Only in the DMV--Letters to the Editor edition.

When I think about what the political class in Washington DC sounds like, I always think of Washington Post columnist George Will.

Will isn't afraid to use SAT words.  Truth be told, he's already moved on.  He's in GRE territory.  

And, he loves to use obscure historical references.  Usually to a war I've never heard about, or a group that sort of, kind of sounds familiar.    

You know, just to remind you that that all that daydreaming in History has come back to haunt you.  

But, it turns out George Will has some competition.  In the Washington Post's Saturday letters to the editor one Dennis William Chapman wrote in to complain about the previous week's real estate section story on micro houses.  

I'm not a fan of micro-houses anymore than I am a fan of micro-units.  They may be affordable (in a comparative sense), but I reject the idea that affordability basically amounts to high-end SROs (single room occupancy).  I don't care if that tiny counter-top is marble and the space is ergonomic.  If I don't have room to chop veggies, or at least 500 square feet to wander around in, it isn't big enough.    

But, Dennis puts it so much better than I could.  He manages to combine erudition with DC bravadoI will crush you peon.  Here he is in all of his glory:  

"The Post should not promote this artistic debauchery.  The 'green' Philistines mean well, but they must be controlled.  People need art, beauty and a little more room."  

Well done Mr. Chapman.  And Mr. Will, you might want to watch your back!  

Larry Hogan off to a nasty start?

Maryland's governor elect, Larry Hogan, won the game, and he doesn't want you to forget it.    

According to the Washington Post, Hogan decided to do a little in-your-face victory dance at a meeting for Montgomery County business leaders yesterday, telling leaders assembled in a Bethesda hotel:  

"Now, I realize that Montgomery County was one of the three lonely counties that unfortunately voted the wrong way from the entire rest of the state."

Hogan should head back to high school for a civics refresher course.    

There is NO SUCH THING AS A WRONG WAY TO VOTE.  The Constitution gives citizens the right to vote, but it doesn't tell them how to vote.  I know the Maryland GOP has been in political Siberia for some time, but we don't do Soviet style elections here Comrade.

He might also want to head back to an elementary math class.  Those three "lonely" counties accounted for 45% of the state's population in 2010.  Antagonizing them, or treating them as marginal isn't a winning strategy for re-election, let along smooth governing.

Let's hope that Hogan decides to take a political Tums to tame the acid associated with his foot-in-mouth disease.

The World's Oldest Profession--Lobbying?

We here a lot these days about the corrosive impact of interest group politics.  In fact, Jim Webb, a former Democratic Senator in Virginia, just alleged that "the Democratic Party has basically turned into a party of interest groups.

But let's face it, where would all these interest groups be without the geishas of the political world, the lobbyists who connect interest groups to politicians.

And, lest we stop there, let's also ask where those poor lobbyists would be without a roof over their head?  Probably--GASP--in a strip mall.  Lucky for them, there's always a lobby shop from which to hang your shingle--that venerable house of political prostitution that will take your business regardless of your political affiliation (or those of your interest group clients).  Lobbying, it seems, is an end in itself.

Take Annapolis, for example.  The blue state of Maryland now seems a little more purple with the recent election of a Republican governor--Larry Hogan. So, how does your Oldest Profession respond?  Well, they start hiring Republicans of course. 

According to today's Washington Post, the Annapolis lobby shop Rifkin, Weiner, Livingston, Levitan & Silver just hired a "long time Republican strategist" as the firm's "director of business development."

And, to burnish the new 'goods' for sale at the shop, the firm quoted the co-chair of Hogan's transition team complimenting the firm's newest lady of the evening'strategist.'  

Who says we live in a partisan world?  Political prostitution is as purple as it gets.