes and Joyce outreach director Kevin Benacci said that it is their belief that third baseman Roger Dorn (Corbin Bernsen) lives in Gates Mills, Ohio, and is one of Joyce’s constituents.

Oh, Wild Thing, you make our hearts sang.

Full story

Seeing Red Over Gay Marriage

On Tuesday, after the Supreme Court heard the first of two days worth of oral arguments on same-sex marriage issues, it seemed most of Facebook went red.

Almost at the same time, thousands of people changed their avatar from a simple selfie, a picture of their wedding or a picture of their dog/cat/bird/child to the now ubiquitous red equal sign.

Enter those who can’t leave a good Internet meme alone, to whom we say: Thank you.

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Scenes From the SCOTUS: Gay Marriage Edition

Throughout the weekend, Monday and early Tuesday morning, the sidewalk and lawn in front of the U.S. Supreme Court was dominated by those in favor of same-sex marriage. Rainbow flags, equality signs and the color red was splashed about.

But just before 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, the crowd became more diverse as the anti-gay marriage march, organized by the National Organization for Marriage, began to barrel up Constitution Avenue toward the court.

“One man, one woman,” chanted the NOM marchers.

(Neda Semnani/CQ Roll Call)

Victorino and his wife, Mary, declined to give their last name, but said they traveled from Guatemala to participate in the march.

A group of eight 13- and 14-year-olds from southern California couldn’t believe their eyes as the NOM marchers passed the front of the court with gay equality activists lining the street.

“It’s pretty scary,” one young girl said. “Because these people are kind of going around.”

“There’s one crazy guy dancing around in a pink dress,” one of the boys said.

“There might be fights happening,” another girl said.

(Neda Semnani/CQ Roll Call)

When we asked if they had ever seen anything like this, they responded, “No!” in the unison of school children. When we asked if this is what they thought democracy looked like, they shook their heads.

“[I] didn’t think it would be like this,” the first girl said. “I didn’t think I would be seeing cuss words all over signs.”

The group agreed, again in unison, that the moment felt historic, important, special. The chaperones forbid the kids to give their names.

Meanwhile, back inside the NOM march, the protesters stopped and knelt in unison just in front of the court.

While someone out of view led the prayer, the women and men began shouting, “Gloria!” “Hallelujah!” and “It will be done!”

(Neda Semnani/CQ Roll Call)

Joe and Frank Capley-Alfano came to D.C. from San Francisco, Calif., to stand against California’s Proposition 8.

They came to Washington “to stand in solidarity with the other 18,000 couples who were legally married, and to hope and to advocate for equal treatment of all couples in California,” Joe Capley-Alfano said.

“I think that the justices see the tide of change that has occurred throughout history in our nation,” he continued. “And I believe the arch of justice bends toward equality and I think that today there will be an affirmation of our nation’s belief in equality for all people.”

A group from now-notorious Steubenville, Ohio, came to D.C. to protest same-sex marriage and sing to the crowd. (Emily Cahn/CQ Roll Call)

(Rebecca Shabad/CQ Roll Call)

(Neda Semnani/CQ Roll Call)

Lt. Dan Cheers Up SCOTUS Campers

During a cold snowy Sunday in the District, Lt. Dan Choi brought coffee, donuts and conversation for dozens of folks who were queued up to to hear the Supreme Court’s oral arguments for and against same-sex marriage.

Andy Bakker, a courier working in the District and living in Virginia, told HOH Choi’s visit was a highlight of his four-day Supreme Court vigil.

“He brought hot coffee and donuts and he engaged everybody,” Bakker said. “Especially the folks on the other side of the issue, so that was interesting.”

Choi, who is a Iraq War vet and a graduate of West Point, was famously discharged when he came out as a gay service member on national television. Choi has since become a leading voice against the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

“[Choi] did a good job. He was very, very direct. He asked folks, ‘Do you think I should have a family?’ But in a very nice, cordial manner; [he was] making jokes,” Bakker said.

How did the anti-same sex marriage folks respond to Choi’s question? ”People would say, ‘You can have a family, but I don’t approve of your activity’ or what have you.”

Bakker said Choi was “very good” at engaging with and listening to those people who disagreed with him. Plus, he said, “his coffee was still hot when he got here, which was very nice.”

SCOTUS Campers: A Tarp-Side View

For Supreme Court campers, some big lessons have been learned since the last big SCOTUS stake-out, for health care in June 2012.

