Just Another Day in the 202

The circus came to Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning, pitching its tents on the sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court.

The news cameras were among the first to arrive. They rolled in to stakeout spots in front of the steps early. By 3:30 a.m., the prime spots were taken; by 4:30 a.m., the stragglers were relegated to the lawn on the strip of grass next to the court’s steps.
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Overheard on the Hill

“Just because a couple people on the Supreme Court declare something to be ‘constitutional’ does not make it so.”
— Sen. Rand Paul, in a release.

“it’s constitutional. Bitches.”
— A tweet by Democratic National Committee Executive Director Patrick Gaspard. @patrickgaspard

“It is not our job to save the people from the consequences of their electoral choices.”
— Chief Justice John Roberts

Wu-Hoo at SCOTUS, Too

Ex-Rep. David Wu joined the masses at the Supreme Court on Thursday. (Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

Among the thousands of people amassed before the Supreme Court on Thursday morning was the former Member with the mostest, HOH favorite David Wu (D-Ore.).

The legislative pariah resigned his seat almost a year ago but continues to seek out the spotlight as if it’s his job.
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Capitol Tours? Sorry, Not for Sale

Want to party in the Capitol on July Fourth for $250?

You can’t. It’s against the law. But that didn’t stop some from trying.

On Wednesday, GiltCity.com, a website that offers package deals on food, fashion and cultural activities, advertised something fun for Independence Day: Buy a $250 ticket to sample dishes from celebrity chefs and view fireworks from inside the Capitol.

MADE: In America, a nonprofit dedicated to selling U.S.-made goods, has organized Independence Day celebrations in the Capitol before.

But the GiltCity.com marketing was a new twist that ran afoul of the law. Full story

Waxing Philosophic With the Weizel

What’s a contempt vote presser without political juggernaut Pauly Shore?

(Warren Rojas/CC Roll Call)

House Democrats were luckily not forced to contemplate that terribly upsetting possibility this afternoon, as the MTV icon was armed and ready with a video camera and a puzzled look on his face as he buzzed around the circle of lawmakers who paraded onto the Capitol lawn amidst the GOP’s election-year posturing.

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Back to School

Still seething with rage after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ruling, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor assured opponents of the health care law that the GOP would renew its efforts to repeal President Barack Obama’s “bill” in the coming weeks.

We realize the Virginia Republican probably has a lot on his mind today, but we’re a little perplexed by the gross misunderstanding (misunderestimation?) of exactly what he’s up against. Full story

SCOTUSpalooza

The health care gawkers were in rare form this morning.

There were instapundits in lab coats, artists waving Obama chia heads, disgraced lawmakers, costumed detractors, sweat-stained staffers and iPad-waving tourists hoping to preserve the historic moment for posterity.

(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

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Tweeting With All Due Deliberation

For anyone doubting that the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act came as a bit of a surprise, the folks over at the Sunlight Foundation have collected on its Politwoops site the tweets of GOP Members of Congress who, going off of erroneous cable news reporting, celebrated the striking down of the individual mandate.

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Who’s on First?

And now for something not related to health care or contempt!

Although a pall of partisanship has hung thick over Capitol Hill this week, at least two Members were out to lighten the tense mood.

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Homeward Bound

As if they didn’t already have enough to worry about (opposition candidates, disillusioned voters, vindictive super PACs), politicians can now add disgruntled cabbies and savvy gamers to the growing roster of those looking to boot them from office.

To be fair, Linda Mess (taxi driver) and Rich Colburn (video game developer) are more interested in launching lawmakers skyward via all kinds of wacky propulsion devices. But the basic principle is the same.
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Scarred But No Longer Scared

Reps. Bruce Braley and Jackie Speier speak with Protect Our Defenders members as they deliver letters thanking the 125 co-sponsors of Speier's Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

A cadre of sexually mistreated warriors brought their very personal battle to Capitol Hill on Wednesday, huddling with Reps. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) and Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) to champion changes in the handling of military rape.

The morale-killing crisis is exhaustively chronicled in the film “The Invisible War,” an unflinching look at sexually abused service members who, until now, had been kept at bay by bureaucracy and indifference.

Speier introduced the Sexual Assault Training Oversight and Prevention Act last fall. The bipartisan bill, which aims to create autonomous oversight of reported rapes, has 125 co-sponsors.
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Baltimore Bombs Away

(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

Good news for the calorie-deprived!

Dangerously Delicious Pies, the Baltimore-born, D.C.-colonizing, absurdly tasty pie establishment, is opening another outlet for Capitol Hill today.

The purveyor of sweet and savory pastries is taking over the old slot in Union Station’s food court previously occupied by another Baltimore institution, Vaccaro’s Italian Pastry Shop.
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Getting Comfy on the House Floor

C-SPAN’s cameras caught a small child making himself comfortable as Massachusetts Rep. John Olver (D) said something. FamousDC helpfully posted the clip.

The kid stuck both hands down his pants before curling up and falling fast asleep.

It was all pretty adorable.

Show Me the Funny

Lyrical poets Black Moon once asked a fairly straightforward question:

It took almost 20 years, but we now have a definitive answer — Congressional press wranglers:

(Warren Rojas/CQ Roll Call)

Funk Descends on National Mall

The Smithsonian Folk Life Festival is set to get down tonight.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture, scheduled to open its brick and mortar portion in 2015 on the National Mall, is bringing funk legends George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Ivan Neville and Dumpstaphunk and Meshell Ndegeocello to perform on the National Mall from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.