Sen. Chuck Schumer is cracking down on the Internet entrepreneurs who simply want to make a few quick bucks off of President Obama’s inauguration next Monday. In a statement released today by his office, Schumer (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, announced a partnership with aftermarket websites eBay and Craigslist to prevent the sale of tickets to Obama and Vice President Joe Biden’s swearings-in.
“This year’s Presidential Inaugural Ceremonies are not for sale,” Schumer said. “EBay and Craigslist are doing the right thing in stopping the sale of scalped tickets to one of our nation’s most sacred events.”
Tickets to watch Obama and Biden take their oaths of office from a reasonably close distance are distributed by members of Congress for free to their constituents, with additional allotments set aside for invited guests of the president’s circle of financial supporters and campaign workers. The ticketed zones stretch from the West Front of the U.S. Capitol to Fourth Street. The National Mall, while behind the security perimeter, is not ticketed.
But there aren’t that many tickets to begin with, making it tough for the average person to get a decent glimpse of this quadrennial ceremony. D.C. residents, for instance, faced impossibly slim odds in the lottery for the 200 tickets distributed by Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton.
No matter how rare the tickets may be, Schumer says it’s not cool to flip them for some extra beer money. The enforcement seems to be nearly immediate. A recent Ebay search for tickets to the swearing-in turned up mostly lucite-encrusted tickets from Obama’s first inauguration in 2009, but nothing for next week. Similarly, Craigslist returned several headlines advertising inauguration tickets, but they were immediately flagged and removed.
Of course, Schumer’s crackdown applies only to tickets to the swearing-in itself, which his committee runs. Monday’s other inaugural festivities are operated by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, including the inaugural ball, which, at least officially, is long sold out. If you’re still looking to get gouged—or do the gouging—Craigslist sales for next Monday night’s black-tie presidential soiree at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center are still going strong.
