When you think of a favorite bar, what comes to mind? Is it the seedy dive bar, populated with salty characters, the sad and divorced, the blue-collar workers with paint-stained pants? A posh speakeasy playing Leonard Cohen and serving up $20 espresso martinis? I think of a cozy pub in Liverpool, England, and all the empty glasses on my table after I’ve dispatched three Guinness pints before noon.
Well, if you’re a political junkie living in the D.C. area, you may have your new favorite spot.
A “sports bar of political affairs” has just arrived in Washington, D.C., and it’s stirring up a bit of drama, a bit of “buzz” (which, in my opinion, is fantastic PR) because the owners have already caved to some sensitive locals affronted by the red Republican Party elephant painted on the front of the building. (RELATED: The Drinking Challenge Men Must Conquer If They Want To Call Themselves A Man)
Political Pattie’s opened in a section of U Street that is apparently home to a plethora of gay bars. I’m not suggesting it was intentional for the owners to pick the gay bar neighborhood for an overtly political joint. The bar, whose slogan is “Putting The ‘Lit’ In ‘Politics,’” just so happens to be located in the mecca of rainbow watering holes. Something of note.
In a statement to Washingtonian, bar owners Andrew Benbow and Sydney Bradford said the GOP elephant logo was “hurtful to the community” and has since been removed, along with the Democratic donkey, “out of respect” for those whose feelings were hurt. They have also painted over the “Political” on the building’s facade, the outlet noted.
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 27: People watch the CNN presidential debate between U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at a debate watch party at Shaws Tavern on June 27, 2024 in Washington, DC. Biden and Trump are facing off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 presidential cycle. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The couple also lamented online users mocking the bar’s entire concept and its location on U Street, calling the “backlash … mean spirited.”
“We view the online backlash that we’ve recently received to be mean spirited, especially considering our original and continued intent to be a space that is welcoming to ALL people, including members of the LGBTQ community. We do not tolerate homophobia, transphobia, racism or any other form of bigotry. As Black Americans, anything else would be antithetical to our very existence,” they wrote.
I am sincerely struggling to withhold undue criticism of this new establishment. I know it’s quite possible their drinks will be poured heavily and priced lightly. The bartenders are probably charming. But the very fact that a bar in the nation’s capital, where just about every single one is teeming with political operatives and staffers and hucksters and lobbyists and media personalities, of all political stripes, is advertising itself as a bar for politics is hilarious. If I was still in D.C., Political Pattie’s would be the last place I’d want to have a drink after work. I would happily spend an entire night at one of those neon-lit joints near the intersection of U and 9th street during Howard University’s homecoming weekend than spend thirty minutes in Political Pattie’s, where I would sit in silent judgment of all the nerds ruining this country.
That being said, I do wish Political Pattie’s all the best. It’s certainly not for me, but I know there is a white-collar friend group up there in the swamp who will have a blast banging their little gavel on the table as they sip their Gerrymander Martinis and gossip about the latest Washington scandal. Cheers.
