The slippery slope of source drinks
Cocktail conversations undoubtedly lead you to liking the flack you're covering. My story of my friendship with flackery's Queen vixen Lis Smith.
A recreational ritual of reporters in Washington — especially the youngest, hungriest and still unestablished — is the “grabbing of drinks” with prospective sources.
When I arrived to D.C. in 2010, these cocktail conclaves are something I scheduled regularly and with enthusiasm in order to gain my footing as an amateur national reporter inside hyper-competitive Politico. (Gin and tonics on the company tab, feigning knowledge, talking shop. What’s not to like other than a mild hangover in the Friday morning storyboard meeting?)
This ubiquitous practice is how I became quite close friends with one particular flack who eventually rose to high prominence in the political-media universe by the name of Lis Smith.
Smith, who I originally crossed paths with in the 2006 Missouri Senate race, went on to lead communications for the Democratic Governors Association, which encompassed my beat at the time. (The Republican Governors Association, whose communications shop was run by the Schrimpf brothers — Mike and Chris — was less interested in courting press. The RGA was donor- focused, making the cash-deficient DGA more free media focused.)
To be clear, the magnetic Smith was savvily cultivating relationships with lots of reporters, which ultimately helped generate the glittering profiles you’ve read about about her more recently.
Both new to the national scene, Lis and I instantly hit it off in a way that soon had us gathering for reasons far beyond discussing Jay Inslee’s approval rating at hours way beyond a suitable time for a source meeting.
Beyond Smith pitching me on a series of GOV races I was covering, we eventually began hanging out socially, grabbing happy hour drinks downtown on K street — often with her boss, the DGA executive director — that would slide into dancing on 14th Street late into the night, and sometimes end up on my couch in Thomas Circle to share gossip. We dished on our hook-ups, recited our favorite rap lyrics (both Lil Wayne fans, we are), and attended concerts together at what is now Capitol One arena. I even became friends with Lis’ deputy, Mark Giangreco, through this blooming connection, attending his wedding this past summer. A bunch of my politically inclined friends, who are Republicans, also eagerly gravitated to Smith and her energy.
Safe to say, my relationship with Smith went far beyond the traditional reporter-source correspondence. And due to social media, it was bound to be noticed and used against me.
