- Wall Street Journal - Corporate Spending in Denver Mirrors Broader Shift to Democrats
DENVER -- For the past decade, corporations have showered Republicans with money and attention. But this week's Democratic convention shows how much things have changed.
- USA Today - Despite storm, parties continue in St. Paul
ST. PAUL — Beneath the carved wooden ceilings of old-time rail cars, convention delegates snacked on crab-salad sandwiches and chocolate-filled tarts Monday afternoon, all courtesy of railway giant Union Pacific.
- Washington Times - GOP gets its party on in St. Paul
Technically, it's the politics that will draw 45,000 or so people to Minneapolis and St. Paul next week for the Republican National Convention - the big speeches, the platform, the pep rally for the fall campaign.
- The Brian Lehrer Show - DNC Coverage: Hour 2
Nancy Watzman, Party Time Project's director, sits down with WNYC's The Brian Lehrer Show to " ..dish the details about the premiere Democratic fetes" at this year's DNC convention.
- Roll Call - She Snags the Invites But Not the Parties
Nancy Watzman will be attending as many parties as she can at the Democratic and Republican conventions, but she’s not going for the good times. She’ll be keeping track of who’s feting whom and blogging about what she sees — provided she gets into the parties, of course.
- Associated Press - AT&T has high profile presence at Dem convention
DENVER (AP) — AT&T is not just a phone call away at the Democratic National Convention.
- Washington Times - Lobbyists bend ears on issues in swanky settings
DENVER | Inside a chandeliered ballroom of the Ritz Carlton hotel here Tuesday morning, Rep. Henry A. Waxman talked to a lawyer for Medtronic about an issue the big medical device company has been pushing in Congress.
- Houston Chronicle - Interest groups join the party with top Dems
DENVER — The oil industry has arrived. Entergy, TXU, CenterPoint and Luminant are among the Texas electric utilities planting their flags here, too, through their national industry associations.
- Congressional Quarterly Politics - Fundraising Loopholes Allow Lobbyists to “Honor” Lawmakers at the Conventions
The Democratic and Republican national conventions have long been the targets of big spending by corporations and interest groups looking to grab a piece of the political action. But they are also a rich target of opportunity for elected officials and candidates looking to pad their campaign wallets. And thanks to a loophole in the 2007 lobbying and ethics law, they also provide a channel for lobbyists to host fundraising events for individual lawmakers.
- Los Angeles Times - New ethics rules won't spoil Democratic convention parties
WASHINGTON -- In time-honored fashion, members of Congress attending the Democratic National Convention in Denver will find a social calendar crammed with glitzy parties and lavish entertainment, all courtesy of those tireless friends of the powerful: Washington lobbyists.
- USA Today - Loopholes let lawmakers live large
The chance to sip cocktails with actress Ashley Judd, dance to the beat of the Black Eyed Peas or listen to Willie Nelson croon country tunes. All this and more await members of Congress at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
- Congressional Quarterly - Watchdogs Monitor Party Circuit
Lobbyists beware: Watchdog groups are making the rounds to monitor convention-goers’ compliance with new ethics rules and call attention to events where corporate sponsors wine and dine members of Congress and their aides.
- Arizona Republic - Conventions lure corporate lobbyists
Now that the presidential candidate is determined long before each party's national convention, the events have lost most of the drama that used to rivet the delegates.
- Reuters - Business puts the party in party conventions
Corporate America is lavishing parties on Democrats and Republicans at their presidential nominating conventions, defying promises by lawmakers to "drain the swamp" of special-interest influence in government.
- The Hill - Watchdogs turn into party-crashers, out on the hunt for ethics violations
Members of Congress and their staffs should be aware: The ethics police are out in force in Denver, and they’re watching you.
- Computerworld - Following political conventions the Web 2.0 way
In 2004, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) provided official press credentials to about 30 bloggers to cover the party's convention.
- WAMU - The Parties' Parties
Party Time project director Nancy Watzman sits down with Kojo Nnamdi Show in Denver to discuss who is paying for parties what lobbyists are hoping to get for their mone at this year's DNC convention in Denver.
- Bloomberg News - AT&T, Visa Plan Parties With Lawmakers at Political Conventions
New ethics rules barring lavish parties for individual members of Congress at the national political conventions won't stop AT&T Inc. and other influence- seekers from throwing big bashes so they can rub shoulders with lawmakers at this year's gatherings.
- Bloomberg News - Biden's Son Employed in Profession Obama Disdains: Lobbying
Barack Obama's speech announcing his running mate Joe Biden singled out the Delaware senator's son who is headed for Iraq. Obama didn't mention the profession of Biden's other son, who lobbied for two drug companies and five universities.
