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.[2] 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.[3] 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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One of the evening's activities includes the playful nomination of a presidential candidate by the Club's leadership. The candidate is then required to make a speech. Several such candidates became President of the United States after being nominated, including Richard Nixon in 1965 (elected in 1968), Ronald Reagan in 1974 (elected in 1980), and George W. Bush in 1998 (elected in 2000).[1] In 1969, it nominated Harold Stassen.[6] In 2004, the Club nominated Jack Valenti, the former president of the Motion Picture Association of America. Its 2000 nomination was Australian-born James Wolfensohn, constitutionally ineligible for election to the U.S. presidency.[1] In 2001, the presidential nomination went to John McCain. In 2011, Sandra Day O’Connor became the first female president of the club.[7] In 2017,
Michael Bloomberg was elected president of the club.[8] In 2018, John Kerry was elected president. In 2019, Mitt Romney was elected. In 2020, David Rubenstein was elected.
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The club was formed by four southerners in the Willard Hotel to celebrate the birthday of Confederate Civil War General Robert E. Lee.
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https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfalfa_Club
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