Rep. Joe Crowley, Dancing In The Dark With Bruce?

Could Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) be the next Courteney Cox? It would be his second dream come true.

The congressman's first dream, of being a rock star like Bruce Springsteen (actually, he wants to BE Bruce Springsteen), has come fantisizingly close to reality, thanks to the power of YouTube.

Just in time for Springsteen's President Bush-bashing "Magic" tour, Crowley, a chief deputy whip for his party, has developed something of a cult following among congressional aides who can't stop playing Crowley's No. 1 YouTube hit. It's of the Congressman as lead vocalist performing a pretty killer rendition of "Pink Cadillac" with Nils Lofgren of Springsteen's E Street Band and Skunk Baxter of the Doobie Brothers at a USO concert last spring.

The video just made its way onto YouTube last month, and is now being linked to like wild in email chains on Capitol Hill, where Crowley's new nickname in certain circles is "the Boss."

Even though he jokes that he'd like to be Bruce Springsteen when he grows up, Crowley, a guitar player and singer who used to perform at weddings with his brother, knows such a dream is crazy. But the garage band rocker-cum-lawmaker is hoping he has a shot at being invited on stage by the Boss, a la Cox, then an unknown actress in Springsteen's classic 1984 video in what would become the auspicious prelude to her acting career.

Only difference is: Crowley wants to jam with the Boss, not dance with him. (We think.)

"That has been my dream ever since I saw his first concert at [the Meadowlands] in 1981," Crowley told us.

And back to his fantasy of actually being Bruce, he laughingly recalls thinking at the time: "I'd give anything to be that person right now."

As a music lover, Crowley has led the way in one of the more in-vogue ways for politicians to raise money: at rock concerts. He has held fundraisers at The Who and Dixie Chicks concerts. And when Springsteen is slated to perform at the Verizon Arena downtown on Nov. 11, Crowley will be there - along with a bevy of his supporters who will pony up $2,500 a piece to sit in box seats with the congressman.

Even if he doesn't make it up on stage with the Boss, Crowley is happy enough that he stars in a video with an E Street band member. "I hope he doesn't mind," the congressman said of Lofgren. "My kids love it."

And so do Crowley's fans. "The Pink Cadillac video is great. I'm a huge Crowley fan. He's a rock star for the Caucus and he's a great entertainer, too. He is definitely the Boss!" says John Michael Gonzalez, chief of staff to Rep. Melissa Bean (D-Ill.), who can't count the number of times he has watched Crowley's Pink Cadillac video. (Bean, by the way, is holding a fundraiser at The Police concert next month.)

By Mary Ann Akers |  October 8, 2007; 7:00 PM ET
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