Scandal: Some Educated, Highly Skilled Government Employees Earn Decent Living [Class War]

The Most Cynical Political Story Ever Written [Politico]

Every hour or so, Jim Vandehei and John Harris, the wizards who invented the famous Washington DC newsletter Politico, send a memo to everyone about how fucking kickass everyone at Politico is, goddamn. In these memos, the word "POLITICO" is always in all-caps, so that you get really fucking excited when you think about POLITICO. Then Mike Allen puts on a party hat and Michael Calderone cranks up the Lite FM and they all dance and dance around the office. Today, they are excited about how ass-kicking their congressional coverage is.

Gang,

There is nothing we like better than ass-kicking coverage of Congress. It's the one institution open enough, transparent enough to let enterprising reporters bring government figures and action to life almost every day. One of the main reasons we started POLITICO was because we knew in our guts - and from our experience - that there was a set of reporters who had the right moves, the right instincts, the right values to do just that. And we knew if we pulled it off, POLITICO would be indispensable reading for everyone who works in Congress - or cares about the institution.

We have been accused of hyperbole once or twice, but we can safely declare: we have officially pulled it off. We can not recall a more talented and relentless group of congressional reporters in all our years of Congress-watching. You guys rock - and the past few weeks amplify why.

Also Vandehei and Harris literally sign off, at the end of these memos, as "VandeHarris," the cute nickname for the hideous Drudge Monster they become when they join forces to trump up minor or in some cases wholly invented stories as EARTH SHATTERING POLITICAL NEWS.

Meanwhile when I want to know things about Congress I continue to read Roll Call, which has been doing this for a long time and is generally much more serious about things.

Is Representative Eric Massa a Gay Predator? (Update: Or Is He Just Dying?) [Scandal]

Eric Massa, a one-term Democratic congressman from New York's southern tier, is retiring. He says for health reasons (he has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma). Also people have accused him of sexually harassing a male staffer. Updates: Massa's denial is kind of wonderful.

Massa is married (to a lady), and he has kids, and he is also a 20-year Navy veteran. According to Politico, who heard it from "several House aides" "on both sides of the aisle," the House ethics committee "has been informed of allegations that Massa... sexually harassed a male staffer."

Those are all the details we get. According to people, someone told a committee about "allegations." Way to win the afternoon, Politico!

Massa's district is pretty conservative—in 2008 he barely beat Randy Kuhl, a man who once pointed a shotgun at his ex-wife's head.

Update: Eric Massa's cancer is back. "I will now enter the final phase of my life," he just said on a conference call. Oof. If the harassment thing isn't true, we will feel really bad.
Update 2: Now we love this guy, basically: "Said Massa: 'I made my statement. The allegations are totally false. I'm a salty old sailor. That's that.'"