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Many Dupont Circle shops and restaurants were happy to be near the second annual “Values Voter Summit” this weekend, no doubt getting a financial boost from visiting conservatives.
One store in particular decided to reach out to fiscal conservatives at the conference, offering a 20 percent discount to anyone who could a produce a badge for the event.
The store? Lambda Rising, the oldest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender bookstore in Washington.
The shop posted signs on its windows proclaiming the discount and included a postscript, much to the amusement of passers-by:
“No toe tapping under the stall necessary.”
Meanwhile, just up the street, GOP contenders for the Republican nomination took turns proving their conservative credentials.
“If president, I’ll also work with the people in this room, as I have for the past four years, to champion a federal marriage amendment to protect marriage as the union of a man and a woman,” said former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney to an applauding audience.
While Romney didn’t take advantage of Lambda Rising’s offer, store manager Chris Eney said four of the 2,000 or so conference attendees did flash their badges to save some money at the store.
He wouldn’t say what they bought, but he did note that one values voter made “a very sizeable purchase” on Sunday.
‘American Gigolo’ star may have a bright future in politics Actor Richard Gere was among friends last week when he attended a ceremony in the Capitol for the Dalai Lama.
Gere, the founder of the Tibet House in New York, met up with the Dalai Lama in New York City for a few days before traveling to Washington. Earlier this year, Gere was on hand when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was sworn into office.
Lawmakers and others in attendance paid homage to Gere, dressed in a sophisticated dark suit, wire-rimmed glasses and a French blue shirt. Gere’s wife, the former Bond girl Carey Lowell, also attended the festivities.
He was not giving interviews, but Gere was a good sport when The Hill asked him whether he supported the House resolution condemning Turkey for the Armenian genocide of World War I.
“Timing is important, but the truth should be told about any situation,” Gere said, adding: “That’s all I am going to say about that.”
Congress awarded Tibet’s spiritual leader the Congressional Gold Medal on Wednesday, and President Bush was on hand to present the award.
Learned a little about Specter, a lot about the Sanchez sisters Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) earned himself the distinction of second funniest Washington celebrity of 2007 at a charity event last Thursday, but he may owe Minority Whip Trent Lott a “thank you” for his award, having drawn some of his biggest laughs at the Mississippi Republican’s expense.
Nothing, apparently, was off-limits for Specter, as he proved when he teed up a joke about how devastated Lott was when he lost his home to Hurricane Katrina.
“The thing he was most upset about was that it destroyed his entire library — both books,” Specter deadpanned. “And he wasn’t even done coloring in one of them.”
Specter wasn’t the only one to surprise members of the crowd, who paid $200 a head to attend.
Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) complained onstage that she is constantly getting mixed up with her sister, fellow California Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez, and she provided one handy way to tell the difference between the two.
“I’m a 36B,” she volunteered of her bra size. “She’s a 38DD.”
Proceeds of the event, held at the D.C. Improv, went to Horton’s Kids, a nonprofit organization that provides services to the children of the city’s Ward 8.
Cheney insults bounce easily off black cape
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) may need to come up with a new name for Vice President Dick Cheney.
She delighted some of her biggest fans last month when she evoked Cheney-haters’ favorite slight, saying, “You can always tell when the Republicans are getting restless, because the vice president’s motorcade pulls into the Capitol, and Darth Vader emerges.
In a speech at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy Sunday, Cheney said many in his audience know him long before he was associated with the Dark Side.
“I’ve been asked if that nickname bothers me, and the answer is, no. After all, Darth Vader is one of the nicer things I’ve been called recently,” Cheney said.
Frist endorses Thompson Not only is former Majority Leader Bill Frist not running for president, he apparently isn’t running for vice president, either.
The Tennessee Republican was once on track to be a strong contender in 2008, but his aspirations were dashed when he discovered that the Senate leadership is the worst place ever from which to launch a presidential campaign.
On Monday, Frist threw his support behind former senator and fellow Tennessean Fred Thompson (R). Had he been interested in the vice president job, however, Frist might have done well to endorse ex-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani (R), who could stand to gain from Frist’s Southern credentials and socially conservative background.
Maybe the good doctor has another job in mind: Health and Human Services secretary, perhaps?
Jonathan E. Kaplan contributed to this page.
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