It’s not the holiday season without the Golden Duke Awards, TPM’s annual homage to the year’s best purveyors of public corruption, outlandish behavior and The Crazy. (The awards are named in honor of Congressman-turned-inmate Randy “Duke” Cunningham. See the letter Cunningham sent our reporter Ryan Reilly last April.) This is the fifth annual installment of the Golden Dukes! (See last year’s winners here.)
Nominations are due no later than Friday, December 16, 2011.
This year’s categories are:
1. Meritorious Achievement in The Crazy
2. Best Election Gaffe
3. Most Outrageous Fib Issued By A Politician
4. Outstanding Achievement In Corruption-based Chutzpah
5. Best Scandal — Sex and Generalized Carnality
6. Best Scandal — Local Venue
7. Best Scandal — General Interest
How do you participate?
Email talk[at]talkingpointsmemo.com with your nominations no later than December 16, identifying the person you’re nominating and make your case in no more than 250 words for why he or she deserves a place in the rogues gallery of Golden Dukes winners. Only notorious individuals are eligible for the award — parties, issues, groups, etc. are not eligible. Nominees have to be specific, real persons.
On December 20th we’ll announce the nominees. Our panel of distinguished judges will then select the winners. The awards will be announced on December 30.
The judges:
We’re happy to have a very distinguished panel of expert judges to sort through your nominations and choose the ultimate winners. They are:
Gene Weingarten, Pulitzer Prize winner of the Washington Post
Hendrik Hertzberg, political commentator for The New Yorker
@PourMeCoffee, Twitter celebrity extraordinaire
Dahlia Lithwick, law and legal affairs writer at Slate
Susie Bright, bestselling author, editor, and sexual-politics forensicist who hosts In Bed with Susie Bright at Audible.com.
And there’s one more mystery judge. And you’ll do a spit-take when you hear who this judge is. We’ll announce the mystery judge’s name tomorrow.
Feel the excitement!
