Steve Stockman Makes a Splash

Splish, splash, Steve Stockman was takin' a bath. Long about a Saturday night.

If you were worried that a humiliating primary defeat would somehow subdue Texas Rep. Stockman, rest assured that loss won't keep him from celebration. After Saturday's "ladies night" at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, Republican men must have been simply exhausted pretending that they are interested in women's minds. After Sarah Palin's misguided attempt at slam poetry, almost everyone was ready for Calgon to take them away.

Luckily, a pair of radio jocks got a room upgrade, complete with a giant hot tub. Little Caesars pizzas were ordered; liquor liquor was brought in, and Stockman was just in the right mood to get down. According to David Weigel, the congressman was offering $20 to anyone willing to jump in the tub. We guess every Tea Party needs a little steeping.

Weigel had a brief chat with Stockman, before the congressman decided to return the evening to theme.

"We were just starting to talk small when a young Republican ambled over and the congressman wrapped his arm around her. "We've known each other for years," explained Stockman with a laugh. She was inviting him to a join a smaller, and presumably less reporter-friendly, conversation in an adjoining room."

Although Stockman's office has not commented on the steamy affair, Brooklyn GOP Radio's Gene Beradelli did do a little damage control. The co-host told Weigel later that "[Stockman] was out by 10 p.m." Beradelli did not say whether the hot tub was filled with liberal tears.