As much as I was never a fan of Vernon Wormer, the crotchety Dean of Faber College in the comedy classic, Animal House, Maryland’s 1st District rookie Congressman Andy Harris – the poster boy for social conservatives – could take a lesson from him.
I say this because at least Dean Wormer tried to jettison the miscreants in Animal House for throwing their big bash parties that devolved into debauchery and underage drinking…
The key phrase there being “underage drinking,” and how that toxic phrase involves one Kevin Reigurt.
A little background: Kevin Reigurt is Andy Harris’ Chief of Staff, a top gun position that involves him overseeing Harris’ Washington DC office. Reigurt’s basic job consists of running interference for the Congressman and making sure the office trains run on time. Unfortunately, from what I’ve been hearing, Reigurt has instead been the reason interference has had to be run (on occasions too numerous to mention) and, by virtue of his own idiotic decisions, has derailed one Hell of a lot more trains than he’s overseen departing Point A and successfully reaching Point B.
In short, Reigurt has proven to be a “favorite son” hire of Harris – which is fine, so long as the 1st District taxpayers don’t mind paying for someone to consistently screw up. And so long as no one is getting hurt and that no laws are being broken.
But, now there’s this…
Late last summer (and I’d previously heard bits of the story – can you guess which parts were just recently brought to my attention?) Kevin Reigurt did something that boggles the mind.
In the name of Pro-life, Family Values Friendly, Congressman Andy Harris, Reigurt bought alcohol that was consumed at a party that took place in Harris’ Washington DC office. This party was to celebrate the completion of an internship program for a young woman whose time with Congressman Harris’ office was coming to a close. That part I’d previously heard and, to be blunt, it’s no big deal.
However, the young woman intern in question was underage – and was thrown out of the internship program as a result of getting trashed at the aforementioned Harris Party. THAT’s the part that was brought to my attention recently…and the fact that she was underage is a big deal.
(Andy Harris’ Office interviewing interns for 2012)
As relayed to me by three very reliable sources, here’s the facts as I know them:
*On or around this young woman’s last day interning for Congressman Harris, a farewell celebration was held – one in which the young woman imbibed alcohol bought by erstwhile Harris COS, Kevin Reigurt.
*Said young woman got trashed at the party…returned drunkenly to her supervised dorm – and was unceremoniously dumped from her nearly completed internship program. You see, the young woman was out past curfew and was not allowed to drink – being underage, and all.
*All Hell broke loose at that point. It seems that ol’ Kevin Reigurt tried to shift the blame for the “Underage Drinking Disaster” away from himself and onto a former Harris Legislative Aide, Laurel Schmuck.
*As a result of Reigurt’s failed sleight of hand, Laurel Schmuck’s dad, Peter Schmuck – columnist for the Baltimore Sun and sometimes talk show host on WBAL Radio – called Harris and angrily confronted him. The Schmuck Stops Here, indeed…
What’s really interesting about the whole Laurel Schmuck/Kevin Reigurt thing is that, while Schmuck is no longer with Harris’ office, Kevin Reigurt is.
What the Hell?
To begin with, what the Hell was Kevin Reigurt thinking? Buying alcohol for a party to be held in Andy Harris’ office, a party celebrating the impending departure of an 18 year old? The very party which led to said underager getting smashed and thus making her impending departure immediate? And, Mr. Reigurt, isn’t a part of the job of the Chief of Staff to take – as opposed to deflect onto someone else – the hits (which, in this case, seems to be YOUR fault anyway?)
And then there’s Andy Harris…
What the Hell, Congressman?
You’re a family values kinda guy, right? A Mr. Do-the-Right-Thing because it’s the right thing? That being the case, why the Hell is Kevin Reigurt still your Chief of Staff? The way I see it, you either tacitly approve of your top guy feting underage interns with alcohol…or are lacking in the area of spinal fortitude. It’s either some failure of morals or leaderhship…
Which one is it, Congressman?
Seriously. Which one is it?
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