Boehner Turns His Back On Capitol 5 De Mayo

At best he punted, at worst he miscalculated.

Every year since 2003, when Republican Dennis Hastert was Speaker of the House, there’s been a Cinco de Mayo celebration on the Capitol grounds, and every year it has been mostly paid for with the Speaker’s funds. Except this year.

The leadership of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus sent a letter to Speaker Boehner in an effort to convince him do the event. Former speaker Nancy Pelosi even offered to help plan the event. Boehner’s response was an awkward throat-clearing. According to the Huffington Post:

An aide to Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas), who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said his group got a formal response from Boehner’s office Monday saying the speaker won’t be putting on the event.

“The letter didn’t really answer our question of, ‘Will you host one?’” said Gonzalez spokeswoman Patricia Park. “It was more a response like, ‘That’s a good idea. You should host something.’”

It wasn’t the best of possible political moves. Cinco de Mayo is a big deal among Latino’s of Mexican ancestry in the US; bigger than it is in Mexico itself. Outside of the city of Puebla the date isn’t marked with parades or civic events. But in Washington, on Capitol Hill, the date served to celebrate all things Mexican: from politics to culture. It would have been a great opportunity for the top Republican on The Hill, third in line to the presidency, to show a little love toward the voting group he needs to keep his party in power. But he didn’t.

Maybe he thought that no one would notice and that all would be good. But by punting he drew attention to it.

There are some calendar considerations; his dance card is full.

May 5 also falls on a Thursday when the House is slated to hold its last votes of the week “no later than 3pm,” according to the floor schedule posted by Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). That could mean Boehner is angling to leave town for the weekend.

The only official word from Boehner’s office came from his spokesman Michael Steel.

“The speaker won’t personally be hosting it, but we are supportive of them having it.”

Thanks for that.

Follow Victor Landa on Twitter: @vlanda