This is where I keep track of my many photos and clips now that I'm among the Washington glitterati.
After all, you don’t become the #1 recipient of lobbyists' money without some social and political effort.
(h/t to Fired Up Missouri for helping assemble my social calendar.
I don’t know what I’d do without them)
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Blunt is a full-fledged member of the Republican insiders club...
... having served in House GOP leadership for years. A close ally of President George W. Bush, he was a chief architect of the $700 billion bank bailout bill. One mentor was former House majority leader Tom DeLay.
[July 10, 2010 | Kansas City Star]
That Steve Kraske is such a smart-ass reporter. It’s hard to fool him.
Roy's Gone DC. Very DC...
[Blunt] was at the reopening of the Georgetown Safeway last week, because it's his local grocery store. Nothing says you're not from Missouri anymore than being a regular at the Social Safeway in Georgetown."
[May 26, 2010 | AmericaBlog]
Ouch. That hurt, guys.
"Oh, Roy, This Is Gonna Hurt"
It probably seemed innocuous at the time. An invitation comes for a black-tie party to launch the remodeled version of the grocery store where the yuppies and the swells get their food in the swanky Georgetown section of Washington, D.C.
But Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) isn't just any Capitol Hill fixture. He's a candidate for the Senate, and partying with the fancy folk -- with cameras rolling -- gives his opponents a chance to show how far removed Blunt's weekday world is from the Food4Less in Joplin, Mo.
[May 26, 2010 | CQ-Roll Call]
The 2010 Social List
Representative and Mrs. ROY BLUNT (Abigail)
[December 23, 2009 | Washington Life Magazine]
Click above to see me listed among the swells of Washington society.
Luxury Homes
Ex-lobbyist Todd Boulanger and his wife, Jessica, a public-affairs executive, sold a three-bedroom, three-bath rowhouse on A Street on Capitol Hill for $880,000. Boulanger, a former colleague of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, pleaded guilty to giving Capitol Hill aides tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of perks in exchange for legislation that was favorable to his clients. Jessica Boulanger—who was a spokeswoman for Republican Representative Roy Blunt when he was majority whip—is director of public affairs for New Media Strategies, an Arlington-based PR-and-marketing company.
[July 01, 2009 | Washingtonian]
Close friends & associates keep getting in trouble.
"We see you at so many parties. You’re invited to everything…"
Overhearing our conversation with the Stevenses, Rep. Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, noted that he must be “the only public official here who does not have a private art collection.”
Don’t feel too bad, congressman. We see you at so many parties. You’re invited to everything, despite your art deficiencies.
“You don’t need to say that,” he retorted with journalist Margaret Carlson standing nearby.
[May 18, 2009 | Washington Times]
Rats. I told Margaret not to print this.
In GM’s opinion, the East Village has “grander” homes, is a bit quieter, and has none of the West Village’s traffic problems. On the other hand, the West Village has homes that rate higher on the “quaintness” scale, more neighborhood stores, and Volta Park pool. In the end, GM is happy to live in the East Village, but the differences are probably overblown.
[February 16, 2009 | The Georgetown Metropolitan]
The 2008 Social List
The 13th annual record of notably social personalities from the worlds of politics, diplomacy, business, philanthropy, and the arts.
[December 1, 2008 | Washington Life Magazine]
Hey, I made the Washington social list! That's far better than just being introduced at Andy Williams' Gala Christmas Show in Branson, Missouri.
The 2007 Social List
Rep. and Mrs. ROY BLUNT (Abigail)
[December 1, 2007 | Washington Life Magazine]
Washington Swoons At Queen's Garden Party
A wide cross-section of the Washington elite gathered in the spacious garden of British Ambassador Sir David Manning for a festive garden party honoring the visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
[May 07, 2007 | Washingtonian]
Rubbing elbows with royalty.
"Roy Blunt embodies the insidious, half-legal corruption that has permeated the GOP majority since 1995."
Last Friday, the Republicans gave the Democrats a gift that will keep on giving: Roy Blunt of Missouri.
After an election repudiating the politics of Jack Abramoff and Tom DeLay, Republicans elevated Blunt from the number three spot in the leadership to number two.
