Last night, I ran into a guy who beseeched me: “Go to YouTube! And look up ‘Kyl!'” It’s “all over” YouTube he enthused, letting me in on his “scoop.”
Turns out, Thursday morning, some “Occupy” fellow travelers burst in and caused a ruckus at Bistro Bis, the fancy Capitol Hill eatery where my scooper works with the team that staffs private events.
Per my source, the video shows protesters running Kyl & Co. out of the establishment.
Then they chased Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) all the way to his getaway car.
Kyl, the Senate Majority Whip, seems to be the target thanks to his seat on the deficit reduction-charged “Super Committee,” but through the glass in the video, you can catch of glimpse of Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah). Unlike Kyl, Hatch is not retiring at the end of the 112th Congress and faces reelection in 2012. A search confirms that the event was a breakfast hosted by The US Oncology Network on Hatch’s behalf. Kyl was just there to share remarks.
(Ironically, this “Occupy” stunt might wind up furthering the agenda of some Utah Tea Partiers. Hatch has been amassing a war chest to stave off a Tea Party challenge, like the one that felled his former Beehive State colleague, fmr. GOP Sen. Robert Bennett.)
While Kyl’s pursuer hectored him out the door, the rest of the gang engaged in group chants. Bistro waitstaff can be seen standing by, helplessly, waiting for the brouhaha to die down. Note how the “Occupiers,” in their glee, fail to evidence any concern for the awkward position they’ve thrust upon the staff, or even to acknowledge that they’re actual people, and they’re right there in front of them. Just like their fat cat bêtes noires, they’re just window dressing, just “the help.” Probably wouldn’t even understand the message.
When I heard my source recount this tale, my first reaction was: “What did you do? What did the staff do?”
My source just shrugged his shoulders.
“Whaddya gonna do?” I suggested.
“Whaddya gonna do,” he conceded, with an exasperated sigh.
Private events like these are major source of revenue for Bistro Bis and surrounding swanky restaurants. These “Occupiers,” so self-righteously convinced of the justness of their cause, don’t seem to care about the lost income and tips that the workers who make these events run smoothly – folks far down the scale from that one percent target – might suffer from their antics. It’s become a hallmark of the “Occupier” shtick: Class-based, but far from classy.
