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Archive: Player of the Week
Player of the Week: John Peterson
Capitol Briefing usually selects a lawmaker to be Player of the Week because of his or her role in what happened in the previous seven days. Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.) is a little different, in that he is a prime mover behind what DIDN'T happen on the Hill this week....
By Ben Pershing | July 25, 2008; 05:24 PM ET | Comments (0)
Player of the Week: Jim DeMint
The most oft-used cliche about the Senate is that it's the "World's Greatest Deliberative Body." Leaving aside the question about whether it really is great, the chamber certainly is deliberative, and Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has busied himself in recent days making it even more so. DeMint was a key...
By Ben Pershing | July 18, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (7)
Player of the Week: Edward Kennedy
Capitol Briefing must admit that on some Fridays, when the sun is shining and the weekend beckons, he has trouble figuring out whom he should select as Player of the Week. Not so today. On Wednesday, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) made what was widely hailed as a "dramatic" return to...
By Ben Pershing | July 11, 2008; 04:35 PM ET | Comments (7)
Player of the Week: Paul Hodes
For a politician, living in New Hampshire can have its privileges. It's particularly advantageous in presidential election years, when candidates come to your state, hat in hand, and are more than happy to share the stage with you. So life has been good this year for freshman Rep. Paul Hodes...
By Ben Pershing | June 27, 2008; 04:03 PM ET | Comments (4)
Player of the Week: Steny Hoyer
Which party won this week's round of high-stakes legislative deal making on Capitol Hill? On both the just-passed terrorist surveillance bill and the supplemental spending package that passed Thursday night, Democrats and Republicans have been crowing that they got the better end of the bargain. That's as it should be;...
By Ben Pershing | June 20, 2008; 12:00 PM ET | Comments (19)
Player of the Week: Dennis Kucinich
A little less than five months ago, Rep. Dennis Kucinich dropped out of the presidential race and went home to Ohio to find himself enmeshed in a tough Democratic primary fight for reelection to the House. His opponent charged that he was neglecting his district after becoming too enamored of...
By Ben Pershing | June 13, 2008; 02:32 PM ET | Comments (0)
Player of the Week: Joe Lieberman
Is Joe Lieberman a Democrat? That's been a tough question to answer since 2006, when he lost the Democratic primary as he sought a fourth term. How do you solve a problem like Lieberman? The Independent Democrat's embrace of GOP nominee John McCain has angered some of his Senate colleagues....
By Ben Pershing | June 6, 2008; 04:05 PM ET | Comments (9)
Player of the Week: The Anonymous Army on Capitol Hill
Flip on C-SPAN late at night, and you may well see a lawmaker giving a lengthy and impassioned speech to a largely empty House chamber. But while the room may look deserted, off-camera and behind the scenes there are dozens of aides keeping the place running. Congress works largely because...
By Ben Pershing | May 23, 2008; 04:06 PM ET | Comments (7)
Player of the Week: Chris Van Hollen
Hall of Fame pitcher Lefty Gomez once famously said, "I'd rather be lucky than good." So which one is Chris Van Hollen -- lucky, good or both? Chris Van Hollen can't get no respect ... from the media. While everything goes right for House Democrats, the press focuses on everyone...
By Ben Pershing | May 16, 2008; 04:08 PM ET | Comments (3)
Player of the Week: Vito Fossella
The scandal-plagued members of the 110th Congress have been something of a motley crew. They've come from north, south, east and west, the House and Senate, red states and blue. They've -- allegedly, of course -- inserted shady earmarks into bills, shaken down land developers, engaged in "very serious sin"...
By Ben Pershing | May 9, 2008; 04:06 PM ET | Comments (9)
Player of the Week: 'Charlie Boy' for Speaker?
BATON ROUGE, La. -- State Rep. Don Cazayoux (D-La.) is refusing to endorse House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should he win a special House election Saturday and get to cast a ballot in the next vote for the speaker's gavel in January. In an interview Thursday, Cazayoux went a step...
By washingtonpost.com Editors | May 2, 2008; 05:44 PM ET | Comments (0)
Player of the Week: Don Cazayoux
Don Cazayoux isn't in Congress yet. But the Louisiana state House member is trying his best to get here, running as the Democratic nominee in the May 3 contest to succeed resigned Rep. Richard Baker (R) in the Bayou State's 6th district. The race between Cazayoux and ex-state Rep. Woody...
By Ben Pershing | April 25, 2008; 07:00 AM ET | Comments (5)
Player of the Week: Don Young
In his 35 years as Alaska's sole House member, Don Young (R) has never been shy about talking back to his critics -- and he's had quite a few. When he was asked in 2005 about calls to redirect money for Alaska bridge projects to Hurricane Katrina victims, Young said,...
By Ben Pershing | April 18, 2008; 02:40 PM ET | Comments (2)
Player of the Week: Robert Byrd
Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., presides over a committee hearing on Sept. 26, 2007 (AP) Robert Byrd is the longest-serving senator in history. The West Virginia Democrat is Senate President Pro Tempore, third in the line of presidential succession. He is an accomplished historian who carries a copy of the constitution...
By Ben Pershing | April 11, 2008; 03:54 PM ET | Comments (7)
Player of the Week: Christopher Dodd
Six months ago yesterday, Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) attended a press conference on Capitol Hill with other big-name Democrats to call on the Bush administration to do more to deal with the growing housing crisis. Then Dodd left town to campaign for the presidency...
By Ben Pershing | April 4, 2008; 11:58 AM ET | Comments (7)
Player of the Week: Michael Conaway
When Michael Conaway was elected to Congress from Texas in 2004, he figured he could use his background as a certified public accountant to advance the Republican cause on big-picture policy issues like the federal budget and the national debt. Little did he know then that he might end up...
By Ben Pershing | March 14, 2008; 05:00 PM ET | Comments (5)
Player of the Week: Stephanie Tubbs Jones
As a former judge and both the first woman and the first African-American to serve as Cuyahoga County prosecutor, Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D) has never been afraid of an argument. And as the current chairwoman of the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, she has grown accustomed to fending...
By Ben Pershing | March 7, 2008; 08:00 AM ET | Comments (26)
Player of the Week: Mitch McConnell
Outside of the Capitol and Kentucky, Mitch McConnell isn't exactly a household name. Though he is the Senate's top Republican, he has no interest in running for president, doesn't pop up much on the Sunday talk shows and generally keeps his voice -- and his profile -- down. Master of...
By Ben Pershing | February 29, 2008; 01:40 PM ET | Comments (0)
Player of the Week: John Conyers
House Democrats left town Thursday for the President's Day recess having fired two controversial salvos at the Bush administration -- approving contempt of Congress citations against White House officials while refusing to renew a terrorism surveillance law. House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) was at the fulcrum of both moves,...
By Ben Pershing | February 15, 2008; 02:40 PM ET | Comments (30)
Player of the Week: Nancy Pelosi
Having been raised on a steady diet of highlight shows like Sportscenter and This Week in Baseball (with the greatest theme song ever), Capitol Briefing has always been fond of awards like "Pepsi Clutch Performer" and "Rolaids Relief Man." Beginning today, Capitol Briefing will begin handing out his own honor...
By Ben Pershing | February 8, 2008; 12:29 PM ET | Comments (15)
