NAMES & FACES
Wednesday, January 12, 2005; Page C03
Some E-Mail Whiplash on the Hill
It started out as a routine e-mail from the office of Rep. Roy Blunt -- aka the House majority whip -- to various Republicans on Capitol Hill. Just a "Whip Floor Update," which staffers get numerous times a day (if Congress is in session, that is).
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Eh. Normal. Boring. Until you open it and see the e-mail addresses of more than 100 Republican reps, all meant to be in the blind carbon-copy section but accidentally placed in the "To" section, making them visible to all. (Oh, the poor staffer responsible for the Thursday e-mail. We figure
this isn't the best way to start your first week on the job -- but, on the flip side, this could make the 22-year-old one of the most popular guys on the Hill.) E-mails on the Hill follow a certain format, but most members of Congress choose a distinct handle to avoid the dreaded spam. So naturally Hill denizens immediately searched the list to see what members had picked for their address names. "There were some very interesting e-mail addresses," one aide told us.
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Rep. Jo Ann Davis (Va.) based hers on one of her horses (Smokey)
Rep. Scott Garrett (N.J.) picked his dog, Rusty.
Rep. SamJohnson (Tex.), his is Tiger
Mark Kirk (Ill.), who chose "prowler"
Rep. Joe Knollenberg (Mich.) is the self-explanatory banjoplayer
Rep. Richard Baker (La.) seems to like Thucydides
Rep. Butch Otter (Idaho): Idaho star.
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"But our personal favorite is Rep. Ander Crenshaw (Fla.), who goes by TheBigA. His office explained: "A staff member tried to come up with something that wouldn't catch a lot of the typical spam." Oh sure, blame it on the staff!"
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And just in case you're getting ideas about taking advantage of these e-mail addresses, some press secretaries told us: Uh, we'll be changing it now.
More:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2346-2005Jan11.html