Roy Blunt embodies the insidious, half-legal corruption that has permeated the GOP majority since 1995. Blunt’s election as minority whip, by a 137-to-57 margin, was a defiant Republican rejection of calls to clean up their act. Warnings by Blunt’s challenger, John Shadegg of Arizona — “We ceded our reform-minded principles in exchange for a …tighter grip on power” — went unheeded.
In 1998, DeLay put Blunt on the leadership ladder, making him chief deputy whip. Blunt modeled himself on DeLay, creating an identical network of state and federal political committees that raised money from the same lobbyists, corporations and trade associations that financed what became known as DeLay Inc.
If one political operation captured the essence of DeLay’s leadership, it was the Republican takeover of Washington’s influence-peddling industry. This industry, grossing $2.36 billion last year alone, eagerly accommodated DeLay’s demands to replace Democratic lobbyists and association executives with Republicans. In a mutually rewarding relationship, lobbyists who financed DeLay Inc. wrote amendments and bills, while DeLay received a flood of cash to build a multimillion-dollar network of PACs. These committees lavished contributions, corporate jets and year-round entertainment on Republican House members, ensuring their loyalty, and channeled cash into local political parties, helping to win control of state legislatures that, in turn, gerrymandered districts to implement a long-term strategy of larger GoP Congressional majorities.
In 2003, after DeLay moved up to majority leader and turned the so-called K Street Project over to him, Blunt promptly converted a legion of Republican lobbyists into an arm of the House whip operation. Lobbyists have always been close to Congress, under rule by either party. What DeLay and Blunt did was to sacralize this relationship. In doing so, they transferred a chunk of power from Capitol Hill to business interests.
This unholy alliance was a crucial factor in transforming the GoP into an army of spenders whose earmarks, appropriations and tax cuts rivaled the government largess of Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society.
In 2004, Blunt turned his lobbyist team loose to win passage of a bill eliminating a $50 billion corporate tax break that the World Trade Organization had ruled in violation of international agreements. These lobbyists inserted $143 billion worth of new corporate tax breaks, turning the bill into a Fortune 500 Christmas tree.
Blunt is not the easy target DeLay was. DeLay, a born-again Southern Baptist, by his own account had battled demon rum and the playboy life. Once he started down the path of righteousness, moralizing and sermonizing, he made enemies, painting a bull’s-eye on his back.
Blunt, by contrast, is bland, unctuous and adept at keeping a low profile. But there is plenty to see. After divorcing his wife of 35 years to marry a tobacco lobbyist, Abigail Perlman, he cleared his second marriage with the House Ethics Committee to get “a waiver of the limitations of the gift rule to allow me to accept gifts in connection with my wedding.”
Blunt unblushingly told the Heritage Foundation this month that Republicans “have allowed our efforts to defend traditional values to be defined as little more than a politically driven effort to appease ‘family groups.’ ”
For Blunt, the blurring of boundaries is a family tradition. His son Matt is the governor of Missouri. Another son, Andrew, is one of the state’s top lobbyists. Almost all Altria subsidiaries — Kraft, Miller Brewing, Philip Morris (remember Abigail Perlman) — hired Andy Blunt, along with other financial backers of Roy Blunt.
In Blunt, House Republicans have kept on display a top official reminding voters why they cast ballots for Democrats on Nov. 7. After winning the post of minority whip last week, Blunt declared that the Republicans had “come together … frankly, to get rid of the bad habits that we may have developed in 12 years in the majority.” This is precisely the opposite of what they actually did, which was to affirm their bad habits. The burden on the Democrats will be to make the elusive Blunt a nationally recognized figure.
[November 21, 2006 | New York Times]
This is the kind of crap I have to put up with from the little people who don't get it. Just wait until I'm Senator and they come asking for something.
Here at POLITICO, we’ve scoured the black-tie dinners, book parties and after-work happy hours to generate a list of the city’s Top 50 Party Animals. But remember: A Washington party animal is not like any other. The very best don’t swing from the rafters or wake up on the roof. Instead, they hit a cocktail party after work, then make their way to a fundraiser and turn up later to toast a friend’s promotion. This list celebrates the partygoers that show up the most and throw the best events...
