For new Hill offices, it’s wading through resumes

Suddenly, it seems every Democrat in America wants to be a staffer. As new members of Congress attempt to meet their new colleagues and learn their way around the Hill, they’ve also been deluged by a storm of resumes.

Adrienne Marsh, press secretary for Sen.-elect Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., says that her office has received “about 175 resumes before we came out to Washington” for orientation, and since then, about 300 more. “I would say we’ve got 500-plus to look at,” Marsh concluded.

The nascent office of Sen.-elect John Tester, D-Mont., had, as of Monday, received exactly 203 resumes. (There are fewer people in Montana, after all). According to press secretary Aaron Murphy, Tester is “looking to build an entire staff from the ground up.”

An aide to Rep.-elect Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., said, “I can tell you what the number is today; it’s 250. We are forming a core team by January that will consist of no more than nine to 10 positions between D.C. and the district.”

The office of Rep.-elect Jason Altmire, D-Pa., is “looking at a foot-high stack of resumes,” said his press secretary, who added that “that’s not including the 25 to 50 we still need to print out from online.”

Rep.-elect Joe Donnelly’s, D-Ind., office has received somewhere between 300 to 400 resumes, going both to their home district office and the New Member Service Center in D.C., according to an aide.

The office of former Redskins quarterback Heath Shuler, D-N.C., has received applications in the “close to the hundreds range,” according to Shuler’s press secretary, who said he and several other staff members in the office has received dozens of resumes each. Shuler will be a representative from North Carolina’s 11th District.

At the office of Rep.-elect Joe Sestak, D-Pa., we were told that the amount of applications was “not overwhelming, but surprising.”

And the sifting process isn’t nearly complete. None of the campaigns we spoke with had hired anyone yet beyond the core group that worked the campaign.

Washingtonians, future Council member pay tribute to troops

Most Washingtonians are addicted to e-mail, but there are plenty who still know how to write a letter the old-fashioned way (you do remember “pen and paper,” don’t you?).

And many folks did just that this past weekend and for a very good cause. Hundreds of Washingtonians headed to the American Legion (Post 8) on Capitol Hill Saturday to pen letters to D.C. National Guardsmen and women currently serving in Iraq. In addition, attendees boxed care packages full of such goodies as phone cards, deodorant, chapstick, Twizzlers, stamps, mix CDs and socks.

D.C. Council Member-elect Tommy Wells stopped by and said, “It’s important for all of us in this community to support those men and women from the District of Columbia who are serving in Iraq. This sacrifice is truly appreciated, and I want to thank the American Legion for hosting such a worthwhile event.”

Put down that ax, Mr. President!

Hold the gravy — turkeys across America are imploring, “Don’t gobble me!”

Just a day before President Bush pardons the traditional Thanksgiving turkey, members of the nonprofit group United Poultry Concerns called for a far wider pardoning of birds.

They cooked up a vegetarian Thanksgiving on Tuesday in front of the White House, handed out literature and wielded a banner emblazoned with the slogan, “Turkeys: Meet One, Don’t Eat One.”

UPC prez Karen Davis explains that Americans can both give thanks and show respect for the feathered fowl by opting for vegetation recipes Thursday. UPC’s pamphlets conveniently include a vegan recipe for “Mrs. Gobble-Good’s Golden Brown Pie,” a bird-friendly entree option.

Davis told us that she’s been accused of being anti-Thanksgiving due to her animal rights work.

She tells Y&N, however, “I do believe in Thanksgiving!” Davis herself is a practicing vegan.

Speakeasy

“He could not do greater harm to this country were he a paid agent of bin Laden.” – MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann, speaking about just-resigned Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in the current issue of GQ

Media Mix

Former Republican Sen. and Attorney General John Ashcroft now heads the Ashcroft Group LLC. His latest book is “Never Again: Securing America and Restoring Justice.” We caught up with him via e-mail last week.

Q: What book are you currently reading?

“1776” by David McCollough.

Q: What Web site do you visit first thing in the morning?

www.foxnews.com

Q: What’s the last CD you bought?

[I don’t] normally buy CDs. [I] recently purchased Willie Nelson CDs to teach myself the mandolin.

Q: What’s the last movie you saw?

I don’t go to movies, as I’d prefer to watch ESPN.

Q: What’s the one TV show you can’t live without?

“King of the Hill”

Kelly Mahon and Andrew White contributed to this page.