Opinion: The Alfalfa Club shows what America can be

[littlemissmartypants]

Opinion Columnist

Armstrong Williams: The Alfalfa Club shows what America can be | STAFF COMMENTARY

By Armstrong Williams

PUBLISHED: January 31, 2025 at 1:56 PM EST

The most prominent, influential elected officials, political appointees and business leaders in the United States convened for a special banquet hosted by the Alfalfa Club on the last Saturday of January.

The small club boasts a storied history with, like most clubs, humble beginnings. The first meeting of the Alfalfa Club was in 1913, when four Southerners in Washington, D.C., joined to celebrate the birthday of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Over time, the club grew, both in scale and in philosophy. In 1974, Black men were admitted for the first time. In 1994, the first women were admitted after then-President Bill Clinton boycotted the club for not allowing women to join.

The club takes its name from the alfalfa plant, a reference cleverly encapsulated by a 2009 Politico article, which noted that alfalfa is famously “known to do anything for a drink.”

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I participated in the activities of the day at the 112th Alfalfa Club Dinner, an exclusive event and, in reality, the only event that the club exists for. The event is a black-tie banquet held on the final Saturday of each January. The banquet has no real purpose other than to bring together a group of devoted, patriotic Americans from the highest levels of government and business. Lobbyists, business executives, elected officials — you name it, all convening at the banquet for the enjoyment of the company there, unconcerned with the political affiliations of the attendees.

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The Alfalfa Club is a social club that exists only to hold an annual black tie banquet on the last Saturday of January at the Capital Hilton in Washington D.C., with an after-party at a local restaurant.[1] The banquet, which lasts 4 hours, features music by the United States Marine Band as well as a political roast. There are approximately 200 members of the club, all of them influential politicians and business executives. The club has an invitation system; members are required to be invited to join.[2] Invitations are extended to prospective members annually to fill the spots of recently deceased members. Several Presidents of the United States have been members of the club. The press is not allowed to attend the banquet.
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfalfa_Club

❤️pants

[brer cat]

1. Interesting read. Thanks, ❤️pants.

[littlemissmartypants]

2. My pleasure, brer cat. ❤️