Blunt and the congressman drew sharp criticism while dating, but the couple married in October 2003. Although her husband’s Senate campaign could keep them away from the social scene for a cycle, they’ll never fall completely off the grid.”
[September 7, 2009 | Politico]
There's my lovely wife, right up there next to Chris Matthews.
CREW's Crooked Candidates 2010
As a member of Congress, Rep. Blunt came under fire for a variety of issues including employing the same corrupt tactics that forced his mentor, former Texas Rep. Tom DeLay, to resign. Rep. Blunt’s ethical issues were documented in CREW’s 2006 report on the most corrupt members of Congress.
[July 20, 2010 | Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington]
Partying With The Fancy Folk
We live pretty close to here.”
[May 6, 2010 | Politico]
Washington, meet the Socialtini. The new signature martini debuted before Georgetown glitterati Wednesday night at an exclusive VIP gala awash in stiletto heels and Dom Perignon. A Belvedere vodka fountain and brie were flown in from Paris. A white-jacketed sommelier dashed among 10 wine bars pouring Louis Roederer Cristal and Robert Mondavi Reserve to show off the host’s 2,500-bottle, climate-controlled cellar.
[May 6, 2010 | Washington Post]
Wine as smooth as me…Livin’ the dream, baby!
A "True Coming Together of Washington"
Hundreds of men and women enjoyed lunch of chilled avocado and cucumber soup, grilled tenderloin and cinnamon churros with roasted balsamic strawberries in a flower-filled tent where the cold white wine was as welcomed as the fans whirring around the edges. It was a warm, sunny day, in contrast to last year’s luncheon, which is probably why the swag was a beautiful red umbrella. Just in case.
[May 10, 2010 | New York Social Diary]
The Serious Social Shopper
Probably not since the last time P. Diddy hit St. Tropez’s Club 55 has the Louis Roederer Cristal, the Dom Perignon and the vintage Veuve Clicquot flowed as freely as they did tonight at the gala opening of Georgetown’s rebuilt Safeway supermarket. Supermarket? Yes, indeed.
… I would not judge the new Safeway by tonight’s soiree. It was luxurious and extravagant, yes, and perhaps a bit out of touch with the times, but it was also a brilliant marketing move to get attention for the store. In the end, its a supermarket, but with lots more than it had before. Its a good thing for Georgetown. And, no small detail, its open 24 hours.”
[May 5, 2010 | CAROLJOYNT.COM]
Blunt a "Washington Superstar" at DC Oil Gala
What did you do last night? If your name is Roy Blunt, you were among the "Washington superstars" rubbing elbows with executives from Chevron, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Shell, Marathon, Valero and other corporations on Embassy Row in Washington, DC.
[March 9, 2010 | Washington Times;
March 9, 2010 | Fired Up! Missouri]
The White House Party Crashers
[January 5, 2010 | Washington Life Magazine]
How amusing to see the Salahis on television this week! Such a fun- loving couple. We often run in the same social circle.
"Endless dessert buffets, flowing cocktails, and lively dancing..."
[May 15, 2009 | Washington Life Magazine]
How can they keep us down on the farm after we've seen DC? LOL!
Blunt Dropped $47k At Naples Beach Resort
[July 24, 2009 | Fired Up! Missouri]
This ain't no Lake of the Ozarks. UPGRADE.
THE SOCIAL ORDER, WASHINGTON DC, CIRCA 2009
...a snapshot of the Washington A-list...
[January 21, 2009 | Washington Social Diary
THE K STREET GANG: Roy Blunt Is “Basically DeLay Light”
[April 20, 2006 | C-SPAN]
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Falling Star
Blunt’s loss to Boehner in the race for majority leader and Ney’s retirement in wake of the Abramoff scandal send them downward.
[September 1, 2006 | Washingtonian]
C'est la vie
“Blunt Still in Delay’s Shadow”
Blunt and DeLay have been politically joined at the hip since 1999 when the Texan, then majority whip, plucked the one-term congressman out of obscurity and put him on glide path to power.
[January 14, 2006 | National Review Online]
Guess that makes me a DeLay-made man. Hehe.
