GOP Rep Lobbied In House Gym... While Naked

[Tx4obama]

From the HP Live Blog

The Washington Post reports on some of the arm-twisting that went on behind the scenes as Republicans tried to convince undecided members to vote for Boehner's debt ceiling plan:

The lobbying for Rep. Tim Walberg’s debt-ceiling vote began early Thursday morning. The third time it happened, it was only 7:20 a.m. and he was naked.

"Hey, Walberg!” a voice called out to the two-term Republican congressman from Michigan, who was in the shower at the House gym. “Are you with us?”

Walberg, 60, would not disclose the name of the other congressman, who wanted to know: “Have you come on over?”

Walberg gave the same answer he had already given twice that morning. “Still undecided,” he said uncomfortably. “But let’s do this at some other time.”

Full article here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/undecided-house-republicans-render-their-leadership-indecisive/2011/07/28/gIQAkRkyfI_story.html

[TlalocW]

1. Interesting technique

Kind of along the lines of boosting your confidence while speaking by imagining your audience is naked. By actually attempting to twist a colleague's arm while he's naked, you're hitting him when he's literally the most vulnerable. Of course, that could be turned around if the naked person adopts a wide stance and stands his ground without worrying that everything nature gave him is on display... and he could always up the ante by playing with himself while discussing the policy.

TlalocW

[FLAprogressive]

2. Kinda like what Rahm did.

[bluestateguy]

3. Why does the House have a gym?

Buy a membership in a private gym. You people keep telling us how beautiful the private sector is.

They want to cut spending? Close the stupid gym.

[Tx4obama]

4. I agree ... also

many of the House reps that sleep in their offices use the gym for showering, shaving, brushing teeth, etc.

They need to close the gym and also make the reps stop sleeping in their offices - they make enough money that they could go rent a room somewhere off campus!

[appleannie1]

12. Wouldn't a bathroom with showers take care of that?

[demodonkey]

15. There are actually rest rooms with showers in the office buildings.

I have seen them.

[Tx4obama]

16. Well...

I didn't know that, thanks for the info.

The only thing that I had heard in the past when some of the House members, that sleep in their offices, that have been interviewed have said that they shower at the gym locker room.

[demodonkey]

17. Maybe these showers are meant for staff, or maintenance workers, or someone else...

...too lowly for the House Gym. But they are there, for example, on the basement level of the Cannon Office Building. As I said, I have seen them.

[emilyg]

11. Sacrifice.

[DJ13]

5. Pull the handle for Boner?

[animato]

9. +1?

[saras]

6. unrec for sex obsession - let the right wing have the 'sex is bad' issue

My basic reaction to the actual story is "So what? It makes sense in the physical context they are working in. It's just nudity, and completely voluntary at that."

My reaction to someone trying to make a news story out of it is that it's barely worthy of Faux News.

[Tx4obama]

8. What? The article has NOTHING to do with 'sex'. n/t

[chollybocker]

7. Some metaphors just write themselves...

[struggle4progress]

10. Time is limited. I've run after congresscritters trying to talk issues with them as they

headed out of one committee meeting towards another. So I don't find this particularly shocking or even very interesting. I'm pretty sure that one congresscritter, who doesn't want to be lobbied by another while showering or changing in the gym, can always say "I don't want to talk about that now"

[eridani]

13. Well, as long as he's fucking the people as a whole instead having skin contact--

--with specific individauals, that's OK. :sarcasm:

[BrightKnight]

14. There will be a lot of dropped soap if Boehner's bill passes. - n/t