Website Connects Drunk People With Random Lawmakers

A few too many glasses of bourbon and a phone call are usually not a good combination—whether it's with an ex-girlfriend or your boss. But what about a member of Congress?

That might be OK. A new service called "Drunk Dial Congress" allows you to enter your telephone number on the website and get connected to a random lawmaker's office to air your grievances. And drinking beforehand is encouraged.

It's the morning, so I've only had a couple cups of coffee, but I wanted to test the service in the name of journalism. I entered my number and got a call from an 888 number. The voice of a heavily inebriated man said:

Hi. Is this government shutdown making you want to drink? Well, it sure makes me want to drink. And let me tell you, when I drink I like to tell people what's on my mind. So in a minute, we're going to forward you to a member of the House of Representatives and you can tell them what's on your mind and tell them to get back to work.

I tried the service four times and reached two Democrats and two Republicans: Reps. Dina Titus, D-Nev., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., Mike Turner, R-Ohio, and Brad Schneider, D-Ill. Don't worry, I hung up to spare the already thinned offices from having to deal with my experiment.

The website includes talking points with links to articles about the government shutdown. It also includes five drink recipes, which include The Southern Congressman, The Fancy Statesman, The Bloody Bastard, The Bad Representative, and The Sleepy Senator.

A progressive digital marketing group called Revolution Messaging is behind the service, though the website itself doesn't appear to have any political biases. Obviously, this is just a site to add a little fun to an already bleak situation in Washington.

Try it out for yourselves.