Loophole Allows Inaugural Spending Binge

[NVMojo]

WASHINGTON Jan. 19, 2005 -- With a price tag of roughly $40 million, boasting a huge fireworks display over the city as well as lavish balls and star-studded concerts, President Bush's inauguration will be a pricey, no-expense-spared event paid for by the country's biggest companies seeking favors and breaks in Washington.

Such corporate wining and dining of public officials and large cash contributions are normally prohibited under ethics laws, but as with the Democratic and Republican conventions, there is an exemption for inaugural week.

"This is one of the last places where you can put up a huge contribution to directly benefit the interests of the president of the United States," said Fred Wertheimer, president of Democracy 21, a government watchdog group.


:puke:

more...

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Inauguration/story?id=426152

[complain jane]

1. Such a Celebration of Douchebaggery, no wonder such high security.

[NVMojo]

2. it's another party for the "haves ...and the have mores!!"

[complain jane]

3. "Some would call ya elite... I call ya mah base!"

[googly]

4. however bad repugs are, they know how to party n/t

[ClintonTyree]

18. Really, do you think so?

Maybe they do, but their idea of a party and mine are, I imagine, two totally different concepts.
For the inauguration of a second term pResident such as * , I would insist on a more subdued event. The unbridled pomp and ostentatious wastefulness of this affair are second to none.
I guess it would be nice to witness the hypocrisy in action. I'm sure all of the holy, holy prayer warriors that support * will be letting down their hair, their pants, and just about anything else that can be let down to celebrate the installation of god's chosen one into office.
Of course people such as myself would not be allowed, as attendance is only guaranteed by raising at least $100,000 for the chimp in chief.
It would be wonderful to witness the witless as they grovel at the feet of king george and schmooze with his corporate masters.
I for one feel most elated that I'm not going to be part of this cowboy boot optional affair. I could never again regain my feeling of cleanliness.
I seriously doubt that ANY repuklican party would have the air of decency and statesmanship of a Democratic party. To each his own though.

[Kber]

28. Aw - give him a break. He thinks he really won this time. nt

[Virginian]

5. Anybody catch the Daily Show?

They mention how much DC has to contribute out of their Homeland Security funds. Previous administrations have reimbursed DC. Only 10% of the people in DC voted for the Chimp in Chief.
Boston and NYC were reimbursed for having their conventions, but DC doesn't have any congressional representation to fight for them. They don't have any Senators and their only member of congress doesn't even get a vote.

[forintegrity]

7. Guess they're SOL

hope they're all in the streets protesting the assholes! They should all boycott paying their next property tax bills! Then watch the shit hit the fan!

[ClintonTyree]

19. I guess if I were the Mayor of D.C....................

I would make sure that debt is repaid in one form or another. The potholes in the road around 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would slide WAY down on the "to do" list, along with many other projects that pertain to the Federal Government.
Payback is a bitch, and I'm sure there will be some sort of retribution, however subtle.

[Virginian]

23. The mayor is a go-along-to-get-along guy.

One might consider him Republican Lite, except this Republican led congress has him by the short and curleys.

Congress allowed home rule in DC and can take it away.

DC enjoys the honor of paying taxes without having any representation in the Senate and only a non-voting representative in the House. This is why the DC license tags say "Taxation without Representation."

The residents of our capital city were only recently able to cast votes for the President when Congress passed the voting rights act.

These people have very little say about how their tax dollars are used. There are more people who live and vote in Washington, DC than in Wyoming. Support Statehood for DC. It doesn't have to be called a state, it can retain the same name. They already have the electoral votes, give them Senators and a vote in the house.

(PS: DC went 90% for Kerry. Their Senators would be Dems.)

[BattyDem]

6. Unbelievable!

Our troops don't have armor, but they can come up with $40 million for King George's coronation. "The party of moral values" my ass! :grr:

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

8. And I am sure Fred Wertheimer will be bellying up to a bar

or two... maybe even a trough!

with his wife Linda from NPR.

[AllyCat]

9. Just because we can, doesn't mean we should

Unethical, inappropriate, wasteful coronation of the Boy King.

[UL_Approved]

10. How did this article get past censors?

Why were they allowed to run with that title?

This adds to my suspicion of our media. We have numerous talented and ethical journalists out there who are just waiting for an opportunity to say things as they really are, but are constrained by the senior editors and management side of the business.

[ClintonTyree]

20. You're correct...........

one slip on the word processor means a career ending situation. This is the most vindictive administration, ever. They are not accountable, never have to explain their themselves and are allowed carte blanch by a media corps that is so cowed by them as to be totally ineffectual.
Welcome to Bushamerika.

[ninkasi]

11. This is sickening

For this arrogant, vile, vicious little man to insist on a display of gaudy, smug, self-congratulatory ostentation is more than an excess of bad taste. It's a sneering, mocking message to the poor, the sick, the elderly, the unemployed, and the families of our dead soldiers; a jeering, snide, slap in the face to the wounded in the war, both American and Iraqi.

Republications are celebrating their ability to cheat, steal,destroy, and injure anybody the Ir damn well feel like hurting, and want us to know that they know it.
They want to give the rest of the world a slap in the face and then laugh in our faces because they can get away with it, and don't give a shit who knows it.

Life has always been a struggle anyway, due to natural disasters like the tsunami; there is also disease, accidents, and hunger, any number of things that can go wrong. It is tragic that given the nature of danger from these sources, our country has been taken over by a gang of thugs who do everything in their power to make things worse instead of better. I only pray that as they have done to their fellow man here on earth, their god will reward them with exactly the same things to them when their time comes. Actually, they should be repaid in kind a hundred times over.

