MTV trying to recruit D.C. interns for reality show

“The Real World,” “Laguna Beach,” “My Super Sweet 16,” “Pimp My Ride” and now — “D.C. Interns”?

Move over C-SPAN, because MTV could be coming to town in hopes of making a reality show focusing on the daily grind of interns working on Capitol Hill.

MTV crews last week were hitting up popular Hill hangouts, such as the Hawk ’n’ Dove, looking for interns interested in auditioning for the show.

A casting call for the show took place last Wednesday at the Hilton on Embassy Row, where reality-star hopefuls filled out an extensive application before being interviewed.

Graham James, a public-relations employee with MTV, confirmed that the network is putting together a pilot of a show but refused to reveal any other details about it. He noted that MTV works on a lot of pilots and said not all of them make it on the air.

Michelle Rose, 21, who interns for Avalon Consulting in Washington, was sitting at a table at the Hawk ’n’ Dove with intern friends when someone approached and asked if they were interns. After responding yes, they were told MTV is interested in doing a show about D.C. interns and is looking for people who are smart and informed but also know how to have a good time.

The group was told that the network is hoping to paint a different picture with this show (in contrast to current shows like “Date My Mom”) by showing youth who are active and informed.

Rose explained that she is not an intern on the Hill and asked whether that mattered. She was told that the show is looking to get a broad range of interests, political affiliations and experiences, so Rose was encouraged to apply.

However, Rose has her doubts about the show.

“I agreed with the idea and I admire what they are trying to do, but I don’t think it will work out in real-world application.” Rose said, adding, “I don’t think the people at MTV fully understand the Washington culture.”

MTV might also run into some snags — namely strict regulations on filming and apprehensive offices. Think back to the problems that the Fox network ran into when trying to obtain Capitol Hill internships for Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie for “The Simple Life 3.”

Most congressional spokespeople said they would probably not allow filming in their offices, and some even mentioned rules that prohibited cameras in them.

But one Democratic press secretary begged to differ: “Considering that Congress is one big reality show, with the whole world watching, and that everyone on the Hill is a character in one way or another, I don’t think our office would have a problem with the situation.”

Inevitably, the most heated races turn the nastiest.

An intern to the Senate campaign of Rep. Mark Kennedy (R-Minn.) was detained at an event Thursday where Kennedy’s likely opponent this November, Amy Klobuchar, spoke about ethics, openness and government.

The speech, which was delivered at the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota, was open to the press, but the news that came out of the event had little to do with what Klobuchar said.

The intern was detained for attempting to videotape Klobuchar.

“When he went to leave, he was confronted by Klobuchar’s campaign manager, who demanded that he either destroy or turn over the recording,” said Kennedy campaign spokeswoman Heidi Frederickson.

The intern eventually handed over the tape to the Humphrey Institute, which, according to Klobuchar’s campaign, has a rule against videotaping.

“It raises a serious question: Why are they limiting and restricting who is at her public speeches?” Frederickson said. “What are they hiding?”

Klobuchar’s campaign maintains that the institute asked someone from the front row to stop videotaping. Additionally, her campaign maintains that the institute detained the intern and took the tape, not Klobuchar’s campaign manager, and ultimately returned the tape to the Kennedy campaign.

“This supposed incident is a complete fabrication, meant to distract from Mark Kennedy’s dismal record on ethics reform and six years of his participation in Washington’s pay-to-play system,” Tara McGuinness, Klobuchar’s campaign spokeswoman, wrote in an e-mail.

“The event host’s staff, not the Klobuchar campaign, upheld a posted policy regarding unauthorized recording and confiscated a videotape after the person who recorded it refused to sign in or identify himself. The tape, never in the campaign’s possession, was returned by the Institute to the Kennedy campaign this past Friday.”

Kennedy plans to give a speech at the institute later this summer.

Blumenauer down to one crutch

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), who in April broke a bone in his foot by walking out the front door of his Portland home with a bag of recycled trash and falling down, is on the mend. Last week he was spotted with one crutch, as opposed to his usual two.

The founder of the Congressional Bicycle Caucus is likely to be riding his bike to and from work again soon.

In response to President Bush’s push for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, Act for Love, a dating site for liberal activists at heart, has announced the “Million Marble March,” a campaign to send marbles to the White House.

“The president has clearly lost his marbles, and we want to help him find them,” said John Hlinko, founder of ActForLove.org.

The Senate last month debated a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, but it fell way short of the votes necessary to overcome a procedural hurdle. The vote was voted 49-48; supporters needed 60 votes to break the filibuster and 67 to pass the amendment.

In early July, ActForLove.org will hand-deliver the collected marbles to the White House. The organization will send one marble for each new member who signs up for the dating service and two for each person who signs up in search of a same-sex partner.

“We’re well into the hundreds, actually way over 1,000,” Hlinko said.

He added that he knows he will have to be careful when he approaches the White House with thousands of marbles. “I don’t know what happens these days when you try to deliver marbles to the White House, whether you’re shot on sight or what,” he said, adding that he believes his group will have to end up mailing them.

Aide has a bad case of congressional-office envy

“I hope this week is treating you and everyone at The Hill well despite the busy schedule. I was told that you were soliciting nominations for Best Looking Office on the Hill and immediately my thoughts turned to the office of Congressman ———. I don’t know if you’ve had the pleasure yet, but if I were you I’d take a stroll down to —— Rayburn and take a peak at the virtual smorgasbord of eye candy that is available in that office. I have to say that I am partial to the women of the office who are quite simply intoxicating, but even I have to admit that the men of the office are more handsome than the usual sort found in congressional offices. A number of ——— staffers either play or root on our softball team and needless to say this has made our sideline the envy of every team we’ve faced. The ——— office is that rare bunch who not only look fabulous but they are the nicest most sincere office I think I’ve ever encountered. Sometimes I catch myself wishing that my office was at the level of attractiveness of the ——— office, but we can’t all be so lucky. I guess the ——— office proves the old axiom that the least attractive bosses compensate by hiring the most attractive staff. I’ve attached some photos of the ——— staff that I managed to put together, but as stunning as these pictures are I would go down and take a look for yourself, preferably with a photographer in tow.”