Obama To Shut Down White House tours To Cut Costs

GOP leaders and staffers are ridiculing Obama's decision to shut down the high-profile tours of the White House. “Canceling white house tours is childish and dishonest [Obamas’s] golf weekend in florida cost enough to keep the white house open for months,” said a tweet from former House Speaker Newt Gingrich. “Obama should be challenged … this is silly and demeaning.” “White House cancels tours post sequester,” said a tweet from Brad Dayspring, a Senate spokesman. “Now I guess the only way to get inside Obama WH is to give $500,000 to OFA,” he said, evoking the current scandal over donations to President Barack Obama’s Organizing for Action lobby group. “Want to reschedule your canceled WH tour? That’ll be $500,000,” said a message from the National Republican Congressional Committee. The committee also tweeted out a quote from the White House’s website: “[T]he halls of gov’t are not reserved for a privileged few, and the [White House] should be no exception.” Is Obama right to shut down White House tours?

• I hope they never bring the tours back. I don't believe the public should have access to the White House.

• I think this is a ruse. Never in the article does it say how shutting down the tours would save money; there has been no mention of tour guides being let go so how is this saving money? It's a political ploy.

• It's bullshit. Why doesn't he cut back on golf? It cost the taxpayers millions for him to get on Air Force one to play one round.

• White House email tells agency to make budget cuts as painful as possible. Link below.

  http://m.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/5/email-tells-feds-make-sequester-painful-promised/

• Did R3 notice presidents playing golf before the Obama presidency or was that recent?

• R5 did they shut down WH tours to cut costs?

• Yeah R5 but NOT by way of Air Force one, unless they were on a real vacation.

• R4, don't bother linking to The Washington Times. That's like The National Enquirer for tinhats.

• Correct R6. Just shows Obama knows nothing about appropriate spending in a tough financial situation.

• R6, no idea if they shut down WH tours to save costs. My guess is the security people have wanted to do that for a long time. R7, I'm not sure that's true. Are you?

• There is nothing more disgraceful than living larger on expense accounts than you can on your own dime. The Obamas clearly abuse the perks. We should be able to tour our White House anytime we want.

• R3 There an amendment to a proposal in Congress to stop taxpayer money from paying for these presidential golf outings. Obama's golf outing with Tiger cost $998,000 dollars.

  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2013/03/05/louie-gohmert-obama-golf_n_2814332.html%3Futm_hp_ref%3Dpolitics

• The Obama administration told members of Congress on Tuesday that it was canceling all White House tours beginning on Saturday because of the $85 billion in across-the-board spending cuts that went into effect last week. Constituents who want to visit the White House must go through their representatives to schedule a tour, so Congressional offices will be forced to turn away visitors hoping for a tour and contact others to cancel scheduled tours. Lawmakers are being forced to trim their budgets, too. On Monday, Representative Candice Miller, Republican of Michigan and chairwoman of the House Administration Committee, told members that their 2013 office budget authorizations were being reduced by 8.2 percent. “Although sequestration isn’t the ideal way to reduce government spending,” Ms. Miller said in a statement, “it is now the law, and Congress is not, and should not be, immune.” Lawmakers, however, will have the discretion to choose how to absorb the cuts. In its own advisory, the White House made it clear that it understood that its move would inconvenience tourists and could cause a headache for lawmakers. “We very much regret having to take this action, particularly during the popular spring touring season,” the e-mail said. A spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service said that officers who would be assigned tpo the tours would be reassigned to other posts at the White House. “This staffing measure will reduce overtime costs overall and may ultimately reduce the number of potential furloughs necessary by our agency,” said Max Milien, the spokesman. Many members of Congress took to Twitter to voice their displeasure, although some also tried to offer a positive spin, suggesting that visitors should instead visit the Capitol. “White House cancels tours over sequestration; House admin welcomes Americans visiting D.C. to tour Capitol instead,” read a Twitter message by the House Administration Committee. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Republican of Washington and chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, similarly welcomed tourists to visit the Capitol, and accused President Obamaof playing politics with the budget cuts. “It’s unfortunate the president has chosen to implement his sequester by canceling White House tours instead of urging Senate Democrats to cut wasteful spending,” she said in a statement. “We welcome the opportunity to provide a free tour of the U.S. Capitol to anyone visiting Washington who will now be unable to visit the White House because of the president’s decision. Spending is the problem. And instead of making responsible spending cuts, the president has now denied American people access to the White House.” Representative James Lankford, Republican of Oklahoma, said he was “a little surprised” that the White House had shut down tours, calling the decision “a dramatic overreaction.” “The White House always tries to make things as public and harsh as they can, rather than saying they’re going to try to reduce spending and make responsible decisions,” he said. “They are trying to reduce access and trying to make it look bad.” Many Democrats, however, said the White House was simply making tough choices to handle the budget cuts that Congress did not stop. “The White House is doing what it has to do,” said Representative Steve Israel, Democrat of New York and chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Mr. Israel said his office was drafting e-mails to constituents whose tours were canceled, as well as to those who had made requests for tours. “House Republicans are hurting everyday Americans,” he said, “including those who simply want to tour the White House.” Representative Louie Gohmert, Republican of Texas, is trying to introduce an amendment to a stopgap measure to finance the government through the rest of the fiscal year that would prevent Mr. Obama from using federal money to transport himself to and from golf outings until the White House resumed its tours.