Blunt, DeLay Share Similar Links to Abramoff
Rep. Roy Blunt and the man he wants to succeed as House majority leader, Tom DeLay, shared similar connections to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and to corporate lobbyists.
[January 11, 2006 | Associated Press]
Hate to see my old friend beaten up like this.
Blunt, Boehner Share Broad Network of Lobbyist Ties With DeLay
[January 10, 2006 | Bloomberg]
Ok, so I spent a lot of time over on K Street. But that's where the money is!
The New Republic: Tom DeLay's Ties To Roy Blunt
DeLay and Blunt are not, of course, the first politicians to bend campaign laws to their advantage. But, in their recklessness and ostentation—in their eagerness to flaunt the power that money can confer on politicians—they easily exceeded their immediate predecessors.
[November 7, 2005 | The New Republic ]
What good is money and power if you can't flaunt it?
Nothing Says You’re Not from Missouri Anymore…
…than being a regular at the Social Safeway in Georgetown.
[May 12, 2010 | AmericaBlog]
It was like I was telling Abby the other day: “Sweetheart, we’re not in Branson anymore.”
Proud To Be A Member of "The Dirty Dozen"
The League of Conservation Voters released its annual "Dirty Dozen" list of U.S. lawmakers who consistently vote against clean energy and the environment yesterday and Missouri's Roy Blunt was among the dirtiest.
The group says Blunt, a Republican from the southwest corner of the state, is one of the least green Congressman in office -- unless you count the green he receives in the form of campaign contributions from oil and gas companies.
[March 11 2010 | Riverfront Times]
Lee Marvin has nothing on me.
The New A-List
There’s The List and The A-List
(in DC, that is). Now comes the ‘Social Safeway List.'
[May 11, 2010 | The Georgetown Dish]
Of course, me and Abby are on it.
"Well, so much for the man of the people theory."
More on man-of-the-people Roy Blunt's G-town presence
Yesterday it was reported that Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who is running for Senate, was shedding his $1.6M Georgetown mansion. (Also a JFK former home.)
Well, so much for the man of the people theory. It appears the Blunts have invested in some new land, also in G-town, that is for sale for $1.45M.
Here's a clip on the development And this site, too.
[August 19, 2009 | Politico]
What's the use of having money and power if you can't flaunt it?
Top Congressional Partiers
The members of Congress who have the most parties listed in our database are...Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), with 30-...
[December 22, 2009 | The Sunlight Foundation]
We'll be #1 next year!
Kennedy Center Red Carpet Arrivals
[December 6, 2009 | Washington Post]
I check my party at the door when it’s time to party.
“Intimate Dinner” in McLean Makes Roll Call
Republican kingmakers Fred Malek, an ally of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R), and power lobbyist Charlie Black are co-hosting a fundraising dinner for GOP Rep. Roy Blunt’s (Mo.) bid for Senate in 2010…
“According to a copy of the invitation, Malek, Black and their spouses ‘invite you to an intimate dinner in honor of’ Blunt. The Dec. 10 event, for which tickets cost from $1,000 to $2,400, will be held at Malek’s McLean, Va., home.
[December 1, 2009 | CQ Politics]
Here's me hobknobbing with Mr. Big.
[October 5, 2009 | Washington Life Magazine]
Abigail and me at the Belgian Ambassador's residence. Wish you had my life yet?
WASHINGTON LIFE: The 2009 Social List
Rep. and Mrs. ROY BLUNT (Abigail)
[January 1, 2009 | Washington Life Magazine]
A Night At The Symphony
[September 26, 2009 | Washington Life Magazine]
[September 26, 2009 | Panache Magazine]
Yes, I Used To Own A JFK House
JFK’s first house in Georgetown is currently for sale. From 1947 to 1949, then Congressman John Kennedy lived at 1528 31st. St. with his sister Eunice Kennedy.
Most recently it has been the home of Republican Whip Roy Blunt. He has announced that he’s running for Senate in Missouri next year, so perhaps this sale is part of that effort. It is listed for $1.595 million by neighbor Nancy Taylor Bubes of Washington Fine Properties.
Would you believe JFK once lived here in my Georgetown house? How cool is that? I think some of the aura has rubbed off on me..
Here's our bedroom decorated in Ozark Chic. Abby made the curtains.
