A Jim Traficant getting-out-of-jail bash!

Buy a ticket — there’s still time to “beam yourself up” to legendary former Rep. James Traficant’s (D-Ohio) jailbreak bash.

Faithful followers of the flamboyant ex-congressman convict are throwing a party to celebrate the invective-spewing “Old Sheriff” Jimbo “Beam Me Up” Traficant’s first day of freedom on Sept. 2.

Facebook members need only search for “James Traficant Is Released From Prison” to check out the open invitation. Twenty-nine-year-old party organizer Republican Jeff Stewart told ITK that the final details for the fete are in the works. Stewart has yet to invite the guest of honor but plans to do so soon.

{mosads}Aside from sending a card to Traficant for his first Christmas in prison, Stewart has no connection to the ex-lawmaker, who will turn 68 next month.

It’s been eight years since the defiant Traficant was sent to the slammer. Members who voted to expel him from the House are unlikely to be welcome.

Before heading to jail, Traficant said, “When I get out I will grab a sword like Maximus Meridius Demidius and as a gladiator I will stab people in the crotch.”

Spring ’Do or Do Not?

Two weeks away from D.C. usually means members stop by the barbershop or beauty parlor before returning to the next long slog of business on Capitol Hill.

Well, it was apparent that at least one member spent quality time with her hairstylist. Texas Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, known for her crown of braids and brightly colored wraps, decided to let her hair down over the break. The Houston-based Democrat traded in her distinct braids for shoulder-length, free-falling locks.

What happened?

“It’s spring break,” she told ITK.

A spring ’do?

“No, spring break,” Jackson Lee said, emphasizing the word “break,” as in a “break from tradition.”

Jackson Lee revealed that she is “contemplating whether to go back again” to braids.

Why make the change in the first place?

{mosads}“You can’t wear Easter bonnets with braids,” she joked.

Even though the congresswoman looks different with her new hairstyle, one U.S. Capitol Policeman observed that the change was subtle compared to that of notorious former Rep. Cynthia McKinney’s (D-Ga.) dramatic tonsorial overhaul.

Then-Rep. McKinney, who also let down her braids, clocked a police officer several years ago when he stopped the congresswoman from entering the Longworth House Office Building because he failed to recognize her with the new hairdo. It didn’t help that McKinney wasn’t wearing her official congressional pin, but that shouldn’t be a problem in Jackson Lee’s case. She wears her member pin regularly.

Hoyer’s crystal ball gets fuzzy

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) correctly predicted that Democrats would pick up 30 House seats in 2006, but his crystal ball has now clouded over.

Hoyer opted not to make any electoral predictions in 2008, but did enter an NCAA March Madness pool this spring.

During an interview with The Hill last week, Hoyer, a diehard Maryland Terrapins fan, said he finished 26th out of about 150 participants.

Conrad’s dog waits to meet Bo Obama

Bo Obama isn’t the only Democratic dog walking Washington’s halls of power.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) was spotted walking his shaggy, white-haired bichon in the Senate on Thursday.

Conrad said the dog, aptly named “Dakota,” spends most of his time in D.C. and has yet to meet Bo.

A Senate official said Dakota and other pets can’t go on the floor but are allowed in the halls. Only guide animals, no matter whether they’re Seeing Eye dogs, pigs or horses, can go on the floor of the upper chamber.

The Roman emperor Caligula tried to make his horse a senator, but that kind of thing won’t pass muster on Capitol Hill. Asked when the last time was that he saw a horse on the floor, the official said, “Well, at least not since Andrew Jackson,” the former president and senator who brought his racehorses to Washington.

Lummis defies staff, appears on ‘Colbert’

Most politicians, and certainly their communication directors, dread the thought of ending up in the crosshairs of Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert, but not Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.).

Lummis, who recently was a guest on “The Colbert Report’s” “Better Know a District” segment, said that when she decided to do the show, she did so at the urging of her 23-year-old daughter and against the wishes of her staff.

{mosads}The “Better Know a District” segments are infamous for putting lawmakers in tight spots and getting them to say foolish things. Prodded by Colbert, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) in 2006 said that he enjoyed cocaine and the company of prostitutes because “they are fun things to do.”

In 2007, then-Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) urged the freshman members he helped elect as Democratic campaign chairman to avoid appearing on the Colbert show.

Lummis said that since doing the show, she is a more recognizable figure to younger voters in Wyoming.

But don’t expect Lummis to rake in any campaign cash. A 2008 study found that Democratic politicians enjoy a major spike in political contributions after appearing on “The Colbert Report.” Republicans essentially gain nothing, the study concluded.

McCaskill sheds the pounds

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) has lost weight. A lot of it. She’s telling the world about it, but she’s not bragging — or revealing exactly how much she has lost.

Asked by ITK about it, McCaskill responded, “I am thrilled to tell you I’ve lost a little weight. I’m not going to tell you how much, but I’ve lost enough that you’ve noticed. I’ve been working out more … I do a combination of cardio and weights.”

{mosads}McCaskill this year has Twittered about dieting and exercising. Kudos to you, Senator.

Pelosi’s book back from the dead

Matt Drudge had a lot of fun last year poking fun at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) dismal book sales.

The Drudge Report last August reported that Pelosi was “suffering a humiliating defeat at the nation’s bookstores,” noting that she sold only 2,737 copies of her tome, Know Your Power.

But Pelosi may be getting the last laugh. The paperback version of her book registered at No. 5 among Washington-area nonfiction best-sellers, according to Nielsen BookScan data. That is one spot ahead of President Obama’s Dreams from My Father.

In the president’s defense, his book has been on this best-seller list 144 weeks. Pelosi’s book hit the top 10 this week.

No green jacket, but a nice shout-out in the Congressional Record

Professional golfer Kenny Perry folded down the stretch at the Masters earlier this month, bogeying the last two holes in regulation and then losing in a three-way playoff to Angel Cabrera.

{mosads}Perry didn’t win the coveted green jacket, but he did get a small consolation prize of sorts.

Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), who represents Perry’s district, delivered a speech on the House floor that praised Perry’s “grace and class.”

Indeed, unlike many athletes who have been in similar situations, Perry answered every press question after his collapse on Easter Sunday.