Wild Nights, Wild Nights! Wonkette Paints the Town

No, that’s not Wonkette standing behind Joe Pantoliano. [WP/Lucian Perkins]

Truth be told, our night wasn’t that wild — more like reading Emily Dickinson than hanging out with Paris Hilton. But at least we got out of the apartment!

Last night, Wonkette (or one-half of Wonkette — the half of us with a tux) attended the Congressional Correspondents dinner, sponsored by the Washington Press Foundation. The swanky, black-tie event, held at the Ritz-Carlton on M Street, was attended by numerous “famous-for-D.C.” types, and even a few “famous-for-famous” folks — like Fran Drescher!

Slate described the event as “a B-list affair compared with the Gridiron and White House Correspondents Association dinners”; but we still had ourselves a jolly good time. Although Marcia Davis of the Post urged them not to give up their day jobs, the dinner speakers — Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) — were actually pretty funny. But our assessment may have been colored by the “soft bigotry of low expectations” — as well as too much red wine…

Of course, copious consumption of booze helped us through the evening. And did we mention that The Nanny was in the house?

Our detailed coverage appears after the jump.

Here are some highlights from the dinner and the rollicking after-party (sponsored by the Creative Coalition and Congressional Quarterly):

• At dinner, we sat next to a Charming Young Lobbyist (CYL) for a major pharmaceutical company. What a delightful dining companion — these lobbyists get a bad rap! (When we shared this observation with Original Wonkette over IM, she quipped: “if only they had horns and tails it’d be easier for all of us.”)

• CYL complained in amusing fashion about the proposed $20 limit on lunches between lobbyists and members of Congress and staff: “Where am I going to take them to — Subway?” She enthusiastically floated another proposal for dealing with the limit: “Restaurants should offer Lobbyist Happy Meals, priced just under $20!”

• Also at our table: gorgeous Broadway star Cady Huffman, of “The Producers” (and, of course, several episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm”). Alas, in a sad commentary on the state of the Great White Way, Tony Award winners like Huffman are borderline “famous-for-famous.” Another guest had to ask us: “Cady Huffman… now what was she in again?”

• The audience was chattering away noisily during intorductory remarks by Rebecca Carr, president of the Washington Press Club Foundation. In an effort to quiet them down, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) whistled — really, really loudly. It was a gallant gesture, and it worked beautifully.

• Yes, guilty as charged — we laughed at Sen. Specter’s (surprisingly off-color) jokes about Bob Dole and Viagra, as well as Alfonse D’Amato and adultery. (Is that a surprise? Multiple incoming links to this blog from Fark in the span of less than a week testify to our lowbrow tastes.)

• We enjoyed Rep. Hoyer’s joke about Tom DeLay ending his letters to Jack Abramoff with, “I wish I knew how to quit you.” Hitting “Brokeback Mountain” and the lobbying scandal in a single joke? Nice work, Steny (or Steny’s hired joke writer).

• We also appreciated Rep. Hoyer’s riff about the Republican skill at renaming everything for political advantage (e.g., “Warrantless Domestic Wiretapping” becoming “Terrorist Surveillance Program,” “Hurricane Katrina Response” becoming “Terrorist Submergence Program, etc.”).

• Hoyer joked that the Democrats should try to emulate the Republicans in this department. He suggested, for example, that “Knock-down, drag-out, intra-party fights” could be dubbed “Internal party debate.” Our favorite euphemism? “Lunatic fringe bloggers” to be referred to as “Key media outlets”!

• At the after party, the luminous Jennifer Berry, Miss America 2006, circulated gracefully throughout the room — while Garrett Graff, of FishBowlDC, did tiara guard duty. (See, we bloggers are good for something!)

• Another party guest told us (half-jokingly, we think): “[Berry] was probably just grateful to escape from John McLaughlin, who was sitting next to her at dinner. Every time she opened her mouth to discuss her pet cause, drunk driving prevention, he shouted, ‘Wrong!’”

• At the end of the evening, we left with a lovely CQ gift bag. It may not rise to the level of Oscar party swag; but in the cab on our way home, we sure enjoyed that chocolate cigar. (In case you’re wondering, we ate it. But the thought did cross our mind: “WWMD — What Would Monica Do?)

Update: FishbowlDC’s detailed report on the proceedings is available here.

The Press Club’s Dinner of Ribs [WP]
Washington Week in Preview [Slate]
Heard on the Hill: Here She Comes [Roll Call]

READ MORE: Media, Personalities, abramoff, alfonse d’amato, arlen specter, bob dole, brokeback mountain, cady huffman, charles rangel, congressional correspondents dinner, congressional quarterly, creative coalition, events, famous-for-dc, famous-for-famous, fark, fran drescher, garrett graff, jack abramoff, jennifer berry, joe pantoliano, john mclaughlin, lobbying, lobbyists, miss america, monica lewinsky, original wonkette, rebecca carr, steny hoyer, the nanny, tiaras, tom delay, top, viagra, washington press club

Gossip Roundup: Brian Lamb Marries

• Washington Whispers: Trent Lott found his refrigerator three blocks from his house and inside were two sentimental bottles of champagne… D.C. television viewers are sick of Barack Obama… George H.W. Bush’s presidential library plans to add mock press briefing room… Robert Bork jokes, “How do you pronounce Souter in Spanish? Gonzales.”… News-addicted actor Joe Pantoliano likes “the girls” on MSNBC, especially Natalie Morales… [USN&WR]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Brian Lamb marries someone named Victoria. Spokeswoman: “They were married in a small, private ceremony in the Washington area and Brian was in the office all week”… Hillary supporters hope “Inside the Bubble,” a new documentary about the Kerry-Edwards campaign, will end his chances in ‘08. Kerry flack David Wade: “The 20 poor souls subjected to this movie will be reaching for caffeine and begging for old Lamar Alexander tapes on C-SPAN2. Michael Moore has nothing to fear. I think the working title was ‘The Snore Room.’” [NYDN]

• Inside the Beltway: Diane Rehm, Cokie Roberts, John Cochran, Pat Buchanan, Matt Cooper, John Dickerson, Bill Plante, Mark Shields among the attendees of Congressional Quarterly’s 60th anniversary party. [WT]
• Rush & Molloy: Roger Ailes, Paul Begala, Judy Woodruff, Katrina vanden Heuvel will debate at a Harvard forum moderated by Tom Brokaw to honor John Kennedy Jr. and George magazine. [NYDN]
• Cindy Adams: Fidel Castro wears Armani. [NYP]

READ MORE: Barack Obama, Personalities, alberto gonzales, brian lamb, c-span, david souter, david wade, fidel castro, george h.w. bush, george w. bush, hillary clinton, inside the bubble, joe pantoliano, john f. kerry, msnbc, natalie morales, parties, robert bork, roger ailes, trent lott