Drinking Glass: $3.94. Papal Prints and Possibly Holy Water: Priceless.

By now we're sure you've heard the tale of Rep. Bob Brady, D-Pa., who last week stole Pope Francis's still mostly full water glass from the House chamber podium to later sip the water with his wife and staffers. He poured what was left in a bottle to bless his grandchildren and sent the empty glass to forensics to have the fingerprints authenticated.

The Loop spoke to Brady on Friday and expressed doubt that water touched by the lips of the pope is automatically holy. He told us he "could care less" what we thought.

"Anything the pope touches becomes blessed," he said. "I think so, and no one is going to change my mind."

We learned that he also swiped the glass used by President Barack Obama at his 2009 inauguration. Both glasses will live out their days in a curio cabinet in Brady's Philadelphia home.

Now we've learned there is apparently no upcharge for a water glass that graced the lips of the pope.

Brady told us on Friday that he offered to pay the Architect of the Capitol for the glass. But when we checked with that office, spokeswoman Laura Condeluci said it didn't provide the glass.

"I'm not quite sure who does, but those kinds of preparations are not from our office," she said.

A little more sleuthing determined he meant the House clerk, who is responsible for purchasing the glasses on behalf of the parliamentarian.

The clerk has since sent Brady a bill. The cost? $3.94.

That, apparently, is the going rate for a nondescript congressional water glass, papal fingerprints notwithstanding.

(Brady is the ranking Democrat on the House Administration Committee, whose oversight jurisdiction for House services includes the clerk. Just saying.)

Some may wonder whether the glass should be considered an artifact, perhaps protected by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. But no - the Capitol, White House and Supreme Court are outside the scope of that law.

"Even if such laws were to apply to the glass, the (law) does not establish the National Park Service as the repository of historic personal property, and there is no basis to require that historic property be turned over to it," said NPS spokeswoman April Slayton.

So, if Brady hadn't taken the glass, what would have become of it? Would the papal water have been poured down a drain? The fingerprints scrubbed away in a dishwasher? The glass returned to a cupboard in a basement room like any other glass?

That would not be this glass's fate. Thanks to Brady, this glass was saved.

The D's embrace Boehner

Nothing is immune from political fundraising. Tragedies. Gaffes. Scandals. Even the pope wasn't sacred enough to avoid becoming fundraising-appeal fodder.

Desmund Adams, a Democratic congressional candidate in Iowa, sent an email to supporters on Sunday asking them to rally behind Pope Francis's "powerful message regarding the environment" by sending money to his campaign. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who seems to have found a kindred spirit in the pontiff as he seeks the Democratic nomination for president, also sent a fundraising email last week using the pope's message about social justice.

So it should come as little surprise that Democrats wasted no time seizing House Speaker John Boehner's retirement as an opportunity for personal gain.

His announcement Friday was dizzying, but even in the fog, Democrats began to express concern that without Boehner as something of a buffer, the most conservative faction of the House GOP caucus will gain even more influence.

When the future is uncertain, all one can do is beg for money.

The most desperate plea came from the Senate Majority PAC, which works to get Democrats elected to the upper chamber. Using bold red type in all caps, the group sent this fundraising appeal Monday: "Friends, is this real life? ON FRIDAY, JOHN BOEHNER ANNOUNCED HE'S RESIGNING. FORCED OUT BY GOP EXTREMISTS WHO ARE DEAD SET ON DENYING WOMEN HEALTH CARE. WHAT??? WE'RE NOT GOING TO LIE: CONGRESS IS IN CHAOS."

The only way to save America, apparently, is to donate $5 or more "(IMMEDIATELY)."

Other appeals were a bit less dire. Emphasis on "a bit."

The campaign of Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., who is running for the Senate, sent a fundraising pitch over the weekend with the subject line "really bad news (Tea Party)."

"The Tea Party is staging a coup in the House," the e-mail said.

"Now, if they take over the Speaker's office when John Boehner retires, they could destroy middle class Americans. The stakes for winning this race could not be higher."

Murphy is running for Sen. Marco Rubio's Florida seat, so, yeah, the Democrats taking back the Senate is a legit way to contain a conservative House. (And guarantee gridlock, but that's probably inevitable.)

A guy named Doug Applegate, with barely an online footprint, is running as a Democrat for the California seat currently held by GOP Rep. Darrell Issa. Applegate's campaign sent an appeal: "Big news last week. Speaker John Boehner announced that he is stepping down. What does this mean? Extremists have finally succeeded in taking over the Republican Party."

(Well . . . there hasn't been a new leadership election yet.)

And Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., who just won re-election in 2014, asked supporters for money with this message: "Tea Party Republicans are more concerned about who's going to replace John Boehner than keeping Congress on track."

Maybe it's a little uncouth to raise money off the end of someone's career. But it's political nature to capitalize on the other party's turmoil.