Even under investigation, Vegas should shine!

And Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority: You fell down on the job, too.

Just how did our elected officials in Washington, D.C., fail to ensure that the ongoing hearings into the General Services Administration Las Vegas spending scandal take place in Las Vegas?

A parade of field hearings would show members of Congress the context in which the GSA was operating when it spent $823,000 on its shindig at the M Resort, which technically isn’t even in Las Vegas. (Apparently, some GSA officials listed “Henderson” on their expense reports, hoping it wouldn’t conjure the sin-soaked image of “Las Vegas.” Nice try, guys.)

Honestly, until you taste a piece of $7 sushi, how can you judge if it’s worth the price or not? Until you eat a $44 breakfast, who are you to say the government got ripped off? Maybe it’s the best breakfast ever!

Sure, a $3,200 session with a mind reader looks bad on paper, but when those members of Congress call the session to order and discover that he already knows all their questions, that’s got to be worth something. Who knows, they may end up asking the guy to work for the CIA.

This would have been an easy sell for the convention authority. You know who else is in town this week? The National Association of Broadcasters! That means the GSA hearings could have generated coverage from some of the best in the broadcasting business. If you can’t lure members of Congress to Las Vegas with the promise of priceless media coverage, we might as well shut off the lights.

At least tell them they could run into Teri Hatcher of “Desperate Housewives”! She’s headlining one of the NAB events.

Besides the obvious — economic growth — another benefit of Las Vegas field hearings would have been to show that this city is actually a bargain place to party. Can you imagine what it would have cost taxpayers to hold a similar event in Maui, San Francisco, Chicago or New York? Do you know how hard it is to find a two-story suite with a wet bar for a good price in the Big Apple?

Heck, the hearing might actually conclude that the GSA party-planners saved government money.

There is a downside: It’s entirely possible that members of Congress might take offense at the attitude that any criticism of things that happen here is a “personal attack” on the city, as Mayor Carolyn Goodman said. Former U.S. Rep. Dina Titus and state Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson put out statements Monday attacking the hearings as an insult and embarrassment to Las Vegas. Please! What does Las Vegas (and the great city of Henderson) have to be embarrassed about? The GSA wanted a good time, and we showed them a good time. Mission accomplished. Some U.S. Secret Service agents got in trouble last week for allegedly consorting with hookers down in Colombia; do you see Bogota getting all upset about the negative media scrutiny?

Now, abusing taxpayer dollars as the national debt exceeds $15 trillion is something the GSA should be embarrassed about. But Las Vegas did nothing wrong, except for being awesome.

But in defending Las Vegas, our leaders too easily descend into apologia. When it comes to pouring money — government, private, whatever — into our economy, there are no liberals, no conservatives, no Republicans or Democrats, just community boosters who think any scrutiny is bad scrutiny.

So what do you say, Congress? Ready for a Vegas getaway? Purely for business reasons to get to the bottom of this GSA business, of course. Come for the investigation, stay for the shopping, dining and shows!

 

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist and author of the blog SlashPolitics.com. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at (702) 387-5276 or ssebelius@reviewjournal.com.