So while
@squistion was getting his 14 hour nap before reporting to his busboy job, I was on the hill on 4 hours of sleep (my normal).
So I work with a couple of congressman and Senators on various projects, so I get to mix it up with them sometimes. I was talking with my friend who is the Chief of Staff of a senior GOP Senator today, an awesome GOP Senator FTR, and he was giving me some dope on some of the shenanigans up there.
So there is a tram underneath the Capitol that connects it to the Hart and Cannon buildings which are the office spaces for Congressional members. So it's a two car system with six seats on each car, so 12 total seats. The protocol is that a Senator gets his/her own car if they are there, no one else should be able to ride in the car. Some Senators follow strict guidelines to this protocol, and others not so much. Bernie doesn't take the tram at all, "he looks like a lost history professor crawling the bowels of the rotunda" as my friend put it.
So after one 14 hour day, as long as a Squisy nap, my friend and his Senator left the Senate floor headed back to the Hart building. There was his Senator, him and a legislative aide, and then another Senator came up as they boarded. My friend's Senator is one of the ranking Senators, so he has a lot of pull. He's also super cool and understands what aides and others do to make legislation happen. So my friend's Senator said, "you guys come on, let's go." The other Senator (also GOP) gets on and tells the senior Senator he doesn't want the aides on the tram, because it's "inappropriate."
Senior GOP Senator: Inappropriate how? These guys just worked dusk until dawn to make sure we got what we needed. Plus it's a two minute ride!
Junior GOP Senator: It's about the rules, they shouldn't be on here
Senior Senator: They are staying, you are free to leave
Junior Senator: I'll remember this (gets off train)
No wonder they can't get anything done.