A January 3 Washington Post article waxed poetic about incoming House Speaker John Boehner's plans to “take helm with show of austerity,” comparing Boehner and the GOP's supposed modest inaugural “festivities” to Rep. Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats' “lavish” bashes “that accompanied Democrat Pelosi's swearing-in four years ago.” The Post reported:

Nancy Pelosi brought camera crews and dignitaries into her childhood Baltimore neighborhood where a street was being renamed in her honor, while John Boehner is bringing his 11 siblings from working-class Ohio to Washington for a private reunion. Pelosi was feted at the Italian Embassy as Tony Bennett sang “I Left My Heart in San Francisco.” Her Republican successor was invited to the posh W Hotel for a LeAnn Rimes concert, but he is planning to skip it.

Austerity is the theme of Boehner's ascendancy to House speaker this week, placing the start of this new Congress in stark contrast to the more lavish festivities that accompanied Democrat Pelosi's swearing-in four years ago.

While some time later the Post gets around to mentioning that Pelosi's inauguration as Speaker may have been a bigger deal because, well, she was the first female ever to assume the position, its point is nonetheless clear. The Democrats came to power with a bevy of “lavish” extravagancies, whereas those modest Republicans, led by the humble and at-times emotional Boehner, will take the “helm with [a] show of austerity.” Except the picture the Post painted couldn't be further from the truth.

Politico reports today that the “LeAnn Rimes” concert that the Post reported Boehner was skipping is a bit more than simply a “concert.” In fact, it is a $2,500-a-ticket GOP fundraiser that prominently features Boehner's name on the ticket. And, while Boehner may be planning on skipping it, other top Republicans don't appear to be taking the same tack. Politico reported: “The office of incoming Majority Leader Eric Cantor, another featured invitee, was non-committal Monday night when asked whether he'd attend.”

How does this compare to Pelosi's “lavish” “fete at the Italian Embassy,” which featured a musical performance by Tony Bennett? Well, as Politico pointed out, this event, too, was a Democratic fundraiser with a ticket price of $1,000 each, two and a half times less than the Republican's modest “LeAnn Rimes concert.” Politico also reported that Democrats were criticized for their Tony Bennett-featured affair--by “some of the lobbyists and political action committee managers who typically comprise the target demographic for high-dollar Washington fundraisers.” Somehow the Post neglected to mention these facts. After all, it wouldn't have fit into the article's love letter to Boehner's “austerity.”

The Post got something else wrong in its fawning profile of the upcoming GOP takeover of the House. The Post reported:

In a departure from earlier takeovers, Republicans are not planning a blitz of new legislation in the first few days. Rather, aides said, there will be a full reading aloud of the Constitution on Thursday, and probably a vote this week to cut congressional office spending by 5 percent - both symbolic gestures designed to set a tone for how Republicans plan to govern.

Somehow they missed the scoop that Republicans reportedly plan on voting to repeal health care reform on January 12. Sure, that's not technically “in the first few days,” but it's certainly within the first week of the new Congress being sworn in. I guess in the Post's world, voting on a repeal of health care reform legislation which was debated for more than a year, with, at most, one week's worth of debate is a big fat nothingburger. With coverage like this, who needs a press secretary?