[New Republic] In an article on The New Republic today, journalist Marin Cogan details some of the sexual advances female reporters in Washington, D.C. must field from even the most rainmaking of our elected officials. Nodding toward a House of Cards episode that broached the subject of fraught journalist-source flirtations, Cogan writes that colleagues of hers have been hit on by fundraisers, lobbyists, think-tank brains, and beyond, some of whom were wearing wedding rings whilst trying to get laid.
But one of Cogan’s scandalous recollections stands out from the rest, both for its main star—a “high-profile” congressman—and for the clues it provides:
House of Cads
The psycho-sexual ordeal of reporting in Washington
These are the stories you don’t hear, in part because they don’t occupy the fantasies of the mostly male scriptwriters of Washington dramas and in part because women reporters are reluctant to signal to any source—past, present, or future—that they might not be discreet or trustworthy. Such stories tend to fall on the spectrum somewhere between amusing and appalling. Sometimes they reach the level of stalking: One colleague had a high-profile member of Congress go out of his way to track down her cell-phone number, call and text repeatedly to tell her she was beautiful, offer to take her parents on a tour of the Capitol, and even invite her to go boating back home in his district.
This is an old blind in D.C. – it’s former Rhode Island Rep. Patrick Kennedy.
All I gotta say is…watch “House of Cards” on Netflix! I couldn’t stop and watched all 12 episodes in about 3 days! Then I was sad cuz I have to wait for the next season. But watch it. You won’t be able to stop! It’s fabulous and the art direction is amazing, the way it’s shot is really fabulous and rich. Love love it!!! I don’t care what real congressman is seducing the kids on the hill, they all do! But the sailing does make one think of the Kennedy’s, for sure. Meh, just watch Kevin Spacey…watch it ya’ll!!
Marco Rubio? When he was a lawmaker in Florida he was constantly surrounded by a hoard of leggy 20-somethings. And you could smell the slime off of him from across the capitol plaza.
Rubio is in the Senate, not in Congress.
Actually, the Senate is part of Congress. Congress is made up of two parts: a Senate and a House of Representatives. Both of them together make up the Congress.
The Senate makes up half of Congress.
The Senate is in the Congress…
The Senate is part of Congress. Congress is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Marc Rubio is a US Senator from FL so is, in fact, a part of congress and would fit this blind.
Yes, the Senate is part of Congress, but this blind still isn’t about a senator because it mentions a “district.” Senators don’t have districts; only representatives do.
Federal senators don’t have districts, that is. This blind is clearly about a federal politician.
Senators are called just that. Congressmen means a member of the House of Representatives.
*CongressmAn
I cannot type worth a poop anymore and my proofreading is even worse!
Jesse Jacksons Juniors. Boating on Lake Michigan. Now the invitations are limited to paper boats in the cell’s toilet bowl.
Former Representative Patrick Kennedy / Rhode Island’s 1st District
John Kerry – Key being boating
Darrell Issa? Doesn’t sound like Boehner or Cantor and I have heard rumors leaning in the other direction about McConnell. Not so sure about that, though!
I guess I assumed it was a Republican… could be a D, too, of course:)
That sounds like John Kerry. Whoops!
Clue: spectrum.
Going with Arlen Spector on this one.
Nice catch. Agreed
Well, being that he was a Senator, not a Congressman, I would say no.
And, oh yeah, he is dead now too. So, probably not him.
Senators are also Congressmen. Know your US civics, people!
He’s dead.
He died last year.
From the mouth of Republican Congressman Paul Ryan:
Southern Wisconsin is a great place to live, work, and raise our families. The territory of the 1st District stretches from the middle of Rock County along the southeastern part of the state all the way to Lake Michigan. The District fully encompasses Walworth, Kenosha, and Racine Counties, and it extends north to include communities in southern Waukesha and Milwaukee Counties.
The 1st District is a land of rolling fields and pastures and a multitude of fine lakes and streams.
Perfect for boating with a hot journalist..
That could describe almost ANY district.
good point.
Paul ryan
Don’t know who, but I’ll guess pretty confidently that since the harassed reporter is Female, the Congressman isn’t Republican.
