Chris Van Hollen’s wife demoralizing his office (dear white staffer)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds insufferable.


Voters elected him. Not her.

Well, when you voted him in, you get two for one.

That’s what Hillary Clinton said

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She used to park in the handicap space at Grace Episcopal Day School (the old lower school on GA Ave) and it pissed us all off so much. It's a really bad look of entitlement and "I'm too important to park a few spaces away". Kids were in after care so the lot was basically empty.

I don’t know her, but it’s entirely possible she has an invisible physical disability. Please keep that in mind when you judge people parking in disabled spots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this is true, I hope he figures out which staffer is slandering his wife online and fires him or her. Very bad judgment.

I hope he also asks himself if the complainers have a legit point.

The complainer should bring it up with the chief of staff or Chris himself. They shouldn’t be posting on social media. That shows incredibly poor judgment. What else what they leaked to the press? One of the number one traits of a good hill staffer is discretion and judgment. If someone is posting negative things about their member on social media, they need to go get another job.

How do you know he didn’t bring it up with Van Hollen?

I don’t, but if he did or with the chief of staff and the behavior continued, the solution is to find another job. Congressmen absolutely can get a bad rep for being a bad office to work for if there is a lot of turnover, and congressmen know that if they develop that rep, they are going to have trouble attracting and retaining talent.

Bashing your boss online is completely unacceptable in the world of politics and kids who do that are not going to get far in the political world, for good reason.

[Anonymous]

I got no problem with it. Clearly the working conditions were intolerable in many of these offices and it has pushed Pelosi to accept their right to unionize. This will lead to more pay, job protections, increased benefits, and folks staying longer. I’m pulling for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got no problem with it. Clearly the working conditions were intolerable in many of these offices and it has pushed Pelosi to accept their right to unionize. This will lead to more pay, job protections, increased benefits, and folks staying longer. I’m pulling for them.

Agree. Plus it's not like work is getting done on the Hill right now. I also don't expect young people to be loyal to abusers who are going to be voted out and valueless after midterms.

[Anonymous]

What's with titling it "dear WHITE staffer?"

That's pretty cringe in and of itself.

[Anonymous]

A friend works for Van Hollen and I was having lunch with her on a Sunday when she received a call from Katherine. The latter was screaming about some very insignificant matter that she thought wasn't handled properly. My friend immediately jumped on the matter. Apparently she does tyrannize the staff and has had a few run ins with constituents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds insufferable.


Voters elected him. Not her.

Well, when you voted him in, you get two for one.

That’s what Hillary Clinton said

Which was fine, since Bill more than made up for Hillary's abundant shortcomings.

[Anonymous]

LOVE that account.

There are multiple comments about the office I used to work for- fortunately they are all good, and they are all true.

I've seen multiple posts about how awful Katie Porter is to work with which really bums me out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never heard of Chris Van Hollen’s wife, Katherine Wilkins, before. Per this bio of her that I found online, it sounds like she legitimately has something to offer Senator Van Holler’s office:

“She holds a master’s degrees frоm thе John F. Kennedy School оf Government аt Harvard University аnd a BS frоm Cornell…Mrs. Van Hollen is a nonresident аѕѕосiаtе in thе Middle Eаѕt Program аt thе Carnegie Endowment. Shе joined Carnegie аftеr fivе years аѕ a vice president оf AMIDEAST, аn American nonprofit organization engaged in education, training, аnd capacity building in thе Middle Eаѕt аnd North Africa, whеrе ѕhе wаѕ engaged in promoting higher-education initiatives in thе Middle Eаѕt аnd partnerships bеtwееn thе United States аnd thе region tо expand educational quality аnd entrepreneurship training.

Shе served аѕ president оf thе World Affairs Council оf Washington, DC, frоm 2004 tо 2007, whеrе ѕhе spearheaded regional educational initiatives tо enhance student аnd citizen education оn foreign policy issues. Prior tо that, Wilkens held senior positions in thе U.S. government fоr оvеr a decade, including аѕ senior adviser fоr Caspian energy issues аt thе U.S. Department оf Energy аnd staff director аnd professional staff member оf thе House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee оn Europe аnd thе Middle Eаѕt undеr thе leadership оf thеn chairman Lee H. Hamilton.