[NYC]

12. Who cares what you think?

That's what it all boils down to. He doesn't care what you think.

"For this arrogant, vile, vicious little man to insist on a display of gaudy, smug, self-congratulatory ostentation is more than an excess of bad taste. It's a sneering, mocking message to the poor, the sick, the elderly, the unemployed, and the families of our dead soldiers; a jeering, snide, slap in the face to the wounded in the war, both American and Iraqi."

He does it because he can, and he doesn't care what anyone thinks.

[smirkymonkey]

16. Well put!

I couldn't have said it better and things like this make me so angry I can't see straight! It's beyond sickening! :grr: :mad: :nuke:

[flaminbats]

13. Does this make Bush a traitor?

http://www.think-aboutit.com/Conspiracy/treason_a_clinton_chronology.htm

[LynnTheDem]

14. Like the "loophole" that allowed US troops to bury Iraqis alive, 1991;

By bulldozing over them.

Just because you can find a "loophole" justification, doesn't mean it's the right & moral thing to do. bush & Cartel have no morals, no sense of decency. They party with $40 million plus $18 million of our tax money...while they nickle and dime our troops to death.

[salin]

15. The city of D.C.

should send a bill to each organization throwing a big party... per the security costs being placed upon the city (a record amount of, I believe, 11 million + dollars)... which they were told should come from their HomeLandSecurity budget. The citiizens of DC should show up and hold up signs for inaugrial party goers... protesting that they will be less safe *due to depletion of HLS funds* in order to let the partiers have their one-week celebration.

[flobee1kenobi]

17. I heard it referred to

as an "Ethics Free" zone.

Kind of explains a few things around DC....

[hermetic]

21. It's just payback time for the people and corporations

that financed *'s re-election campaign.
Wall Street is the largest contributor, with $5 million so far. The finance and securities industry, which has already given Bush $21.7 million for his presidential campaign, is eagerly awaiting the green light for the enormous new business of managing individual accounts under a new Social Security setup. Wall Street would get to tailor a mutual fund for every person in the country and extract management and brokerage fees from each one.
The energy industry's $2.3 million is the second-biggest contribution. It gave Bush $5.2 million for his election campaign last year. The energy business looks forward to incentives for drilling for more oil and gas on the outer continental shelf, along the eastern front of the Rockies, and in Alaska. And under Bush it has seen profits leap ahead with sky-high prices for natural gas and gasoline.
Much of the cost of today's binge will be borne by the citizens of the District of Columbia. Their taxes will pay for $11.9 million of the cost of the event. Included will be $8.8 million in overtime pay for 2,000 D.C. police officers, $2.7 million for out-of-town cops brought in to help out, $3 million to build reviewing stands, and $2.5 million for public works, such as health care, transportation, and firefighters.
The money for these things will come out of Homeland Security funds that were meant to increase hospital capacity and better equip firefighters. During last summer's political conventions, Congress paid both New York and Boston for local security costs.
Taxpayers across the country will foot a bill of around $66 million, the cost of giving federal workers in the capital area a day off on Thursday. It's unclear how much the government pays for half a day off before the inauguration, when it wants to clear the city so it can begin closing off streets for security purposes.
"It's an unfunded mandate of the most odious kind," a spokesman for Republican Tom Davis, chair of the House Government Reform Committee, which oversees D.C. affairs, told The Washington Post. "How can the District be asked to take funds from important homeland security projects to pay for this instead?"

(from The Village Voice)

[Virginian]

24. and payback to DC for NOT voting for Dubya.

He rewards his friends and punishes his enemies.

[Megahurtz]

22. What a truely sickening day.

:puke:

[betterwearahat]

25. W considers it his mandate to be our High Priced Tyrant Whore.

Today we will see the the Inauguration of the most corrupt President of America since Andrew Jackson.

The Security in Washington, DC includes cordoning off over 100 blocks from the general public. I have a tendency to think that all this security has less to do with Al-Queada threats and more to do with the protecting Bush from seeing his angry citizenry.

Take for example one of the measures dictated by the Secret Service:

They issued to all Inaugural Parade participants a memo which directs everyone that "when passing the President you are not to STARE at him or MAKE ANY SUDDEN MOVEMENTS.

What's up with that? It's like as if he was a Medusa who will turn those who stare upon him into stone, or as if he is like a wild animal and you wouldn't want to do anything to provoke his attack, or it as if he is like Royalty during fuedal times (which we are almost back in) and the peasants are too lowly to let their eyes grace the King!


From my weekly editorial cartoon at http://www.betterwearahat.com

[NVMojo]

31. welcome to DU and great cartoon!

[brentspeak]

26. "Loophole", as if it was just an accidental oversight in the law

It is a purposefully-ignored issue so that lobbyists can bribe politicians.

[shuffnew]

27. Cold & Blistering -- how appropriate for this solemn occasion

The weather in Washington on Inauguration Day is slated to be cold and blustery. How fitting.....Just like the one who will be inaugurated and all the greedy selfish ones (corporate and government spend thrifts) having a big "pay off" party/bash. Very sad day in history, no doubt.

And in the meantime, even our 9/11 victims have not been supported; while our "caring citizens" (and movie stars) dig deep to contribute to the tsunami efforts; and all the while our government and their corporate thieves party hardy!

I agree with you whole heartedly! :puke:

[susu369]

29. Let's not get so worked up - Pickles puts it in perspective

"The money that is spent on the inaugural is privately raised; it's not government money. I think that is important for people to know."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6847063 /

(Painful interview with Campbell Brown)

Hey, how much is Washington D.C. in hole for right now for security costs? Wasn't it twelve million?

Susu thinks that is important for people to know that this inaugural is OBSCENE.

[Name removed]

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