As some of you may be aware, I am a dirty old lady. So I am always excited when the opportunity arises to judge male beauty. Yet I am not entirely shallow...my eye candy must possess a solidly Liberal belief system. Better yet, they devote their good-lookin' lives to furthering their Democratic ideals in the public arena. But how many men have that perfect combo of public service and smoking hotness? Barack Obama, Howard Dean? Toss in a Scott Kleeb for good measure? NOT ENOUGH, I say!!
This is why I was so excited to see our own Arkun Jaikumar here, as a finalist in The Hill's 50 Most Beautiful People on the Hill contest. If he were to make the cut, his addition on this list would cement beyond a doubt what so many of us already know as an undisputed truth: Liberal Men are the hottest.
...and WE get to vote for him, but only until July 24th. It's Democracy in action, folks. Change we can believe in! Let's take a closer look below the fold...
First, some back story.
As many of us remember (fondly) Brownsox aka Arjun Jaikumar was a beloved dkos denizen and front pager for several years. Remembered for his hawk-like attention to Congressional races, his wit and his unwavering dedication to the Progressive Cause, what we as co-Kossacks were not privy to on a daily basis was the fact that he's also quite dreamy. Witness:
Sadly - but not so sadly - Arjun GBCW'd when he accepted a position as Blog and Netroots Outreach Manager at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Although dkos lost a powerful (and hot) voice, we as a nation gained a dedicated (and hot) progressive champion at the DSCC. What better way to show our appreciation than to cast our vote for him as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People on the Hill? What? You need more proof? Fine. Here is just a fraction of my collection of hot Brownsox Pics (I told you I was a Dirty Old Woman).
"Why yes, I do resemble a Sumerian Prince. Would you care to tousle my hair? Or perhaps discuss the upcoming NH Dem Senate primaries?"
Public transportation, yo. Public transportation.
Chillaxing. Working on the Hill is exhausting, not to mention the energy involved in dodging the hordes of crazed fans.
Adorable quote from the article:
When asked how he maintains his look, he quipped wryly, "I try to shave for work, and I try to get a haircut when people start looking at me funny ... I probably need one around now. I didn’t know I had a look. I guess total lack of exercise. I walk a lot, I skip meals to keep my svelte figure, I drink a lot of coffee and probably not enough water. I do everything wrong."
Au contraire, "everything wrong" is OH SO RIGHT.
I mean, c'mon. This is really all you need to cast a vote for Arjun with confidence that you are making the best decision of your life. And all you need to do is put his name in the subject line of an email to 50mb@thehill.com
But THERE'S MORE. In addition to being a Dirty Old Lady, I am also petty and somewhat vengeful (who isn't?). This is why we ABSOLUTELY MUST NOT let any Republicans come CLOSE to winning this contest, especially the first one mentioned in this article, who leaves voters this deplorable quote:
"I’m confident with the way I look, not cocky but confident," said the intern in Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer’s (R-Mo.) office. "I don’t want to say I expect it, but it happens more here than it did back home. I actually get hit on by a lot of older men.* It was surprising at first, but I kind of just take it in stride now."
* David Vitter
While I'm at it, I should mention that we as voters can select TWO of these candidates for the Hill's list. I would like to take this opportunity to also lobby for Brad Bauman (hot), Communications Director for Rep. Tim Ryan (also hot).
"I’ve always been of the belief that you let your personality shine, you don’t put up any pretense, you let your sense of humor go and you end up becoming that magnetic person that people want to be around," said the communications director for Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio).
Unpretentious, sense of humor, dedicated Progressive, and a look in his eye that bores holes in my soul (in a good way).
These fine men also come equipped with some high level endorsements. Sen. Bob Menendez (hot?), for example, twittered that we should all vote for Arjun because he is one of the DSCC's best bloggers, which is true, but the subtext is plainly that Arjun is also beautiful to look at. Senators simply cannot say such things aloud, or tweet them, unless they are Republicans.
So, in conclusion, you all have to send an email to 50mb@thehill.com with Arjun Jaikumar/Brad Bauman in the subject line by July 24th. Are you one of those people with 42 email addresses? Excellent. Use them all to do your civic duty. You know how people always talk about bloggers living in their mom's basements eating Cheetos, too hideous to go out, blogging because they can't get a date? Want to knock a giant hole in that stupid cliche? A vote for Arjun does exactly that -- and he's one of ours, someone who is only working on the Hill (at the DSCC) because he got a political education and found a community at Daily Kos.
Also, he is hot. Jaikumar/Bauman '09.
UPDATE: I have been informed by my sources that Brad Bauman is letting his beard grow until a deal is reached on health care. So not only will he be regular hot, he will also be Rip Van Winkle hot.