$150,000,000: “[Y]ou don’t want it to look like a schlock affair”
The Obamafest on Jan. 20 will be the most expensive inauguration in American history.
Snort-worthy line of the night:
President Barack Obama’s inauguration next week is set to be the most expensive ever, predicted to reach over $150m (£102m). This dwarfs the $42.3m spent on George Bush’s inauguration in 2005 and the $33m spent on Bill Clinton’s in 1993.
Part of the spending includes emergency funding announced by the White House on Tuesday to help with the soaring costs. Most of this new federal funding will be to deal with the huge influx of people, estimated 1.5 million to 2 million.
A White House statement said that President Bush “declared an emergency exists in the District of Columbia”.
If there is snow, the costs will grow higher. The long-term forecast suggests there is a chance of snow on Sunday and again on the day of inauguration, on Tuesday.
Carole Florman, spokeswoman for the joint congressional committee on inaugural ceremonies, told the New York Daily News, which estimated the cost at $160m: “We’re always very budget conscious. But we’re sending a message to the entire world about our peaceful transition of power, and you don’t want it to look like a schlock affair. It needs to be appropriate to the magnitude of events that it is.“
A little late for schlock avoidance, don’t you think?
Let me repeat what I said in my November 28, 2008 post, “Where are all the anti-Inauguration activists now?”
All of which reminded me of the unhinged Left’s protests in late 2004 before the Bush inaugural. He was bashed for continuing the American tradition in a time of war and for holding parties so soon after the southeast Asian tsunami disaster.
Critics are calling on U.S. President George W Bush to scale back the glittering multimillion dollar parties planned this week in honor of his second-term inauguration, saying lavish festivities are unseemly at a time of war.
Bush is to be sworn in Thursday and feted with four days of pomp and party-going at a price tag of about $40 million.
An unprecedented military presence and other security measures will add another $100 million to the cost, to pay for everything from police overtime wages to reviewing stands stretching from the U.S. Capitol building to the White House.
But critics insist that with U.S. troops dying daily in Iraq, the tone surrounding this year’s inaugural celebration should be more modest.
“I would have hoped they would have followed the traditions of President Wilson and President Roosevelt, who at a time of war had a very muted celebration,” said Democratic Representative Robert Menendez, speaking on CNN.
“I think when young men and women are dying we should think about the reality of how we conduct ourselves here at home.”
His comments echoed those of Democratic Representative Anthony Weiner, who, in a letter to Bush, urged the president to redirect some of the $40 million “towards a use more fitting to these somber times — bonuses or equipment for our troops.”
Inaugural committee officials however, point out that the theme of the inaugural fete — “Celebrating Freedom, Honoring Service” — already honors the U.S. military, as well as the president’s role as commander-in-chief.
Bush told reporters last week he sees no problem with either how the money is raised or how it is spent, noting that it has all been raised with private donations.
“There’s no taxpayer money involved in this,” the president said, brushing aside calls that some of the funds be channeled to South Asia for tsunami relief.
“A lot of the people who are coming here to the inauguration have given” to tsunami victims, Bush said.
“I think it’s important to celebrate a peaceful transfer of power. I’m looking forward to the celebration,” he told reporters.
In fact, let me reprint Democrat Rep. Weiner’s entire protest letter from January 11, 2005:
01.11.05
REP. WEINER’S LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUSH ASKING THAT INAUGURAL FUNDS BE USED FOR THE TROOPS
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20500Dear Mr. President:
The festivities surrounding your inauguration later this month are slated to cost $40 million – making this the most expensive inauguration in history. I urge you to re-direct those funds towards a use more fitting to these sober times – bonuses or equipment for our troops.
Precedent suggests that inaugural festivities should be muted – if not cancelled – in wartime. In the midst of World War II, President Roosevelt held his 1945 inaugural at the White House, making a short speech and serving guests cold chicken salad and plain pound cake. During World War I, President Wilson did not have any parties at his 1917 inaugural, saying that such festivities would be undignified.
Furthermore, $40 million could provide substantial support for our troops overseas. For example, we could buy armor for 690 unarmored humvees or provide a $290 bonus for each member of the armed services station in Iraq.
Please re-direct all the funds raised for the inauguration to our brave men and women in uniform.
With an estimated 1.5 million people expected to descend on Washington for the Obama festivities and a federal tax bill alone of at least $50 million, next January’s inauguration will dwarf Bush’s inaugural events and expenses. We are still at war. And, as the Democrats remind us, economic times are tough and average Americans are hurting.
Will Democrat Rep. Weiner demand that Obama go the “cold chicken salad and plain pound cake” route and redirect all the money Obama’s Chicago team is raising to the troops, too? Or has he stopped caring about the brave men and women he exploited in 2005 to score Bush-bashing points with the nutroots?
Will billionaire Mark Cuban, who demanded that Bush donate his inauguration funds to Indonesian tsunami victims, call on Obama to fork over the inaugural funds to victims of the Mumbai terrorist bombings or to distressed American homeowners under water on their mortgages?
Where are all the anti-Inauguration critics now?
Just wondering.
Still wondering…
See what others have said
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Trackbacks
- Lavish Obama inauguration contrasts with treatment four years ago « Wellsy’s World
- News Media Slammed Bush’s ‘Extravagant’ Inaugural in ’05, But Now It’s Spend, Baby, Spend « Goodtimepolitics
- Eric Cantor’s Shadow Stimulus Plan « JoHNBRoDiGaNDoTCoM
- Double-Standard Inaugurals « Gunservatively!
