Two weeks ago, I wrote a post here on TAPPED noting that Republican politicians had taken to attacking congressional staff in public. House Minority Leader John Boehner was the most colorful, imploring bankers not to be intimidated by the "little punk staffers" who help write legislation. "It makes you wonder what the people who work for these members of Congress think," I wrote. "Not that members are, as a group, known for caring deeply about the feelings of their staff, but it must be awfully dispiriting to hear your boss talk about you that way."
And yesterday, Internet political buzz machine Politico followed up with a story titled "'Little Punk Staffers' Fuming at GOP." "Hill staffers often feel overworked and underappreciated. Now, they’re feeling abused — and they say that a handful of outspoken Republicans are to blame." The story goes on to quote both staffers and members of Congress, Democrat and Republican, about their displeasure at the attacks.
The lesson? You should keep reading TAPPED to find out the news two weeks before other people know it.
-- Paul Waldman
