re: #255 Gus

There’s a dress code for Congress, that’s generally strictly enforced despite its vagueness.

The rules are vague but rigorously enforced: Coat and tie for men, “appropriate attire” for women. Jack Kennedy reportedly caused a scandal by wearing golf shoes onto the Senate floor. Then-Rep. Pat Schroeder supposedly broke tradition as the first woman to wear pants on the House floor in the 1970’s — though some accounts say it was Susan Molinari or Cynthia McKinney. (Update, 12/21: Rep. Charlotte Reid was the first in pants)

Hill veterans say Sen. Robert Byrd used to lecture female senators about open-toed shoes; John Ensign, who frequently jogged on the mall, would run in and borrow a jacket in order to cast his vote.

Sleeveless dress were once forbidden, but that was before Michelle Obama displayed her bare arms in the House chamber. The random turtleneck has been tolerated, but the no-hat provision has been enforced for more than 150 years. Bella Abzug couldn’t change it; freshman Rep. Frederica Wilson — known for her signature toppers back in Florida — fully expected that Speaker John Boehner would overturn the ban. But eleven months later, she told us she’s “still wishing and hoping.”

They’ve put so much effort into that, but not into making sure that they can balance budgets or otherwise spend like drunken sailors.