At the Washington Post's Post Politics blog on Monday, Juliet Eilperin revealed that the White House has notified participants invited to the April 1 Easter Egg Roll that the event "is subject to cancellation due to funding uncertainty surrounding the Executive Office of the President and other federal agencies."
Eilperin only considered the White House's latest obvious example of "no petty and partisan gesture left behind" a partisan matter when a Republican who hasn't held political office for 15 years objected (bolds are mine):
For more than a century, the White House Easter Egg Roll has been insulated from the sort of partisan sniping that now dominates Washington politics.
That tradition ended Monday, when Republicans started complaining about a notice that the event could be canceled due to a potential government shutdown. The Obama administration has already come under GOP criticism for canceling White House tours due to the mandatory, across-the-board cuts known as sequestration.
The memo — which doesn’t actually say the White House is nixing the bunny fest, but just that it might do so at some point during the next couple of weeks — warns ticket-holders that the nation’s financial woes may affect the 135th Easter Egg role slated for April 1. (Note: this is not an April’s Fools Day joke.)
“Finally, by using these tickets, guests are acknowledging that this event is subject to cancellation due to funding uncertainty surrounding the Executive Office of the President and other federal agencies,” it reads. “If cancelled, the event will not be re-scheduled. We will notify you if there are any modifications to this event.”
House and Senate members received the memo last week, along with the notice that each congressional family would receive a total of five tickets ...
... Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) was quick to attack the Obama administration over the issue, tweeting: “Shameless! How else can you describe the threat to cancel white house Easter egg hunt? Maybe pathetic, demagogic? You try to find right words.”
A White House official, who was not authorized to discuss the planning of the event on the record, confirmed the warning went out to all ticket-holders who received confirmation they secured tickets, including those who obtained passes through a lottery.
Congress has yet to finalize a continuing resolution, which could pass within a matter of days.
You see, nothing about a partisan tactic or action by Democrats and leftists is really partisan until a Republican objects. Then, and only then, does it becomes "news." The fact that Eilperin could only get a quote from a guy who last served in 1998 is doubly pathetic.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
