U.S. Rep. Earl Bluemauer Explains Why He Once Wore a Chicken Suit

"I periodically do comedy nights," the 11-term Congressman says.

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer
By Nigel Jaquiss

In his 11 terms in Congress, U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) has built a reputation as an expert on transit and bicycles and, more recently, become one of the House's strongest advocates for cannabis legalization.

He also has a weakness for another Portland hobby: stand-up comedy.

Given to wearing bowties and extolling the benefits of smart growth, Blumenauer is generally not known as much of a cut-up.

But in a recent endorsement interview with WW, Blumenauer revealed, in answer to the question about the most embarrassing thing Facebook knows about him, that he'd once donned a chicken suit.

In the two-minute clip below, taken from an April 23 interview, Blumenauer, alongside challengers Ben Lavine and Charles Rand Barnett, explains how he came to be dressed as a chicken:

Side note: It can be risky for politicians to don costumes. In 2011, then-WW reporter Beth Slovic broke national news with a story about then-U.S. Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.)'s increasingly erratic behavior. The striking image from Slovic's reporting was Wu dressed in a tiger suit. Wu soon resigned.

Related: Strange Wu: Why did Congressman David Wu think staffers "threatened to shut down his campaign"?

In this case, no damage was done. Blumenauer won our endorsement.

See the rest of our picks for the May 15 primary election here.

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