Photo credit: Janet Donovan
“I think the President is going to be talking about optimism,” said Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (Dem. MD) at a SOTU (State of the Union) address pre-party at Tortilla Coast, “how we need to be pleased with what’s happened over the past four years. We have taken our country from the brink of depression to economic growth, job creation. But, it’s not enough. He’s going to say not enough, we need further action. That is what I expect him to say.” And sure enough, the President complied.
We’re not sure how the camaraderie-civility thing was going for those settling in at the chambers of The House of Representatives at the Capitol, but the party hosted by NBWA (National Beer Wholesalers Association) at the trendy Tex-Mex restaurant a few blocks away went just swimmingly as you can see from the below photo of Rep. Hoyer with Sean Spicer, Communications Director at the RNC – and it was way too early to blame it on the beer.
Rep. Steny Hoyer and Sean Spicer
“We’re thrilled to have Christina Bellantoni at Statuary Hall tonight covering the State of the Union,” said Roll Call‘s Beth Bronder. “She and Shira Toeplitz will be on Google Hangouts, taking questions and coordinating all of the coverage. So this is a chance for us to get the whole community of Hill watchers together with reactions to the President’s message for the Roll Call community. Google Hangouts is a platform where you can have multiple screens coordinating and contributing to a discussion – one platform, but multiple people contributing and a universe of Google watching, sending questions via the web and then lives on. We can then also have it on our website, on YouTube. It’s a preferred choice of communications on the Hill.”
Beth Bronder
“We’re just excited that so many people are here tonight,” said Rebecca Spicer, Vice President of Public Affairs & Communications for NBWA, “helping us celebrate. We’re looking forward to a great evening and raising a glass in an absolutely bi-partisan crowd.”
NBWA President & CEO Craig Purser and Rebecca Spicer
Hoyer was joined by colleagues Rep.Duncan Hunter (R-CA), Rep.George Holding (R-NC), Rep.Frank Lucas (R-OK), Rep. Rodney David (R-IL), Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MI), Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO). That’s a lot of R’s…..looks like Hoyer was holding down the fort for the D’s.
Nikki Schwab of U.S. News and World Report and Warren Rojas of Roll Call went on to do the party hop. Schwab was first off to the Hawk ‘n Dove where a party was being thrown by Generation Opportunity. She hoped to see their crazy Uncle Sam videos, their crazy schtick – and engage in a SOTU bingo game. Then on to Bar 201 on the other side of the Hill where Washington Examiner was also holding a bingo game.
Nikki Schwab and Warren Rojas
“I too am here at Tortilla Coast with the Beer Wholesalers,” said Rojas. “I came by to see a bunch of staffers plowing themselves on free booze – which they are. I will probably see them all at the other bars along Pennsylvania Avenue where they will be bare their hearts and souls to me about what they thought of the speech. I will be asking them questions, so God bless their little hearts. It will be a full evening, I am sure.”
