Voting Station

Fishbait Miller

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Bureaucrat

The Resume

    (July 20, 1909-September 12, 1989)
    Born in Pascagoula, Mississippi
    Birth name was William Moseley Miller
    Served as Doorkeeper of the House of Representatives (1949-53,1955-74)
    Known for introducing the President before the State of the Union address
    Other official duties included escorting foreign dignitaries visiting Congress and overseeing the press gallery

Why he might be annoying:

    He said he ensured Democratic Representatives got their choice of office by sanding his fingertips so he could identify by touch the metal disks drawn to determine office assignments.
    He sometimes walked around the Capitol in his bare feet, having left his shoes at the House barbershop for a shine.
    He caused a minor diplomatic incident when he greeted the visiting Princess Elizabeth with ‘Howdy, ma’am.’ (President Harry Truman had told the royal family that Miller was ‘a character,’ and later told him, ‘Well, Fishbait, I warned them and you sure didn’t let me down.’)
    In his memoirs, he dished dirt on which members of Congress were drinkers and womanizers.

Why he might not be annoying:

    One of the reasons he won his first election for Doorkeeper was that he sent handwritten notes to each Representative while his opponent sent a mimeographed letter (1949).
    Besides guarding doors, he supervised over 350 employees – including pages, messengers, doormen, barbers, and janitors – and a $3.5 million budget.
    He did just about every odd job possible for members of Congress, ‘from acquiring extra tickets to highly anticipated joint sessions to repairing broken eyeglasses.’
    When he tried to enforce House rules by telling Bella Abzug that she had to remove her hat, she told him, ‘Go fuck yourself.’
    He was married to Mabel Breeland for 52 years.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 26 Votes: 65.38% Annoying