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VP actually scored tickets to the Reagan innauguration. How? I don't know, probably he or TWI made a significant contribution to his campaign?

Vic and the Mrs. got all dolled up. The Mooncotch family of Chicago bought Mrs. a beautiful green velvet gown (the one she wore in the oil painting of her that's in the WOW auditorium-- those paintings were donated by Mooncotch as well). She was loaned furs & jewelry. Vic got all spiffed out in a top hat and tails. Other than suit rentals, jet fuel, and hotel rooms and food for the entourage, everything else was donated or loaned by believers.

They attended the innauguration in memorable style. There are several balls in DC during an innauguration, and the new President & First Lady usually stop by each one for a spin on the floor, but usually don't stay at any of them for very long, except for the final one which you have to have some top-level clearance to be invited to. I doubt that is the one that the Wierwille's went to.

I heard also, that not only Tricky Vic was there, but also Sun Myung Moon et al and some Scientology Hoity-Toities. So I really do think it had something to do with a campaign donation.

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In 1981, Wierwille obtained an invitation to one of the events of Ronald Reagan's inauguration, and word filtered down through the ministry that Wierwille had access to the president himself. Word had it that Reagan was a "believer", and since the word was used exclusively of Way members, some took this to mean that Reagan was catually a follower of The Way. As evidence, the proponents of this theory would say "Have you ever seen Ronald Reagan going to church?"

In a Jan. 1981 newsletter to Ohio believers, state leader Bob Mirabito wrote: "Dr. Wierwille has personally been invited by President-Elect Ronald Reagan to the Inauguration Ball this January 20th. It is not one of the sattelite balls. There will be only 1,000 people in attendance".

A spokesman for Reagan's Inaugural Committee, speaking to the Empria Gazette, scoffed at rports that Reagan had personally invited Wierwille to anything. "He would not have been invited by President Reagan and ended up in the same computer lists as the 175,000 others" said committee spokesman Bob Billings.

Billings said that there was no ball with only 1,000 people, and that with roughly 43,000 people attending about nine balls, the average attendance was closer to 5,000. Noting that invitations were handed out on request, Billings also said his office had extended an ivitation to a man who identified himself as "King of the Gypsies", and claimed to represent a union of practicing Gypsies.

On Feb. 9, 1981, Kansas Senator Bob Dole, future Republican presidential nominee, wrote in answer to an inquiry from Herb Diamond: "I realize that there has been a great deal of concern about the participation of Victor Paul Wierwille, leader of THe WAy, in the recent Inaugural activities. I want to assure you that Mr. Wierwille's presence was as a private citizen and not an official guest. It seems that the invitation to Mr. Wierwille came as a result of a routine phone request to a congressional office that a V.P. Wierwille attend an Inaugural event. Whoever took the phone message did not recognize the name, and so it was passed on along with other such requests..His presence in Washington in no way represents any kind of official recognition of him or his organization by the Administration.

quoted from The Cult That Snapped by Karl Kahler, p 124-125

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