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Heard on the Hill: Doctor of Love

It can be tough to find that special someone.

Especially if your idea of a good time involves abolishing income taxes, limiting the federal government and calling for a return to the gold standard.

[IMGCAP(1)]But don’t lose hope — there’s now a place where liberty-loving supporters of Rep. Ron Paul can meet their love match.

The Texas Republican is the inspiration behind ronpaulsingles.com, a new dating Web site that’s a lot like match.com, except that members are looking for someone who shares their love of fiscal restraint and constitutional purity over romantic dinners and long walks on the beach.

With its tagline, “We put the love in the rEVOLution,— the site allows members to search personal profiles to find potential love matches, while offering features such as an online forum and instant messaging so would-be couples can chat via the Internet. The site touts itself as “the fastest growing relationship site on the Web,— although the dating pool is still relatively small — as of Tuesday afternoon, 70 male members had signed up, compared with just 24 female members.

HOH couldn’t reach the site’s administrators by press time Tuesday. Paul and his Campaign for Liberty are not affiliated with the site, and a Paul spokeswoman declined comment to HOH.

But we’d like to think that the good doctor would be in favor of his followers coming together — so long as there aren’t any repeats of that now-famous scene in the movie “Bruno— in which the protagonist, a gay Austrian supermodel, tries (unsuccessfully) to seduce Paul.

Mythbusters. Rep. John Hall is too superstitious to sing on the House floor — but the “jinx— that he fears is apparently no more than an urban legend.

The New York Democrat, a former frontman for the rock outfit Orleans, was quoted in USA Today saying he’s afraid of the “jinx— of singing on the House floor. “I was told early on, when I was tempted to sing a line or two of a song when I got on the floor, that the last guy that did that … lost his election,— Hall said.

The newspaper said he was referring to former Rep. Mike Pappas (R-N.J.), who sang “Twinkle, Twinkle Kenneth Starr,— a ditty to the independent prosecutor who investigated former President Bill Clinton. Pappas, USA Today noted, lost his re-election race in 1998 “after his opponent used the musical tribute against him.—

Intrigued by the idea of a curse that could befall singing Members, HOH asked the Office of the House Historian about the witchy rumor.

“It seems to be an old wives’ tale,— said research analyst Anthony Wallis, who wasn’t able to track down any written documentation of the alleged bad-luck charm. He said it might have been started by Members who considered breaking decorum on the House floor to be bad juju.

To prove that singing on the House floor doesn’t necessarily invoke lightning bolts, the historian’s office pointed HOH to two examples of the chamber hosting musical performances without any apparent ill consequences. In 1919, on the day that the 65th Congress ended, a Member of Congress led colleagues in singing a variety of songs, while the Marine Band played at “full tilt,— according to the historian’s records.

And in 1978, then-Rep. Robert Michel (R-Ill.) serenaded birthday boy Bob Hope, who was sitting in one of the galleries above the chamber, with a personalized rendition of “Thanks for the Memories,— the entertainer’s theme song.

At the time, Speaker Tip O’Neill (D-Mass.) noted that singing was “not customary— and declared “never before have I seen anything compared to what is transpiring on the floor today.—

Those stories might be a relief to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), who frequently croons his renowned “Birthday Song— to colleagues on the floor.

And maybe now Hall will feel free to break into song. “Still the One,— anyone?

The Boys Are Back in Town. It was guy’s night out Monday (although a relatively tame one) when 5 percent of the Senate enjoyed a leisurely alfresco dinner at Capitol Hill restaurant Trattoria Alberto.

An HOH spy caught Republican Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), Johnny Isakson (Ga.) and Mel Martinez (Fla.) taking advantage of the unusually fine Washington weather, sharing bottles of wine and Italian food at one of the old-school eatery’s outdoor tables.

A Burr spokesman tells HOH that the dinner wasn’t a celebration of anything in particular, “just a group of good friends enjoying dinner together.—

Grassley Working Blue. If he keeps up this kind of naughty talking, Sen. Chuck Grassley is going to have to turn in those sweater vests of his. The Iowa Republican continued his efforts to shed his wholesome farm-boy persona with a racy remark during his questioning of Sonia Sotomayor at her Supreme Court confirmation hearing Tuesday.

Grassley was querying Sotomayor when a protester interrupted the proceedings. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) ordered the interloper removed and called on Grassley to continue. “Thank you,— Grassley said. “People always say I have the ability to turn people on.—

As the crowd tittered, HOH couldn’t help but think of other off-color remarks lately from the typically goody-two-shoes Grassley. During a hearing in March, Grassley replied to Sen. Kent Conrad’s (D-N.D.) compliment that Grassley was “good— by saying, “Your wife said the same thing.—

Grassley also raised eyebrows in March when he complained that federal bailout recipient American International Group was “sucking on the tit of the taxpayer.—

Maybe Congress could take a whack at the federal deficit by making Grassley put money in a “swear jar— whenever he makes a randy remark.

Overheard on the Hill. “I’m both honored and humbled. … It has been one of the most enjoyable experiences in my long political career — not too bad for an old guy.—

— Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), reflecting Monday on having amassed 1 million followers on Twitter.

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