LOL
I was having Oreos and milk and blew milk out my nose when I read your comment.
Thanks for the best laugh I’ve had all day!
Barney Franks demands an apology.
Thx for the Friday laugh! So funny!
Any one of those dirty old men Dems & Republicans alike
Kerry was a senator not a congressman
A senator is a congressman. Congress = Senate + House of Representatives.
A senator is a congressman. Civics, learn it.
Home District, read it.
True but, Senators are more commonly refered to as “Senators” while members of the house are refered to as congressmen.
This is none other than Bill Keating. D-MA
Boating is a big clue — so yeah, John Kerry or Paul Ryan.
Oooo….I’m gonna have to go with John Kerry. As soon as I saw the boating thing I thought of him!
Maybe it’s not literal boating? Swiftboating possibly?
Reporters love a story….
It could be Democrat Bob Mendez who has been busted for flying to DR to take advantage of poor underage prostitutes. The reporter might have shunned him so that might have made him choose to take advantage of impoverished child prostitutes
OMG, I can’t. Representatives from the House and Senators from the Senate are BOTH members of Congress. You CAN be a Congressman/woman and be in the Senate. Congress is comprised of TWO HOUSES: The House of Representatives and the Senate. Just had to get that off my chest, a few of you were killing me.
THANK YOU!!!!!!!
Thanks for the lessons, Obi Wans. Ah, before you two newbies get too snarky around here – you might want to reread the details. I think we are all smart enough to know 8th grade knowledge. However, the blind refers to the home district and references House of Cards, which is firmly planted in the HOUSE. Ever see the show maybe? This is a HOUSE member.
Just had to get that of MY chest. Jesus.
Pardon the civics lesson, but Congress is made up of the Senate and the House. It is a representative, because they refer to his district and he is referred to as a congressman, which means a House member.
It is confusing, though.
John Kerry, Darrell Issa or Vern Buchannan?
You’re right about both senators and representatives being members of congress, but if it was referring to a senator, it would say “back home in his state”, not “back home in his district. This blind is definitely referring to a member of the House of Representatives, who represent districts in states, not states.
THANK YOU!! Comprehending details is a good thing, my friend!
This. Correct, if he were a Senator he would have been referred to as a Senator, not a congressman. Yes, they’re technically in congress, but that’s usually how they’re cited.
Yes . . . both the Senate and House of Representatives are part of the U.S. Congress. HOWEVER . . . it is not considered proper usage (see various current English language style guides) to refer to a United States Senator as a “congressman”. That term refers to a member of the House of Representatives. That historical curiosity/inconsistency in the English language has less to do with common sense than it does the desire to provide elevated prestige to those who are elected to the Senate. Having said that – it isn’t really relavant to the blind, which doesn’t use the term “congressman.” I agree, though, that the blind is about a member of the House given the reference to “district”.
Dennis Kucinich
I wish this was that dry-mouthed Rubio and that they’d expose him. No politics related to the fact that he comes across as a weasel.
Rand Paul?
Does anyone else think this is just a normal story about a man hitting on a woman? It doesn’t say that this particular man was married. It doesn’t say the reporter clearly told him “I’m not interested. Please stop contacting me.” and then he continued anyway. Reporters spend a lot of time out in the field rather than behind a desk, and they want to be reached when someone has a good piece of info for them, so they usually make their cell phone numbers fairly public and available. This doesn’t strike me as “stalking” or particularly scandalous at all…
Agreed agreed agreed! This does not sound like stalking. People need to stop using that word so liberally lately. All it means to me now is a form of self-flattery, “he’s such a stalker! Omg!” or a form of self-deprecation “wow he probably thinks im such a stalker…”
Alec Baldwin’s stalker story just ended my face-value acceptance of this word for good. You know who’s as stalker? That man that just tried to sleep over at Rihanna’s house in L.a. Who got entry info from an “email” from someone. … He is a stalker. The rest are over confident, over zealous admirers so please shit down the s-word it’s lame and conceited.
Pardon the typos I mean *sit down not s-h-i-t lol