Bartenders blow the whistle
Bartenders close to the capitol have told local reporters that members of Congress are keeping themselves busy during the government shutdown by partying and drinking, and generally having a great big knees up.
“I don’t think the public would be happy to know that they are actually enjoying this time.” one bartender at Hawk and Dove bar on Pennsylvania Avenue told WUSA9 News.
See Video:
The barman added that members of Congress have been “cutting loose” all week, and started off with a party on the first night of the shutdown.
“There was a private party upstairs with a few Congress people and senators here that night.” the bartender stated.
WUSA9 also spoke to another bartender from a separate establishment who verified that members of Congress had been dropping into his bar all week, including on the day of the shutdown.
The bar manager, who wished to remain anonymous, stated “There were congressmen, there were lobbyists and staffers…we stayed pretty busy. They were definitely eating and passing the time before the vote.”
The news station also published a photo (see screenshot above) of House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer posing for a picture with actress Selma Hayek in a bar on the second night of the shutdown.
Last week on the night of the shutdown, several reporters indicated that members of Congress were drinking before and after the vote.
on twitter:
Nyle Lynn @NyleLynn
Charlie Sheen could keep partying and run the congress better than these nut jobs!
Perhaps this is why congress has an approval rating lower than that of dog poop, hemorrhoids, witches, cockroaches, the IRS, toenail fungus and even the most evil disgusting thing of all… Wall Street.
HuffPost asked one tired-looking House lawmaker if he planned to go get a drink while the Senate took the lead on the government-funding bill for a while. He begrudgingly said no.
“I can’t,” he grumbled. “I have to be back in two hours.”
But Capitol Hill boozing is becoming a trend. Reporters shared stories of seeing and smelling alcohol-fueled lawmakers Saturday night.
House Republicans are unwilling to fund the government without dismantling Obamacare. When that bill passed the House in 2010, Democrats did plenty of boozing themselves, much of it at The Tune Inn, a dive bar just blocks from the Capitol, but plenty of it inside the building as well.
Meanwhile, 800,000 federal workers could be furloughed if the government shuts down.