  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/06/us/politics/white-house-suspending-tours-over-budget-cuts.html%3F_r%3D0

• R5 Bush played 24 rounds of golf versus Obama's 115 so far.

• [quote] We should be able to tour our White House anytime we want. It is the people's house.

• Except that it's dangerous, R11. I was told it's a nightmare to guard the White House. Do tour groups traipse through 10 Downing Street while business is being conducted there?

• R4, the Washington Times is a right-wing rag. But you knew that, didn't you? Fucking FReeper shitstain.

• Then read R13 R17

• If I were the President I'd issue an executive order that cuts congresspersons' pay to $0 until they come stop with their vile obstructionist tactics.

• And yet Obama won't make any cuts to the military-industrial complex, will he?

• More republican crop dusting, it's all political misinterpretations, innuendo, and outright lies.

• R8 The leaked email came from the agriculture agency. So here is another link to the story from Agwired which is an agricultural web site not affiliated with the National Enquiror.

  http://agwired.com/2013/03/06/leaked-usda-email-makes-news/

• R15, applying your thinking, every area of every public building should be open for public tours. Throw open the doors of the Pentagon. Open those Fort Knox vault doors. It's not "the people's house"; it's the residence of the President and First Family. I think you knew that already.

• The NY Times is lying at R13 ?

• [quote] It's not "the people's house"; it's the residence of the President and First Family. The People’s House: The White House in Photos Encyclopedia Britannica

  http://www.britannica.com/blogs/2011/10/peoples-palace-white-house-photos/

• the NYT piece is simply quoting republican politicians who are criticizing the White House. Did you read the last few paragraphs, r24?

• So any time a publication calls a building by a bullshit name, we're supposed to believe it's real? Of course it belongs to us. That doesn't mean we need to tour it. Certainly not when we're in the way.

• R23 The White House has been open to the public from the very start. I really don't get the point of your rather paranoid rant. You don't want people to want to be able to visit the place of someone they helped elect? To have a sense of pride in their government?

• R21 This came from the president who is a democrat not a republican. Since you don't read a newspaper or watch the news I thought I would enlighten your ignorant ass.

• OP WHY DON'T YOU POST YOUR SOURCE, COWARD.

• EVerything the president does is expensive because of security and the number of people who need to be with him. So who cares if he golfs or not?

• R30 source is at R13

• R28, I could have a sense of pride in my government without traipsing through the White House. I could, but I don't. "It's always been done" doesn't mean it needs to continue. The building should have been closed to the public after 9-11. I can't go to the public boat docks at a nearby federal recreation area without a note from my mother, so the White House does not need to be on my to-do list.

• R30 I am not the OP but here is the link you desire. It's from NBC so it should meet your approval. Now please get your head out of your ass because this story has been all over the news today.

  http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/05/17197602-white-house-cancels-tours-citing-sequester%3Flite

• R31. Are you really that stupid? It's called sequestration. I did read where welfare and food stamps wouldn't be cut so I guess if it doesn't alter your lifestyle, why should you care about golf outings the president takes??

• Bengazi bengazi bengazi!! tiger woods golfing!

• R14, now do a comparison of how much time GWB was on vacation compared to how much time BO has taken off. If you're never at the White House, you don't need to play golf to relax. I don't even like BO, but the kind of comparison you make between GWB's golf games compared to BO's is specious. I don't know that GWB particularly enjoyed golf. As I recall he did a lot of mountain biking with security all around him.

• "The building should have been closed to the public after 9-11." Great idea. Another way to install fear in the average citizen. Because we didn't have enough of THAT during those years. And as we see, the Bush propaganda has lingering effects.

• I don't often say this, but you're a moron, R38. Do you think closing the White House to the public would instill more fear than the TSA presence at airports?

• I didn't say MORE, dipshit. I said it would have added to it.

• Why would you assume they don't want us to be afraid, R40? My impression is that they've worked their collective butts off to scare hell out of us.

