The Best Reactions to the Best & Worst of Congress

It’s been about a week since we published the online version of Washingtonian‘s biennial “Best & Worst of Congress” survey. From best dressed to most clueless to meanest, our superlatives invited Capitol Hill underlings to beatify or bash their bosses.

The awards, both flattering and damaging, seemed to sail by all but the most Twitter-savvy members of Congress, although we would have expected to see something from Senator Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican whose grammar-averse, stream-of-concious-like social media profile managed to nab top honors for both “Tweet Master” and “Tweet Fail.”

A few members paused from their busy fundraising schedules to take notice of the honorifics. Democratic dean John Dingell enjoyed being named the wisest member of the House, while his fellow Michigander, Republican Justin Amash, was quizzical about being branded lobbyists’ worst enemy. Colorado Democrat Jared Polis, however, took umbrage at being named one of the House’s sloppiest dressers.

Our survey also caused publications in our winners’—and losers’—home states to spill some ink of their own on their representatives’ infamy. The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky was pleased Senators Mitch McConnell (workhorse) and Rand Paul (rising star) rate so well. Our favorite piece about the “Best & Worst” survey might be one from the Houston Chronicle, which backed up Representative Sheila Jackson Lee‘s repeat performance as the meanest member of the House with a gallery of horror stories from thrown cell phones to inserting herself into funeral speaking programs.

Benjamin Freed

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.