Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin, The Examiner
2007-04-24 07:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin cover people, power and politics in the beltway each weekday. Email them at yan@dcexaminer.com .

Conservative values through constructive power chords

Aaron Sain and Frank Highland make their living as writers of mainstream country and rock songs in Nashville. Yet their side project is anything but mainstream.

The duo, known as The Right Brothers (www.therightbrothers.com), has released its second official album promoting conservative messages with catchy hooks and crunchy guitar riffs.

“Basically their jaws drop,” Sain said of audiences’ reactions when they hear such songs as “Bush Was Right,” “Shut Up and Teach,” “Global Whining” and “Trickle Down.” “They’ve never heard rock music used to promote conservative values.”

Nevertheless, he says the current release, “No Apologies,” has sold in all 50 states and 17 foreign countries, and is now being sold on iTunes.

He said in the last few months, requests for them to play conventions, rallies and candidate events have been rolling in. But, he added, “The first rally we ever did, we were asked not to play a song that made the president look bad. And the last rally we were asked to play, about two weeks ago, we were asked not to play a song that made the president look good. … We’re not willing to do that. We now have a policy that we will not play a political rally for a candidate.”

The pair will come to Washington in July to play for the National College Republicans. As to whether they'd play Al Gore’s Live Earth concert, he said, “We haven’t seen that invitation yet.”

Asked which of the 2008 presidential candidates’ campaign theme songs he liked, Sain surprisingly went with Hillary Clinton’s “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.”

“I kind of like Hillary’s,” he said. “The first album I ever owned in the ’70s was Bachmann Turner Overdrive’s.”

Go figure.

Stork visiting congressional office twice

There are identical twins, fraternal twins, even Irish twins. But now, we may have our first case of congressional office twins. Both Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and her chief of staff, Connie Partoyan, are due to have their first children about a month apart.

McMorris Rodgers, who was married last year, is due on May 29. She will be only the fifth congresswoman to give birth while holding the office, and the first since Sen. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., in 1996.

She’ll deliver in the Washington area to maximize her ability to vote, which she expects to be able to do after three weeks.

“We’ll see how it goes,” she said. “My goal is to minimize the votes I miss.”

She said she doesn’t have a name picked out yet, but they’re “taking suggestions.”

But to add to the complications for their staff, Partoyan is due tomorrow. (Friday was her last day in the office.) Until her return, she said, the district director and the legislative director would be holding down the fort.

As for the whole childbirth and infant-care thing, Partoyan said, “It’s very new for the both of us. It’ll be good to be able to trade information.”

Rima Al-Sabah pregnant with her fourth

In other news from the stork, Kuwaiti Ambassador Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and his wife, Washington hostess and socialite extraordinaire, Rima Al-Sabah, expect their fourth child in October.

A fashionable first lady

“It’s great having a first lady in this city who has an eye on fashion,” said one attendee at Sunday’s fashion show at Saks Jandel in Chevy Chase.

While much of official Washington was at John McLaughlin’s post-Correspondents’ Dinner brunch at the Hay-Adams, Michelle Fenty hosted her event to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington. New York-based designer B Michael featured his chic business clothes and evening attires (Fenty is a regular consumer of Michael’s clothes) and the VIPs in attendance included chief of staff to the first lady Anita McBride, Meryl Chertoff (wife of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff ), Institute for Education’s Kathy Kemper, Rima Al-Sabah (wife of the Kuwaiti ambassador), Judith Terra (member of the board of the D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities) and Mayor Fenty’s mom, Jan Fenty.

Bloch calls Lott an ‘acting’ politician

Some of the Creative Coalition’s most recognizable members — Phillip Bloch, Kerry Washington, Wendie Malick, Frances Fisher, Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Daly — stopped by Sen. Trent Lott’s, R-Miss., office last Thursday to push for an increase in funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.

But it looks like at least one VIP didn’t have the same impression as Lott. Bloch told Yeas & Nays this weekend that Lott acted interested in their pitch, but the fashion stylist said it was just that: acting.

“He taught us all a lot about acting,” said Bloch, adding that Lott seemed to simply be feigning interest.Not so, says Lott’s office.

“We’re floored at this characterization of the meeting,” Lott spokeswoman Susan Irby said, adding that Lott cut short a leadership meeting just to meet with the group. “Senator Lott is a longtime supporter of the arts, both in their funding and in encouraging innovations, especially that bring the arts to rural areas.”

“All the feedback afterward was positive. In fact, Bloch personally thanked Senator Lott for the meeting and commented on how much he enjoyed meeting Senator Lott and how nice he was,” Irby said.

Creative Coalition Executive Director Robin Bronk said, “While all our members have their own opinions, the Creative Coalition was delighted and thrilled that the senator made time to meet with us. ... He knows his stuff on the arts better than us.”

Media mix

Fashion designer Nicole Miller was in Washington last week as part of the celebrations for her 25th year in the business. She gave us her Media Mix via e-mail.

Q: What book are you reading?

“Inheritance of Loss”

Q: What’s the last movie you saw?

“Blades of Glory”

Q: What’s the first Web site you visit in the morning?

CNN.com

Q: What’s your favorite TV show?

“Ugly Betty”

Q: What are you listening to right now?

Corinne Bailey Rae