A new bar in Washington, D.C., whose political theme focused on bipartisan agreement and debate, succumbed to partisan pressure before the establishment could even serve its first drink. Originally billed as Political Pattie’s, the bar was flooded with complaints by liberals who said the establishment’s logo—specifically the Republican Elephant—was offensive and ‘hurtful.’
The complaints have prompted Political Pattie’s owners to not just paint over the elephant—along with its accompanying Democrat Donkey—but to apparently drop the “political” theme altogether. New photos of the bar’s exterior—and new paint job—show its name now simply being “Pattie’s.”
D.C. liberals celebrated the harassment campaign’s achievement, tweeting, “Bullying works.”
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While the concept of a politically themed bar in the nation’s capital might seem ironically kitschy, it’s perhaps a bit too on the nose.
Residents of Washington, D.C. would be hard-pressed to name a bar in which at least one person isn’t discussing the political topics of the day. The city, after all, hosts Marx Cafe, a bar and restaurant that serves Greek and Italian fare and is dedicated to Karl Marx and the communist revolution.
Political Pattie’s—located among a string of gay bars along Washington, D.C.’s U Street corridor—promised to be ill-conceived and maybe even dangerous before its hasty rebranding following the left-wing backlash. The cocktails on its menu all have—or had—politically themed names like the “Capitol Mule.” However, perhaps most concerning was the owners’ insistence on placing toy gavels on the tables in the establishment. While most political debate in the capital is peaceful, placing small plastic weapons near inebriated think tankers, lobbyists, journalists, and Capitol Hill staffers may not have been the best idea.
