DC Week (3 of 8): Escape from DC............but, Skyline Drive is Closed Too

With images of 1) Cong. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah, who is one of the most social media savvy members of the House), 2) The Metro line map for Washington, DC, the Red Line is the one used to get to Washington Capitals games and 3) Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who will be appearing on at least one Sunday morning talk show tomorrow.

Here are the tweets:

1) The Hill: "John Boehner spokesman takes flack for calling House Dems 'hostage takers..'"

2) Huff Post Politics: "Conservative shutdown architects hosting fancy fundraiser on debt ceiling day" (which was yesterday).

3) Washington DC News: "Ted Cruz wins religious conservatives 2016 straw poll."

4) Mother Jones (a liberal publication): "Demonstrating the lies of pundits is sort of like shooting fish in a barrel."

5) Politico: "Ken Cuccinelli's campaign released its most brutal ad yet in the very nasty Virginia governor's race." (he is running against Democrat Terry McAuliffe).

6) DC United (the local pro soccer team): "Tailgate is underway. Pick up your tickets and visit the food trucks in Lot 8 as well as Nocha Latina festivities!"

http://chaffetz.house.gov/

http://www.wmata.com/

http://www.durbin.senate.gov/public/

http://thehill.com/

http://www.motherjones.com/

http://www.politico.com

Tweets Conisdering All Things Washington DC (2 of 2): Saving the Ferret from a Govt Shutdown

If House Republicans get their way, a family from Nashville, Tenn., who travels to the nation's capital may not be able to go to the National Zoo. Conversely, they may not be able to go to Smoky Mountain National Park in their own state as well (it's always good to open with an editorial comment, it gets people's attention!).

Here are a look at today's DC tweets, from the right and the left alike. Just so no one is confused, just because I'm including tweets from a Republican member of the House, and a conservative magazine, doesn't mean, I agree with them:

1) Mo Ellithee (Democratic strategic commenting on the Virginia Gov. Race): "Ken Cuccinelli says Terry McAullife is the only candidate with a F-rating from the NRA. Tim Kaine did too. Won statewide 3 times. Next?"

2) Cong. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va): "Another Obamacare delay announced. Another reason the #SeanteMustAct."

3) Sen. Kay Hagan (D-NC): "Tomorrow, I'm leading a hearing on my bipartisan bill to improve newborn screenings, which reduces preventable deaths among infants."

4) National Review: "Obama thinks O'care is unpopular b/c it's unfamiliar. Or maybe b/c it's more expensive and less quality healthcare?"

5) National Zoo (not a partisan tweet): "We're still working to help black-footed ferrets!"

6) George Washington U's women's volleyball team: "Very excited to welcome Alumnae this weekend for a our match vs. Towson" (modified version of the tweet they posted.)

http://www.nationalreview.com/

http://nationalzoo.si.edu/

PSA- Go Out and Vote! (well, this applies to NC residents only)

Even though the rest of America voted for their respective party's political candidates last week, those of us who reside in North Carolina will decide which Democrats and Republicans are on the ballot on Tuesday.

As a Democrat who is just slightly less partian than Terry McAuliffe (I actually met him in person in Roanoke, Va., at a Democrat Party event---of course!), I am looking forward to seeing who we pit against unpopular incumbent Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC).

There are two major Democratic candidates running for the party's candidate. They include Elaine Marshall, the current North Carolina secretary of state, and former state senator Cal Cunnigham, who I plan to vote for.

According to his campaign web site (calfornc.com), Cunnigham was campaigning today in the cities of Hickory, Boone, Statesville and Salisbury. Tomorrow, he stumps in the eastern part of the state as he ventures to Greenville, Kinston and Wilmington before traveling to Charlotte late in the day.

As a state senator elected in 2000, Cunnigham, who is only 36, represented the Salisbury area, which is almost exactly between Greensboro and Charlotte geographically.

The Democratic state convention will be held in Fayetville on the weekend of July 31-Aug. 1.

We presume that both Pat Warren, who is the county Democrat Party chair in tiny Caswell County (the hamlet of Yanceyville with a population of less than 1,000 people is the county seat), and Joel Ford, the county chair of Mecklenberg County (North Carolina's largest county which includes the metropolis of Charlotte) will be both be very busy on Tuesday.

Oh, it should be pointed out that Robert Redford, who lives (at last report) in Park City, Utah, is not a candidate for North Carolina's U.S. Senate seat though he did play a politician in the under-appreciate early '70s cinematic gem "The Candidate" (pictured above).

Bill Clinton Spotted at the Big East Tournament

Former American president Bill Clinton was spotted at the Big East Tournament on Friday night during part of a two-game double-header. The first game was between Notre Dame (their star player Luke Harangody is pcitured here) and Pitt. Notre Dame won that game, but lost in the semi-finals. The second game was between the eventual conference champs West Virginia and the Cincy Bearcats.

"The Star-Ledger" newspaper in Newark, NJ, said Clinton was noticed sitting besides his long-time friend Terry McAuliffe, who unsuccessfully ran for governor of Virginia, in the waining minutes of Notre Dame's 50-45 win over Pitt. McAuliffe was drinking a Diet Coke.

Clinton told ESPN that he thinks Syracuse, who was announced as one of the four number one seeds on Sunday, will be the eventual NCAA men's basketball champs. Clinton added that he also likes another top seed Knsas' chances.

The former president added that since he is now a New York resident that he roots for Syracuse except when they play his alma mater Georgetown, which happened to knock off the Orange 91-84 earlier that afternoon.