The perils of fame for congressional staffers
When LegiStorm launched in 2006, we shone a spotlight on congressional aides like never before and that made some staffers understandably a little nervous. After all, it's a rare exception to the rule that the aide should never be the subject of news. Even good news about a staffer can tend to hog the spotlight from the boss and that's not a good thing for lawmakers who need to hoard all the attention they can get.
But when the news about a staffer is bad, well, that's obviously no good for the elected boss. Elizabeth Becton, an aide to Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.), discovered that this week when a rather unfortunate email exchange of hers made it into the hands of a reporter. In the over-the-top correspondence, she scolds a lobbying firm representative for slipping and calling her Liz.
Now, "Don't Call Me Liz" Becton finds herself a minor Internet sensation, with many thousands of people visiting her page on LegiStorm and hundreds leaving flames for her.
Since LegiStorm started, a handful of staffers have been indicted or pled guilty to crimes. A few others have been the subject of ethics inquiries by the press. Some staffers have become well-known as cable news commentators and have attracted critics from people of different political persuasions. But never before have we seen such anger directed toward a once-anonymous aide.
So beware to current and future staffers who act in a way that might attract press attention: don't try this at home, or at least not at the House.
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