Kelly Carlson, known for her role as Kimber on the FX drama “Nip/Tuck,” is one celebrity who doesn’t want to bring just her fanfare to Capitol Hill.
An avid equestrian, she’s passionate about preventing cruelty to horses and she wants to be taken seriously on the issue. She even can spit out the name of the bill she lobbied for — HR 503: Horse Slaughter Prohibition Bill.
But when asked whom she met with on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, she can only remember a few names.
“Al Franken, Coyners, um, Schuler [Schumer],” Carlson told Yeas & Nays at Teatro Goldoni on Tuesday. “I’m bad with names. I’m not big with who’s in the Senate, this and that, I just speak about my cause.”
Even when tempted with the idea of a lobbying dream team for taking on her pet cause, Carlson dissed her Hollywood ties.
“If I had to bring people, I wouldn’t want to bring in celebrities that bring in empty press, I would want to bring people that are Olympic riders in the community who could speak knowledgeably, who can answer tough questions,” Carlson said.
Unlike Carlson, Wendie Malick, who joined her in the advocacy for American horses on Tuesday, isn’t afraid to flaunt her celebrity. But then again, she does bring Cap Hill chops.
Before “Just Shoot Me,” “The American President” and more recently “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” Malick worked as a lowly Hill staffer for New York Republican Rep. Jack Kemp.
And though her life has taken her outside the Beltway, Malick said she can offer celebrities and out-of-towners a few simple steps to survive Capitol Hill.
1. Always go to the bathroom when you see a ladies’ room, because you never know when you’re going to find another one. “This place is such a maze, it’s like a rat’s maze, it’s so crazy here,” Malick laughed.
2. Grab a bottle of water when you go by that little cafeteria.
3. Try to figure out the tunnel system.