• From the Roger Ailes says Obama is lazy thread, here are the number of vacation days taken by each president: Carter (Democrat): 79 days in four years or 5.4% Reagan (Republican): 484 days in eight years or 16.5% Bush 41 (Republican): 543 days in four years or 37.1% Clinton (Democrat): 152 days in eight years or 5.2% Bush 43 (Republican): 1020 days in eight years or 34.9% Obama (Democrat): 131 Days in his first four years or 8.9% The Bushes are way ahead of the rest of the pack here with Reagan a distant third. The Republicans look like the slackers here. Considering the amount of security and staff that had to be provided for a president who was away from the White House 34.9% of the time, I wonder if it's more expensive to have a president living in TX or one who gets on a jet to play golf.

  http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html%23page:showThread%2C12548808%2C1

• "It's not "the people's house"; it's the residence of the President and First Family. I think you knew that already." The White House belongs to the American People. A Presidential family occupies the White House for 8 years maximum. It should be open to us, always. Our President is not a King. This symbolizes a divide between the President and the People. It's a historic monument and one of America's most iconic institutions and it is a living museum. It is our White House, not the President's. How in the world is it so costly to give tours of the White House? This is like Romney attacking PBS or Amtrak when their government funding is just a drop in a large bucket. This is without a doubt one of the most absurd ideas I've ever heard. I can't believe Obama would be so naive. I believe there is more to this story.

• It's a huge security issue. There is more to this.

• Just because I own a share of the White House doesn't mean I am somehow entitled to visit. Let's all go to the nearest military installation and demand that we be allowed to go in and tour, and that we have trained guides to show us around. Taxpayer expense of course.

• So did they pass the decree that if he's stopping WH tours, he also has to stop playing golf?

• White House Tours are fun -- when this all works itself out and you find yourself planning a trip to DC, ring up your Congressional rep and ask for a VIP tour tickets (they are early, at 8AM but you get to see more.)

• I'd personally rather he'd cut the White House tourism crap rather than take food out of the working poor's mouths (the latter of which Republicans are doing a banner job already). I can do without taking my kids to see the Lincoln Fucking Bedroom if it means someone else's kids will get to EAT.

• But he's BLAAAAAACK!!!!

• [quote]There is nothing more disgraceful than living larger on expense accounts than you can on your own dime. The Obamas clearly abuse the perks. We should be able to tour our White House anytime we want. And just how many fucking times have you toured it, freeper fuck R11?

• I disagree with how the vacation days are counted. It's absurd to count when you stay at your own home as a vacation. Are we all experiencing a vacation when we return to our own home after a business trip? If Obama goes to Chicago it's not a vacation, and the same is true for all the other presidents going home. Going to Hawaii when you no longer live there is a vacation.

• He's black, so his vacation days are 'lazy' versus a white president who would need to 'rest'.

  Freeper%20Logic

• The Obama's abuse their expense account because they're black. Straight white executives never abuse their expense accounts nor do they enjoy the perks of their job, not even CEOs.

  More%20Freeper%20Logic

• r48 gets it.

• R50. Five in my lifetime, thank you. Notice I said "we" not "I" in the original post.

• Damn

• [quote][R5] Bush played 24 rounds of golf versus Obama's 115 so far. That's not a fair comparison -- Bush didn't like golf so only went when the situation demanded it. Obama likes golf and goes whenever he can. You can flip this sort of argument by saying Bush rode his bicycle 498 times and Obama has yet to ride a bicycle.

• My mother, a retired architect and historic preservationist, inquired about being a volunteer guide at the White House last year. She was told the WH no longer hosts volunteers and that she should go to serve.gov to find another venue for her volunteering. She wound up volunteering with a Maryland church that was undergoing renovations. But, if $$ are a problem, open up the docent positions to volunteers. Tours of the Obama residence should remain off limits. But there is much more to the WH than that.

• The uppity black woman got tired of picking up Poz Face Obama's drawers huh?

• [quote]Tours of the Obama residence should remain off limits. The Presidential residence sections were never on-limits, unless the family invited you up there. Jackie Kennedy said, "I want to make this The President's House and the People's House."

• Let's be honest. If it was a Republican President who stopped WH tours to cut costs, there would be A LOT more outrage.

• This is what I love about this whole sequestration nonsense, everybody wants cuts. He offers cuts and no one likes the cuts. So it's more bitching and complaining. If your asses wouldn't have stayed home in 2010, you wouldn't have to deal with this shit now. I'm sorry that you won't get your tour of the White House, but tough titty.

• Thanks, R48. Too bad most Republicans think just the opposite.

• Why do the cuts always come at the expense of the middle class? If you're so concerned about people eating in this country, then start taxing the wealthy what they deserve. That would be more beneficial and I think would feed a lot more mouths than this. The ridiulous amount we blow on our military is another thing, but you can forget ever having a legitimate conversation on that. The only ones who will screwed on this are the middle class on down, as usual. But many people feel like they have absolutely no say in their government anymore, so I guess this is fitting in a way.

• I want to eat the corn out of John McCain and Karl Rove's shot.

  R2/4/12/14/22/29/34/35

• this thread didn't quite go the way you wanted, eh op?

• R17. How does the Post, The NY Timed, LA Times, Time, Newsweek, CBS, NBC, ABC,CNN lean?

• Can you imagine if a Republican white house did this? "Brilliant", " Strategic", " Desperate times calls for desperate measures" , " Cost Savings!" Freepers are sooooo predictable.