Emanuel chides crowd for not laughing at his Joke

Rahm Emanuel’s jokes weren’t going over on Wednesday at the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC).

 And when you don’t laugh at the sometimes-combative White House chief of staff, expect to be mocked.

 {mosads}Emanuel started his speech by saying he was short on time: “I have to be back at the White House [before] we start our morning briefings on both intelligence and economics. Those two don’t always go together at the same time.”

After a brief moment of silence, Emanuel said, “That was a joke. You can laugh at 9 in the morning. Wow. This DLC crowd is serious.”

ITK sides with the DLC on this one. Stick with the day job, Rahm.

Biden has ‘easier’ job now

Vice President Biden is just one heartbeat away from being commander in chief, but that does mean his old colleagues in the Senate think he works harder than they do.

 Appearing Wednesday at a green-jobs summit spearheaded by the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee, Biden gave a keynote address highlighting the administration’s commitment to environmentally friendly employment.

 “He looks good,” Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), standing in the back of the room, noted to Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

Kerry, who had moments before refused to share an elevator with two reporters, suggested Biden must be getting more rest nowadays.

“His schedule down there is a little easier now than it is up here,” Kerry said.

Biden delivered a fair amount of laugh lines, but the best came after he cracked a joke, then said, “That was a joke. That was not a gaffe; it was a joke.”

OMG! Sen. Bill Nelson rules

{mosads}It is rare to get a press release from a congressional office, much less a Senate office, titled “OMG!”

 But at press time, Sen. Bill Nelson’s (D-Fla.) office sent out just such an e-mail, noting that “the Atlantic Monthly just released its top 30 best twitter dudes in the nation’s capital from all walks of life. Our very own Bill Nelson was named one of the tops.”

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) also made the list.

Rep. Himes is not that excited about Sweet Pea

 Freshman Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) is getting lobbied like at no other time in his short career on Capitol Hill — and it looks like he is going to cave.

The lobbying isn’t coming from a big-time K Street insider, but his two daughters, ages 6 and 9. Their special interest? Adopting a dog.

 In an interview on MSNBC this week, the congressman said that he and his family are adopting a dog and he is not jumping up and down about it. And who does he blame?

 President Obama and his family, for bringing a Portuguese Water Dog named Bo into the White House.

 The congressman said, “The Himes household will soon be getting a dog, and that is no coincidence. I can’t say I’m entirely happy about that.”

 {mosads}Elizabeth Kerr, spokeswoman for Himes, said the Himes family will be adopting an 18-month-old Black Labrador named Sweet Pea later this month.

Yarmuth, Guthrie to lobby for bourbon

Two Kentucky lawmakers are teaming up to protect one of the state’s most precious resources: bourbon.

Reps. John Yarmuth (D) and Brett Guthrie (R) have formed the Congressional Bourbon Caucus to advocate for the product in Congress.

According to a press release from the two members, the caucus will “educat[e] other members on the legislative and regulatory issues impacting the industry.”

“This caucus offers a solid base of bipartisan support for one of Kentucky’s most important industries and largest employers,” said Yarmuth. “Congressman Guthrie and I both agreed it was important to create a working group that would advocate for this critical part of the commonwealth’s economy.”

So far, 17 lawmakers have signed up for the caucus. ITK hopes to get an invite to their next meeting.

But would Hoyer share a golf cart with Cantor?

 Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said this week on the House floor that he and Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) played a round of golf.

Hoyer said, “I drove the cart. He rode along. He scored well.”

{mosads}Indeed. Boehner shoots in the 80s regularly and insists that his famous year-round tan comes from the sun shining on him while he’s hitting the white ball into the hole.

Hoyer, who is friends with Boehner but not so friendly with Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), said they talked about trying to work more in a bipartisan fashion.

Hoyer isn’t holding out hope, however. He says the House has gotten more partisan each decade he has been in the lower chamber.

Bob Cusack, Reid Wilson and Eric Zimmermann contributed to this page.