No Party to Breaking Rules, Lorraine Miller Calls Off Her Gala

Thanks, boss: Nancy Pelosi named Lorraine Miller, left, the clerk of the House, so now Miller can't fundraise for her NAACP gala. (Chip Somodevilla - Getty Images)

The D.C. chapter of the NAACP had a special honoree for its Oct. 13 "Breaking Barriers" gala: Lorraine Miller, the first African American to serve as clerk of the House of Representatives. But, in a uniquely Washington Catch-22, the annual dinner had to be canceled -- postponed, organizers promise -- because . . . Miller couldn't fundraise for it.

Miller, 59, a lifelong member of the NAACP, was elected president of D.C.'s chapter in 2004. She's been the driving force in raising money for the group -- no small feat, because it competes with other nearby local chapters and the NAACP's nationwide efforts based in Baltimore and Washington. "I understand why ministers are usually presidents of local branches," she told us. "I never had a real appreciation for it, but I do now."

In February, Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Miller, a 20-year veteran Hill staffer, to the high-profile position of clerk. House ethics rules allow her to continue as an NAACP president, but severely restrict her ability to approach donors. Her chapter planned to honor her -- along with radio millionaire Cathy Hughes -- at this month's fundraiser at the Grand Hyatt. But without Miller they couldn't raise $150,000 and -- for the first time in 60 years -- pulled the plug two weeks before the gala rather than go into the red.

"It's the better part of valor," said Miller, who has rescheduled for next spring.

THIS JUST IN . . .

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* Bob Dylan sells out -- again! Three years after appearing in a weird Victoria's Secret ad, the former counterculture hero is taking it to the next level by starring in a "multi-platform marketing campaign" for the new Cadillac Escalade, not only appearing in print and TV ads for the car but also organizing this week's episode of his XM show "Theme Time Radio Hour" around -- you guessed it -- songs about Cadillacs. ("Good car to drive after a war," he sang back in '63.) Hope he's getting paid a lot for this.

* Kid Rock was arrested early Sunday after a fight at an Atlanta Waffle House. Some dude in the restaurant allegedly said something to a lady friend of Kid's, and they allegedly took it outside, according to wire reports. This was all at 5 a.m., after a Kid show. He and five sidekicks were charged with misdemeanor battery and released later that day.

SURREAL ESTATE

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Seller: Bill Frist

Price: $7.4 million

Details: The former Senate majority leader said back in '94 he'd go home to Tennessee after two terms, and darned if he hasn't pulled up stakes and done just that. Frist and wife Karyn recently sold the six-bedroom Mass. Ave. Heights mansion they bought for a couple mil when they first came to D.C. The stone-front Tudor mansion with 10-foot ceilings, a swimming pool, a wooded acre near Rock Creek and high-tone neighbors like billionaire Steven Rales and Mandy Ourisman netted one of the biggest home sale prices in D.C. this year. No new Washington address for the Frists, now residing in his Nashville boyhood home.

HEY, ISN'T THAT . . . ?

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* A planeload of weary Republicans -- Jeri Thompson, Mary Matalin, Susan Molinari, Rep. Connie Mack -- along with Fox's fair-and-balanced registered Democrat Chris Wallace, returning from the latest GOP debate on yesterday a.m.'s Orlando-to-National flight crowded with little kids in Mickey Mouse ears and Crocs.