White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

Celebrating 20 Years: 2012 Garden Brunch

By

Special Guests Tweet for a Cause

The 20th Annual Garden Brunch will kick off White House Correspondents Association’s weekend today. So we figured to honor our age–and wish the WHCA a happy 99th birthday–we’d look back at the last three years that lead up to where we are today.

Last year the gathering was once again held at the historic Beall-Washington House in Georgetown, graciously provided by Mark Ein. The brunch provided a bright spot to an otherwise cloudy day made better with the glittering collection of celebrities from Hollywood and Washington.

Lindsay Lohan’s arrival garnered special attention, as well as Elle Macpherson and Kerry Washington of the newly premiered show “Scandal.” Other special guests included Rosario Dawson, Kris Jenner, Johnny Galecki (“The Big Bang Theory”),
Chace Crawford and Matthew Morrison.

There was also a special appearance from Woody Harrelson, fresh off the HBO political drama “Game Change.” See below for video highlights:

Looking Back at 2012 From The 'Cliff'

By

IMG_0493

Welcome to the end of 2012 and the start of 2013 just beyond the (fiscal) cliff!

After a particularly rough election year, it almost seems unfair that we’re ending on the threat of the fiscal cliff. While the president is due to speak at 5:45 p.m. today, sources have already been spilling out as fast as they can to say there isn’t a deal. The National Journal already consultated their crystal ball to see what this means for Obama’s second term:

“After the debacle that resulted from Boehner’s pre-Christmas effort to pass a GOP fallback plan for resolving the cliff, Republicans seem poised to shoulder a bigger share of the blame if Washington misses the Jan. 1 deadline. Going over the cliff would also bring some tactical advantages to Obama and the Democrats. Once the Bush tax cuts lapse, the conversation will shift away from tax increases to enacting tax cuts, putting pressure on Republicans to drop their opposition to legislation that would renew the tax cuts only for the middle class.”

Still there’s more to 2012 than cliff crisises and elections–Think Progress goes over the year that was for bills blocked by the GOP. Even if there is “no White House bill” there was still so much that the last year gave us.

We found out Joe Biden could crash a party AND give a moving speech to a gathered crowd in Georgetown. That films shown at 48 frames per second need to be about hobbits, dragons and giant eagles. That Daniel Day-Lewis is a very convincing Abraham Lincoln. That anthropomorphic eggs are more fun at the White House than anywhere else. But more importantly, we learned in 2012 that no matter what cold or dark thing that happens that there’s always a silver lining.

Whether it’s a lifelong Star Trek fan getting his last wish or the WMATA not completely ruining the trains for one weekend. Also, that tickets for the Redskins/Dallas game this weekend are crazier than some of the things being said around the House and Senate aside from “cliff” talk. We even beat the apocalypse! So on that note, as the rest of Washington nervously watches the cliff talks now, be as calm as an Egg-man at the White House Easter Egg hunt.

We’ll be back in the new year with more insider intrigue and finding ways to help explain why the Beltway is so addictive despite it just being two loops inside of a larger loop. So why not leave a comment about what you’re thankful for in 2012 while we say Happy New Year.

Reagan Centennial GOP 2012 Debate Moves to September

By

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, in conjunction with its debate partners NBC News and POLITICO, are moving the Reagan Centennial GOP Presidential Primary Candidates Debate from May 2 to September 14, 2011.

Why the change? Seems not enough contenders are willing to toss their hat into the ring this early. Moving the debate to the fall will allow “enough time for the full slate of candidates to participate,” said John Heubusch, executive director for the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation.

“The Reagan Foundation prides itself on sponsoring world-class debates in which all of the major candidates in contention can make their point of view known to the widest possible audience,’ said Heubusch. ‘Although there will be a long and impressive list of Republican candidates who eventually take the field, too few have made the commitment thus far for a debate to be worthwhile in early May.“

For more about the move check out POLITICO and read the full release here: http://politi.co/i2Y5U4

GOP To Tampa In 2012

By

Get ready to pack the sunscreen.

The Republican National Committee announced today that the 2012 Republican National Convention will be held in Tampa-St. Petersburg once the site city agreement is fully negotiated and the full RNC votes for approval this August at its Summer Meeting.

“We are honored and privileged to accept the bid from Tampa, Florida to host the Republican National Convention in 2012. The host committee’s hard work and dedication resulted in a tremendous bid that we are confident will produce a successful event. The Tampa area boasts state-of-the-art facilities, exciting and vibrant downtowns, and a clear enthusiasm from the community to host our convention. We look forward to joining our compatriots in the Sunshine State for our convention in 2012,” said RNC Chairman Michael Steele.

POLITICO’s Mike Allen reported earlier today that top Republicans would recommend Tampa as the host city, beating out Phoenix, AZ and Salt Lake City, UT. The convention will be held the week of August 27, 2012.

Check out the full story.