It isn't every day that something actually interesting happens at a Beltway soiree, but last week, there was something of a near-miss "La Cage aux Folles" moment at the June 5 fete held by the Victory Fund -- a political action committee dedicated to electing and supporting LGBT politicians -- at the Rayburn House Office Building. Apparently, the to-do was in full flower when quite unexpectedly, Rep. Ralph M. Hall (R-Texas) walked in and started hanging out, leading attendees to tweet variations on this theme: "Huh, what now?"
As Roll Call's Warren Rojas noted at the time:
We can’t be sure how many other snowy-haired nonagenarians were floating around the gay-pride shindig, but Hall had to be the only person in the room who both helped co-found a hyper-vocal wing of his previous party (the Blue Dog Democrats) and has a solid “B” average (hasn’t dropped below 84 percent) from the American Conservative Union over the past decade.
Later, Hall clarified to Rojas that his brief attendance was due to a logistics error. Hall believed that the Rayburn foyer celebration was a "reception to honor a fellow congressman." So he came in, accepted a drink, and was, for a time, cold chilling with the Victory Fund folks -- until he began to suspect something was amiss:
“When I inquired about the congressman being honored, the sponsor did not know anything about that reception and presented his card. At that moment I realized that this was not the reception I intended to attend, and I put down my glass, thanked the sponsor, and told him we would be leaving,” Hall explained, adding, “Many of those in attendance probably were surprised to see me walk in, but were not surprised to see me leave quickly.”
READ THE WHOLE THING:
Ralph Hall, Accidental Tourist [Roll Call's "Heard On The Hill"]
Rep. Ralph Hall wanders into LGBT event, enjoys hospitality before realizing he’s in wrong place [Houston Chronicle]
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