[AUGUST 17, 2009 | The Georgetown Metropolitan]
Abby Might Be In Real Housewives of DC ?!?
Cocktail party chatter in DC this weekend was really all about who will be and who should be cast in the newest franchise of the Bravo reality show, “Real Housewives.”
… The names being mentioned most often around DC who should be in the final casting for the show are…
Abigail Blunt: Wife of Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO), who is running for Senate in 2010. A Kraft lobbyist, she is listed in The Hill as one of the Top 50 Corporate Lobbyists in DC. Known for her fashionable wardrobe.
[June 1, 2009 | Politics Daily]
Imagine me married to a television star, rather than a lobbyist.
Roy Blunt, spouse owe $6,820 in back taxes for Georgetown home
[May 28, 2009 | Kansas City Star]
Abby tried to tell me that everything in DC isn't free.
GEORGETOWN’S ANNUAL LAWN PARTY
As one might expect of any storied neighborhood whose colorful residents include statesmen, politicians, artists, raconteurs, scoundrels, merchants, old money, new money, media stars, social climbers, grand dames, gents and party girls, Georgetown has more than a few faces. It’s a relatively small community and many people know each other, either well or in passing.
They stop n’chat on the bricked sidewalks, meet for lunch or dinner at Café Milano, Martin’s and La Chaumiere, drop off the dry cleaning at New York Cleaners, line up for morning coffee at Marvelous Market and Patisserie Poupon, still call PNC Bank by the name “Riggs,” meet for pancakes or a club sandwich at Furin’s Coffee Shop, walk their dogs at Montrose, get them groomed at Chichies, line up for produce at the Wednesday farmer’s market, stand in line together for movies at the Loews and, not to put a downer on it, often as not end up buried next to each other at the village’s very own Oak Hill Cemetery.
[May 27, 2009 | Washington Social Diary]
The 2008 Balls and Galas Chairs
One of “the go to personalities behind this season’s top events”
[September 1, 2008 | WASHINGTON LIFE MAGAZINE]
Smile and say, "Big Money!"
ARM CANDY, ,
BELTWAY STYLE
But by far the most notable—and notorious—power union of recent times is that of Roy Blunt and Abigail Perlman, director of government affairs for Altria. Since his 1996 election, Blunt’s swift rise in the House has been credited to his close ties to K Street—ties undoubtedly strengthened by his friendly relations with the go-to gal for Altria, which just so happens to be one of Blunt’s top campaign contributors. Perlman, meanwhile, could not have asked for a more energetic champion of her employer’s interests than her congressional beau. In 2002, within hours of being named majority whip, Blunt quietly inserted a provision benefiting Altria-owned Philip Morris into the Homeland Security Act. Unfortunately for the couple, the measure was pulled as soon as colleagues discovered it, and when Blunt ran unsuccessfully to replace Tom DeLay as majority leader earlier this year, the boondoggle provided his opponents with much ammunition—highlighting the complications that can arise from having a power wife.
August 7, 2006 | The New Republic
N Street Village Gala At the Four Seasons
The premier event featured a get-acquainted cocktail hour and a sumptuous dinner, set within the jewel-toned decorated ballroom, against a backdrop of cherry blossoms. The Radio King Orchestra, a Swing-style band, pulled the Gala crowd onto the dance floor “to cut the rug” to WWII-era songs. A perfect cap to a fun-filled evening and a smashing fundraiser for N Street Village!
[April 13, 2006 | N Street Village]
Right down the street from our place.
Lawmakers Acted on Heels of Abramoff Gifts
“While Congress investigated Jack Abramoff’s efforts to win influence inside government, its members held a secret: Nearly three dozen lawmakers pressed to block a Louisiana Indian casino while collecting large donations from the lobbyist and his tribal clients…
The current House majority leader, Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., signed three letters to Norton. He took $1,000 from Abramoff and $2,000 from the lobbyist’s firm around the time he sent a May 2003 letter.”
[November 17, 2005 | Associated Press]
Damn. Never thought this would see the light of day.
I'm Now A "Builder" And "Farmer"
Besides being a builder, I am a farmer, and agricultural trade is very important to us,” Blunt said.