Got Plans?

The Going Out Gurus
of the washingtonpost.com City Guide
Thursday, October 9, 2008; 1:00 PM

Every Thursday at 1 p.m. ET, washingtonpost.com's City Guide experts share their best bets for local flavor, great dates and family fun. Got plans? Great. Need plans? Just ask. We have the skinny on the bars and clubs, concerts, kitchens, theaters and special events that keep life interesting. We're going out gurus, and we're at your service.

Party Animals

FROM GEORGETOWN’S ULTRA EXCLUSIVE CONSERVATIVE BARS TO U STREET’S LIBERAL HAUNTS, SOCIALIZING IN D.C. IS MORE POLITICALLY POLARIZED THAN EVER.

CONTINUED (PAGE 2 OF 3)

One regular is Rebecca Canan, a 26-year-old member of the Madison, an all-female, largely conservative club that frequently holds themed fundraisers—like MadiSCENE and Mad in Madras—at Smith Point. She tells of more lists: Smith Point’s list within a list, called the Side Door list, whose members avoid the main entrance and may bring a plus-one; the Young and the Guest list, Washington Life magazine’s roster of D.C.’s chic set, to which she was named this year (the main perk is the annual party); and the Madison’s membership roster, for which only unmarried women (no divorcées, please) are eligible to apply. A similar male organization, the Capital Club, a 100-member, mostly conservative group boasts various “sons of,” including Reeves Barbour, son of Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, and Moore Capitol, son of West Virginia Representative Shelley Capitol.