Stop The $30 Million Ball

The oath of office is the main focus of the inauguration ceremony, and the only part required by law (link). The Inaugural Ball that accompanies the inauguration is merely a custom, started in 1809 for the Inauguration of James Madison.

The Ball has been cancelled before - in 1853, when a grieving President Franklin Pierce—mourning the recent loss of his son—asked that it be cancelled. In 1913, when President-elect Wilson felt the ball was too expensive, and unnecessary for the solemn occasion of the Inaugural.

In 1921 President-elect Warren G. Harding requested that the Inaugural committee do away with the elaborate ball and accompanying parade, hoping to set an example of thrift and simplicity. Subsequent Inaugurations followed this trend, and charity balls were held for the Inaugurations of Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR eliminated even this charity ball in 1945, saying that the needs of the war superceded the need for an inaugural ball.

So why is the Presidential Inaugural Committee spending $30 million on a second inauguration for President Bush, when the money could be spent on armored Humvees for our troops in Iraq?

I have written to my congressman to make sure he understands that I don't support this. Sure, some private funds are used to pay for the inauguration and its balls, but that money could be used for Humvees instead - and which donors are going to complain about helping soldiers in dire need of such supplies?

What can we do to stop this crazy ball? Write to your congressman here; just type in your zip code and you can send an email from the website. My letter follows, if you want some help getting started.

It has come to my attention that the president's inaugural committee plans to spend in the range of $30 million to $40 million on his second inauguration (Newsweek and The New York Times are both reporting this figure). Although I understand that private donors will be contributing a portion of that, and their intention is to fund said inaugural event, I would think that President Bush would do better in the eyes of the public to use that money to produce more armored vehicles for the soldiers in Iraq.

The preferred vehicle is, according to NPR, the M1114 Humvee, which costs $150,000 to produce. Robert Mcredy, president of the Aerospace and Defense Group of Armor Holdings (they provide these vehicles) says that his company could produce more than they are currently making; all they need is for the government to order more. $30 million could provide 200 more of such vehicles for our troops.

Please make it known to the powers-that-be that I, and others like me, would prefer to send proper armaments to soliders in Iraq, rather than fund another inauguration - and I'm sure that those aforementioned donors would not balk if told that's how their money was being utilized.