In face of government shutdown, it’s still party time

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

Despite the looming possibility of a government shutdown, federal layoffs and furloughs, there’s at least one thing members of Congress from both political parties can readily agree on these days: partying.

Morning, noon and night, more than 150 fundraising parties are scheduled all over Washington this week for Democratic and Republican politicians in bars, restaurants and private town houses and at sporting events — even to watch the woeful Washington Wizards play. Other lawmakers are gearing up for March Madness, the upcoming NCAA basketball tournament, with luxury suites for fundraising at the Verizon Center.

The flurry of fundraising comes as the end of the first quarter for reporting election contributions comes up. Also, Congress will be adjourning next week, so politicians might be scurrying to raise money in Washington while they still can.

“It’s an every-three-months tradition where we tend to see an uptick,” said Nancy Watzman of the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation, which tracks fundraising parties by members of Congress. “With the March 31 deadline approaching, there are a lot of parties with people looking to pump up their numbers.”

Fifty-seven fundraising parties were scheduled for Wednesday alone, according to Sunlight, which points out that the group still doesn’t know about all of the events going on across town. Last week was busy, too.

[nickydog]

57 fundraising parties in just one day? I am amazed there are that many people with enough money to attend all these parties in just one area.