- Bloodthirsty Liberal » Worth Every Penny, All 16,000,000,000 of Them
- Random-American » Obama’s Inauguration: An Excercise in Hypocritical Extravagance
- The Colossus of Rhodey
- Offering It Up » The Chosen One will be anointed
- Screw the UN [Dan Collins]
- Jules Crittenden » Hurl-Blogging The Inaugur-A-Palooza, Iranian Edition
- State of Mary-Land Declares Obama Inauguration a Disaster « Teh Resistance Blog
- $150,000,000: “[Y]ou don’t want it to look like a schlock affair” « NObama Blog
- Oprah Cried-Polar Bears Died! | America Needs Me
- Change Is On The Way « Bohicaville
- Obama Inauguration To Cost US $160,000,000; 4x Bush 2005 Inauguration | Right Soup
- Sheer Lunacy; What Has Happened? « Northern Thoughts And Reflections
- $150,000,000: “[Y]ou don’t want it to look like a schlock affair” « Conservative Thoughts and Profundity
- Thoughts on the Inauguration « The Pugnacious Irishman
- OBAMA-ANTOINETTE « FactReal
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Should have read “the unit that should be measured is one”. Early for me.
…and mt daddy can beat up your daddy – nah-nah-nah.
Please. They didn’t pay in 2005 so lets not start now (unless we can make everyone who attended in 2005 pay).
Chap, that is pretty dumb – sorry.
Hey, if we are going to go that route, the reverse should work too. At one point Americans didn’t have to pay income tax – or Social Insecurity – or…
I think I will stop paying my taxes. Great idea.
1. Okay, fine. Lets wait until Wednesday, but if the numbers are around 1.5, does that mean you then concede the point?
2. Okay, fine. But recall the festivities at least are not taxpayer funded. It may be garish, but at least its privately funded. Security is taxpayer funded, just as it has been in every inauguration in the past.
3. I still do not see how you can justify not accounting for the overall number of attendees. Gross cost is a blunt, wholly inaccurate tool for almost measuring anything. I guess we will have to agree to disagree on that.
Why don’t we drop this and talk about guns or zombies or something.
Chap,
I tried. See post #77.
P.S. Can you talk about guns on an Obama thread without talking about him shredding the 2nd Amendment?
Chap, does your crazy count include the hundreds of thousands of zombies eminating from the secret vaults of the pentagon that karl rove plans to release to get obama????
You asked for it!!!
My boss will need to be reimbursed for the coffee I just spewed on the monitor!
Don’tcha know it’s Karl Rove’s fault for the situation in Gaza, too?
b-cat #88 you are exactly right. this is the inauguration of one man in 2004 and 2008. the spectators are irrelevant. the attendees may be relevant, as they are involved in the festivities instead of just watching. kind of like the ny yankees not winning the world series every year despite having a huge paycheck advantage which allows them to hire any superstar player and calling the yankee fans part of the team so the price per player isn’t that much more than any other team.
The “V” looks like light sabers.
Don’t the Sith use red light sabers?
Interesting analogy…but I am detecting a subtle subtext here…stop me if I am wrong here…I am thinking you may not be a fan of the Yankees…
Yes; the Siths use Red lightsabers, and those on the fense typically use green unless you are Yoda!
GSP
“This is Sparta!”
Seems like a ‘Dirty Harry’ marathon gets the nod here. Good old law and order, something I will never get from what is clearly going to be a totally corrupt Obama administration.
So if I sell a kilo brick of coke, will I get less time in prison than if I cut it with powdered milk and sell it to 1,000 of my closet friends?
(Should I forward that question to the Attorney General or straight to the White House?)
The whole thing makes me sick,sick,sick.Everywhere I go there’s the one’s snobby face staring at me.Posters at Walmart,every grocery store just everywhere.They’re even selling cookies with his arrogant mug on them,GAG!!!!!!! Imagine if they would have done this for a Republican there would be mass outrage and vandalism.It does look more and more like Nazi Germany.Also I think it’s pretty ridiculous when you have Obama telling us all how we are going to have to sacrifice,don’t drive your SUV,don’t keep your heat at 70,you can’t eat what you want we all have to sacrifice and telling us how unstable the economy is and blah,blah,blah and then he throws this ridiculous coronation for himself.
Movie ideas Mr.Smith goes to Washington.
Movie movie ideas—
Pick the trilogy/series of your choice:
Star Wars
Billy Jack
Dirty Harry
Mad Max
Aliens
Star Trek
Father of the Bride
I would recommend Lethal Weapon, but haven’t since the colorful comments from glover about the NRA a few years ago.
As for me, I’ll be in school and bowling that night.
GSP
“This is Sparta motherf****r!” (aka Samuel L. Jackson imitation from Pulp Fiction)
All the anti-inauguration critics voted for Obama, work for the media covering the event or have been invited to join the B.O.
You don’t kill the goose that lays the golden egg. You don’t bite the hand that feeds. You don’t tug on Superman’s cape.
This has become a nauseating bacchanal. The only things missing are the Roman-style orgies and vomitoriums.
Oh wait, that’s the Creative Coalition Ball.
Sorry for the word selection “goof,” folks; it should read “Versus.” I guess one could call it a “discrepancy” in word choice on my part.
Farmgal #103 – Loved your post. I, too, after only 2 days, (not counting the so-called campaign)am sick, sick, sick of Obomba and skinny M. It’s gonna be a loooong four years.