Despite Boehner flap, Hispanic caucus plans fiestas for Cinco de Mayo

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) ruffled some feathers this week when
he broke with tradition and decided not to host a Speaker’s Cinco de
Mayo reception this year.

In place of a Speaker’s reception, Boehner encouraged the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) to host an event.

The only trouble with Boehner’s idea? CHC members are already hosting Cinco de Mayo events. Five of them, to be precise.

The political fundraisers are scheduled for May 3, 4 and 5, and they all purport to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, according to the Sunlight Foundation’s Party Time website.

{mosads}The fiesta begins Tuesday, May 3, with a Cinco de Mayo fundraiser to benefit the CHC political action committee hosted by former Clinton administration aide-turned-lobbyist Robert Raben.

On Wednesday, Reps. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) and Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.) will host competing Cinco de Mayo-themed shindigs, both at well-known Capitol Hill corporate townhouses and both from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

The festivities continue on Thursday, the official Cinco de Mayo, with a birthday fundraiser for CHC Chairman Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) and another reception for Rep. Ed Pastor (D-Ariz.).

To Gonzalez’s credit, May 5 is his real birthday. Certain lawmakers have been known to get creative about when they celebrate their “birthday” with donors. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), born June 11, famously hosts a lavish “birthday party” for himself every August.

For those who’d like to get a jump on South of the Border celebrations, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) will raise campaign cash on May 2 with a tequila tasting in Washington.