DC bar Political Pattie’s gets hazed for being bipartisan

A new DC bar dedicated to crossing partisan lines, “Political Pattie’s,” has taken the “political” out of its name… though Cockburn will note the removal is “temporary.” Owners Drew Benbow and Sydney Bradford dropped an Instagram post on Tuesday about their name and logo change, as the “representation of the red elephant was hurtful to the community.” 

“Political Pattie’s aims to be a fun, inclusive space that pokes fun at politics, not the pain politics often causes,” the post read. The disclaimer and apology (or more accurately, apologia) came after “mean-spirited online backlash.” But here’s the tea: Benbow and Bradford bought out “the Dirty Goose,” an LGBTQ bar. And then they pasted a red elephant and a blue donkey on the front and invited, per commenters, “ppl that watch fox business and vote for maga politicians,” inside. The audacity. “Pattie’s” is on U Street NW, part of a row of LGBTQ+ bars and restaurants.

Unsurprisingly, as this is what another comment describes as “blue ass DC,” the backlash has continued in its “mean-spiritedness.” For a community that prides itself on its inclusivity, some patrons do not want to have a drink with someone who supposedly doesn’t “believe queer individuals have the right to exist freely” (that’s any Republican, apparently). Many people remarked that they can’t associate with people that “deny queer existence” or that “politics isn’t ‘fun’ when you’re very existence is on the line.”

Bradford and Benbow are both DC lawyers; Bradford is a Democrat and Benbow is an “incredibly moderate Republican” (gasp!) per an Axios report. Pattie’s is a “Black-owned, native Washingtonian-owned business” — but not many are letting the new owners play the race card to get out of this debacle. “It’s too white for me even if it is black owned,” one comment read. “My blackness may have felt safe, y’all showed within 2 weeks my lesbianism isn’t,” read another. “Gentle reminder that your blackness does not absolve you from accountability and should not be used as a cover up to evade it.” Turns out, this LGBTQ community may have something in common with Republicans after all.

“What has been happening online to Pattie’s directly resembles what happens in society daily,” Pattie’s Insta post continued. “Our business was judged by its outside appearance before anyone ever took the chance to learn what we were about on the inside. All too often racial minorities, members of the disabled and LGBTQ communities, and others are victims of these sorts of prejudgments, which can lead to tragic outcomes.”

They ended with a quote from Maya Angelou ”When you know better, you do better.”