The high court will hear two cases related to same sex marriage starting Monday, and this time around, according to Virginia resident and SCOTUS camper Andy Bakker, “the line is smaller, but we came out earlier.” Bakker and several of his friends are among the dozens of people who have been hanging out at the Supreme Court since Thursday.

“I think the line will keep growing,” he said Monday morning. “We have 50 [people] now. There’s probably 100 seats.”

Unlike the 2012 health decision vigil, Bakker says, this group of folks, whether they are for or against same-sex marriage, isn’t going to suffer line-cutters. These guys are making friends and keeping cordial. Full story

Cherry Blossom Festival Opens to Cool Temps

The Cherry Blossom Festival officially began Wednesday, marking the unofficial start of tourist season in Washington, D.C.

But festivalgoers were greeted not with blooming blossoms, but with an arctic chill that blew across the region.

Visitors who made plans for this weekend based on the initial peak-bloom dates of March 26 to 30 shouldn’t get their hopes up, as the cold weather in March has pushed the peak bloom dates back to April 3 to 6.
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Behind the Scenes of the Iowa Caucuses

Documentary filmmaker AJ Schnack is turning his camera’s attention to that most hallowed of American political rituals with his new film, “Caucus.”

Schnack, known for the documentaries “Convention” and “Kurt Cobain About a Son,” offers an intimate, sometimes funny portrait of the Iowa caucuses, an event that helps mold the election of the leader of the free world.

Schnack and his team track the 2011-2012 Republican primary contenders as they navigate the obstacles and pitfalls of the Iowa political scene, including lousy weather, corn dogs and butter sculptures. The documentarians follow GOP underdogs Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann as they try to break through a field of larger-than-life opponents, such as pizza magnate Herman Cain, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Speaker Newt Gingrich and erstwhile front-runner Mitt Romney.

“Caucus,” in tracing Santorum’s and Bachmann’s grass-roots campaign efforts, successes and failures, offers a rare view of the American political process.

The film makes its world premiere at the 2013 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in Toronto, which runs April 25 through May 5.

Sandra Day O’Connor’s Big Day

When Sandra Day O’Connor strode through the curtains to take her seat on the Supreme Court bench in 1981, the Arizona cowgirl became the first woman to sit on the nation’s highest court. Visiting the chamber on Monday, she saw three women on the bench: Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

Later that night, during a sold-out appearance at 6^th and I Historic Synagogue, O’Connor announced her observation with a broad smile on her face. In addition to visiting the court, which was considering a case for which she wrote a lower-court brief, the 82-year-old was in town to promote her new book, “Out of Order: Stories from the History of the Supreme Court.” Full story

Overlooked? How a Big Film Festival Can Overwhelm

The Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital, which has been under way since March 12 and wraps up Sunday, is a monster of a festival: 190 films, 75 venues, 110 premieres. It’s the Cannes or Toronto for the green crowd.

With crowd-pleasing fare such as “How I Became an Elephant,” provocative ones such as “Greedy Lying Bastards” and classic films including “The African Queen,” though, it’s easy to overlook some of the more modest, yet still arresting, movies gracing the city’s screens over the course of the festival’s two weeks.

A case in point is Wednesday’s screening of “The Age of Aluminum.”

Full story

CPAC Should Be Renamed Westcon

(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

Why bother?

(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

Dude

(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

is

(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

EVERYWHERE!

Four Decades After Secret Bombings, Kissinger Cool With Drones

Henry Kissinger, cold warrior extraordinaire, is unimpressed with Sen. Rand Paul’s concerns about drone warfare.

The former secretary of State and national security adviser to President Richard Nixon, who helped guide Nixon through many a decision on the Vietnam War and its many bombings, watched the Kentucky Republican’s filibuster last week and dismissed Paul’s worry that the U.S. government would take out one of its own citizens on U.S. soil as ridiculous.

“Having seen many of these wars, I sympathize with President McCain,” he said.

“Sen. [John] McCain, [R-Ariz.], sir?” we asked, not sure if we misheard or he misspoke. The noise level at the West End’s Ritz-Carlton art gallery was loud.

“Yes, Sen. McCain.”

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The Warholian World of CPAC

As we gird our loins to mingle with the true believers set to swarm conservative Thunderdome — aka Conservative Political Action Conference 2013 — we couldn’t help but admire the far right’s dedication to pop artist Andy Warhol’s prescribed allotment of fame.

The three-day ideological jamboree March 14-16 must keep the rhetorical trains moving, so featured speakers are hustled into the limelight for 15 minutes before being released into the wilds of book signings, film screenings, prayer breakfasts and private fundraisers.
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