Drudge Salivates at State Legislators Caught Playing Solitaire, Checking ESPN

Two Connecticut state legislators have been identified after a pesky Associated Press photo captured them playing solitaire on their laptops, resulting in a snapshot ripe for mocking that has already been run on popular conservative blogs Drudge Report and the website of Michelle Malkin. The Hartford Courant blog Capitol Watch lists the offending lawmakers as Rep. Barbara Lambert and Rep. Jack F. Hennessy, both Democrats, who diddled on their computers as a colleague spoke in the distance.

Hilariously, the blog goes into detail, committing a real act of investigative journalism: “Lambert is playing spider solitaire in the photo,” reads the entry, “while [Hennessy] … is playing regular solitaire.” There is no mention, however, of the screen behind the two (in the lower right corner of the shot) which shows ESPN.com’s homepage and Yankees pitcher Andy Petite, but luckily crops out the laptop user. The candid picture, a scene looking a lot like any college lecture hall, was taken Monday when the House met to debate the specifics of a new budget, which both now-notorious legislators eventually voted in favor of.

According to Capitol Watch, though, their behavior is relatively normal during long debate sessions: “Sometimes they are answering e-mails from constituents, while other times they are researching important information on pending bills. Other times, they are playing solitaire.” One is constructive — this is just embarrassing.

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