Wednesday, December 12, 2007


My Congresscritter is Cooler Than Your Congresscritter

OK, so Proud Liberal John Yarmuth (D-KY3) isn't technically my Representative, if you're going to get picky about District borders. But I like to pretend he is, especially after reading pieces like this one from Page One Kentucky.

It’s hard not to like John Yarmuth. A year into his first-term as 3rd District Congressman, it’s obvious that he’s having a good time in Washington, but he’s also taking his job seriously. When he spoke to about 50 folks at Spalding University last night (a mix of journalists and students), he was eager and open in talking about his experiences. It almost felt like a family gathering (Yarmuth seems to get plenty of props from his colleagues for his media experience) where you catch up with the adventurous cousin who’s been away.

Yarmuth tells it like it is in a way that’s unusual in political circles. For one, he can admit mistakes, but he’s also willing to talk about the reasons behind his votes, even if those reasons are political.

And he's funny!

Colbert: “The best thing I’ve done in terms of publicity and exposure,” was his appearance on Stephen Colbert’s show on Comedy Central. Among the outtakes he shared was Colbert’s challenge to see if Yarmuth could tell the difference between Kentucky bourbon and Tennessee whiskey. In a blind taste test, Yarmuth got it right…twice. So Colbert asked him how long he’d been drinking on the job. There was also this clip I found on Comedy Central’s web site.

Read the whole thing for Yarmuth's take on Iraq, Blue Dogs, the presidential race, S-CHIP, running against Mitch and more.