Good excuse to end this dog and pony show that the inauguration has morphed into

The current scandal is being discussed in another thread. Please leave discussions of it in that thread.

However, the scandal brings to light the excessive extravagance the Presidential inauguration has morphed into and it is time to put an end to it.

I propose to abolish private fundraising for the inaugural and instead publicly fund a FAR MORE SUBDUED public event.

Instead of the current event, I would hold the inaugural in the House of Representatives chamber before a Joint Session of Congress held specifically for the purpose. The President and Vice President would be sworn in on the floor of the House and if the Vice Presidency changed hands, the incoming Vice President would walk up to the Speaker’s dais and relieve the outgoing Vice President just prior to the oath of office for the President. The President would be sworn in at the podium and then give his inaugural address from there just as he would a State of the Union Address. There would be no arrangements for any outdoor seating and people would be publicly discouraged from coming to Washington, D.C. for the event, unless they were invited guests in the House galleries. The general public would be able to watch on television.

All private funding would be banned, including for inaugural balls, which would be held under the auspices of the military.

We are inaugurating a President, not coronating a King and the event should never have gotten as extravagant as it has gotten in recent years.

The current scandal is a good excuse to squelch this extravagance for good.

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100% agree.

i agree with most of it but i do not see why the inauguration has to occur within the relatively small area that is the chamber. there is nothing wrong with people who want to be part of the event, it is historical no matter who is saying the oath and thus have the inauguration outside. just make it the same setup every year and have it a set amount paid for with public funding and be completely open and clear as to what the money comes from and where it is spent

Trouble is, the outdoor inauguration entails significant security expenses that would be spared by holding the event indoors. I suppose screens could be set up in the mall for people who insist on coming to D.C., but I really think for their own good, people should be discouraged from unnecessary travel in the heart of winter.

That is indeed true that there would be expense but is it worth the , and i hate using this word, optics that is already around DC by taking another step toward exclusion and only allowing the powerful and their friends from attending the event?

Party pooper.

Maybe a sports arena would be better.

I agree. The public inauguration is fine.

It should be the exact same every time. Publicly funded and avoid this donor nonsense.

It could be held at FedEx field, which has a capacity of 82,000. That would allow for reduced security expenditures and perhaps reduce the cost of cleanup of the mall, since only the stadium would have to be cleaned up.

I’ve never really thought about it before, but I have to say I kind of agree with you. I think it’s a tough sell, though; there’s a lot of precedent for it, and people do love a spectacle.

and in less then 15 min we just solved and compromised on a mulit-million dollar problem with neither a shouting match or curse word thrown or threat of anti-patriotism.

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:wink:…*

Agree

10 agrees

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I can get on board with this idea.

I INSIST ON SHOUTING MY STRONG AGREEMENT WITH THE ******* PROPOSAL… (It wouldn’t be our forum without shouting or a few choice curse words)…

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While we, the people, might be able to control where the new president takes the oath, I doubt that we can control private balls (to which the new Prez. might be invited) or other foolishness.

FedEx isn’t even in DC. RFK stadium maybe.

While not in D.C., FedEx is within the Capital Beltway and a suitable location, even though it is in Maryland.

RFK, at best, currently has a maximum capacity of less than 50,000, as opposed to 82,000 at FedEx. Additionally, the facilities of FedEx are far more modern.

RFK could be used as an “overflow” venue, but it is clearly not suitable as a prime venue.

RFK stadium!! That’s a soccer stadium :exploding_head:

Real Americans don’t go to soccer stadiums. :hotdog: :us: :us:

I believe it’s a good reason to get all private money out of politics all together. Way too few with too much money buying direct access