Hazards for Smokers on Capitol Hill

March 25, 2010 RSS Feed Print
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By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

A lot of the perks for House members have been snuffed out, but smoking isn't one of them. While greatly limited as far as where they can puff, members are allowed to smoke on an outdoor balcony off the Speaker's Lobby near the House floor. But members tell Whispers that it has become a danger zone because little bits of stone or mortar frequently fall down. "It's the only place you can enjoy a cigar," says Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole, who worries about the safety of fellow smoker John Boehner, the House minority leader. Cole's complaint drew sympathy but no quick solution from Stephen Ayers, acting architect of the Capitol. "One would be surprised," he says of the old Capitol, "how much is missing or broken."

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smoking and tobacco

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ahhhh -how terriby thoughtful it is of REPUBLICAN Rep. Tom Cole to worry about the safety of his fellow REPUBLICAN & smoker John Boehner, the House minority leader -- RATHERN THAN FOR HIS OWN SAFETY . . . so does Boehner climb up on the railing & do his impression of a tightrope walker or what?! or does Cole merely think his colleague is totally clumsy & completely cluess . . .

however - since we're not certain what Washington Whisper's Paul Bedard's agenda was to write this piece -- we can only conclude that perhaps it would be more appropriate to worry more about the one pack a day habit of OUR PRESIDENT {especially since "we the little people" are paying the medical bills for MOST of the heedless denizens of the beltway!!}

then again - why not take the golden opportunity to put some of those billions in unspent stimulus funds to work right here in the DEMOCRATS own backyard?

they clearly aren't doing ANYONE any good still sitting in the Treasury -- AND heaven knows - putting people back to work should have been the NUMBER ONE GOAL ON EVERYONE'S AGENDA

yet in light of the new healthcare bill - perhaps President Obama should seize the moment & focus on having a "friendly BIpartisan contest" as to which side can quit smoking first -- the Republicans or THE DEMOCRATS!!

maybe it's way past time that BOTH sides of the aisle take a hard look in the cracked & yellowed mirror . . . AND RETIRE EN MASSE {let us all hope that the exits aren't blocked by falling plaster!}

tiger lily of DC 8:40PM March 25, 2010

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Washington Whispers has been featured in U.S. News & World Report since 1933, offering a fun, insider's view of Washington.

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