She began hеr career аѕ a State Department analyst аnd specialist оn Turkey аnd thе Eastern Mediterranean. Shе hаѕ bееn аn international affairs fellow аt thе Council оn Foreign Relations, a Presidential Management Fellow, аnd a member оf thе Board оf Directors оf Meridian International Center.”

Well, with that CV she should be able to get a job and not interfere with her husband's staff. Or is she like Hillary Clinton with alleged credentials but an inability to get a job that her husband doesn't get for her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anonymous trashing on social media is cowardly and weak. Not something to be lauded.

Treating your staff horribly and being abusive is also cowardly and weak.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She used to park in the handicap space at Grace Episcopal Day School (the old lower school on GA Ave) and it pissed us all off so much. It's a really bad look of entitlement and "I'm too important to park a few spaces away". Kids were in after care so the lot was basically empty.

I don’t know her, but it’s entirely possible she has an invisible physical disability. Please keep that in mind when you judge people parking in disabled spots.

People with invisible physical disabilities have either handicap license plates or a handicap hanger for their car mirror.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She used to park in the handicap space at Grace Episcopal Day School (the old lower school on GA Ave) and it pissed us all off so much. It's a really bad look of entitlement and "I'm too important to park a few spaces away". Kids were in after care so the lot was basically empty.

I don’t know her, but it’s entirely possible she has an invisible physical disability. Please keep that in mind when you judge people parking in disabled spots.

People with invisible physical disabilities have either handicap license plates or a handicap hanger for their car mirror.

I know --- but she had no plate or placard so its just bad form.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The office I used to work for has been called out on that account and it's all true. I laughed out loud when I read it because it's like "yes, this has been going on for two decades, all of it!" Good for these kids, finding a way to speak out. And as a lifelong Dem who worked in Dem politics for years, I am GLAD that it's mostly Dem offices getting called out. Because it is a joke how abusiive a lot f these offices are while they hold themselves out as a friend to working people. A lot of them have an explicit attitude of "well staffers don't count because you're just ambitious snots like I was." Senior people on the Hill tend to be extremely jaded and there is an attitude that you have to abuse young staff because that's what you went through. It's messed up.

Anyway, shine on crazy Hill diamonds. Air all the family secrets! I hope it changes something. But wow am I glad I don't have anything to do with that world anymore.

The whole political ecosystem of DC is built on a pyramid of abusive behavior. The bottom of that pyramid are the unpaid interns. You will find similar abusive cultures in other industries, such as publishing, that heavily utilize unpaid internships. Ending unpaid internships would probably put a significant dent into improving these workplaces.

Most staffers think they are special snowflakes, are eager beavers, who think they are bound to become the next president or cabinet secretary. They deserve to be put in their place a bit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The office I used to work for has been called out on that account and it's all true. I laughed out loud when I read it because it's like "yes, this has been going on for two decades, all of it!" Good for these kids, finding a way to speak out. And as a lifelong Dem who worked in Dem politics for years, I am GLAD that it's mostly Dem offices getting called out. Because it is a joke how abusiive a lot f these offices are while they hold themselves out as a friend to working people. A lot of them have an explicit attitude of "well staffers don't count because you're just ambitious snots like I was." Senior people on the Hill tend to be extremely jaded and there is an attitude that you have to abuse young staff because that's what you went through. It's messed up.

Anyway, shine on crazy Hill diamonds. Air all the family secrets! I hope it changes something. But wow am I glad I don't have anything to do with that world anymore.

The whole political ecosystem of DC is built on a pyramid of abusive behavior. The bottom of that pyramid are the unpaid interns. You will find similar abusive cultures in other industries, such as publishing, that heavily utilize unpaid internships. Ending unpaid internships would probably put a significant dent into improving these workplaces.

Most staffers think they are special snowflakes, are eager beavers, who think they are bound to become the next president or cabinet secretary. They deserve to be put in their place a bit.

Case in point: TJ Ducklo