- Denver Post - Bashes work around rules
The parties will rage on through the early hours of the Democratic National Convention despite new federal and state checks on lobbyist influence that have hosts dialing up ethics lawyers before event planners.
- Las Vegas Sun - Complexities of schmoozing
Washington — Here’s an interesting question causing much hand-wringing as the Republican and Democratic political conventions near: How much food can a lobbyist feed a member of Congress on the end of a toothpick and not violate new ethics rules that ban free meals?
- Associated Press - Conventions blend money, parties, ethics rules
Barack Obama and John McCain have burnished images as politicians who keep special interests at arms' length, yet there won't be much stiff-arming at their nominating conventions.
- McClatchy - Valley Democrats, Republicans gear up for conventions
WASHINGTON — San Joaquin Valley politicos will be partying with a purpose at the upcoming presidential conventions.
- The Washington Post - That's Entertainment -- or Is It?
Former Virginia governor Mark Warner (D) is running for a Senate seat and is the keynote speaker at next week's Democratic National Convention in Denver. He also has another distinction. According to Real Time Investigations, Warner has received $206,556 from lobbyists since the beginning of the year, making him the top recipient of money contributed directly by lobbyists to congressional campaigns in 2008.
- The New York Times - Ethics Thicket for Convention Parties Crimps Events
National party conventions are known as much for their nonstop partying as they are for their politics — a time for lobbyists, politicians and corporate executives to gather at lavish receptions and elegant dinners.
- The Plain Dealer (Cleveland) - Political conventions: Lawmakers' ethics rules full of loopholes
WASHINGTON -- When the politically inclined refer to their respective parties in the next two weeks, they really do mean party -- as in soiree, late-night bash, cocktail reception and shindig.
- San Francisco Chronicle - Lobbyist parties for lawmakers bend rules
Congress, pledging to clean up Washington's culture of corruption, approved a rule last year to end the practice of lobbyists or their clients throwing lavish events honoring lawmakers at the parties' national conventions.
- NY Sun - 370 Parties scheduled duirng conventions
The nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation reports that at least 370 parties are scheduled during the presidential nominating conventions — shindigs sponsored by such high-profile companies as Bank of America, Eli Lilly, AT&T, and Anheuser-Busch. The watchdog group said the Democratic conclave in Denver will feature a late-night party at the Loft sponsored by USTelecom, among others, and a luncheon organized by financial services companies. The Republicans in Minneapolis-St. Paul will sport a reception co-sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters and hospitality suites courtesy of Honeywell and Citigroup, among others.
- National Journal - Ethics Loophole Lets Members Party On
It's not news that each year, the national party conventions become less about substance and more about eating, drinking, schmoozing and partying.
- The Washington Post - In a Harsh Climate for Lobbyists, the Forecast Calls for . . . More Lobbyists
To hear the presidential candidates talk, you'd think that lobbyists were about to be exiled from the capital city.
- The Examiner - Commentary Brightest Ideas of the Week
The details: Since the seminar on financial literacy is being sponsored by 21 financial institutions, including Bank of America, which owns Countrywide, which gave preferential loans to Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd and Sen. Kent Conrad, Bill Allison says the two lawmakers should be happy to attend.
- Pioneer Press - Pssst ... There's a great party across the river
The motto for the unofficial state haircut — the mullet — is "Business in the front, party in the back." A similar theme may be developing for the 2008 Republican National Convention:
- Orlando Sentinel - Campaign 2008
Despite ethics legislation banning lobbyist-funded parties for individual lawmakers, the upcoming national political conventions will offer hundreds of such events that will allow lobbyists to mingle with the folks they lobby, according to a watchdog group. The Washington-based Sunlight Foundation, as part of its "Party Time" project, on Thursday released a list of 370 parties and events -- many of them corporate sponsored -- to be held during both parties' conventions.
- Forbes.com - Party On, Governor!
Washington, D.C. -Governors are always hot shots at national political conventions, but maybe even more so this year: New lobbying rules passed by Congress in 2007 don't apply to state and local officials--just federal lawmakers.
- Congressional Quarterly - Party Poopers?
The Sunlight Foundation just took the fun out of one of the Capital Beltway’s most anticipated presidential election year parlor games.
- Federal Computer Week - Twitter takes flight in Congress
A growing number of lawmakers are using Twitter, a popular social-networking tool, to communicate with their constituents, according to research by government transparency advocates.
- Minnesota Independent - At least 370 parties planned for national conventions
There will be no shortage of parties when the Republican National Convention comes to town in September. According to a report released today by the Sunlight Foundation, there are at least 370 private galas planned for the conventions in St. Paul and Denver. The list, compiled by Washington lobbying firm Quinn Gillespie & Associates, presently includes 75 bashes slated for the Twin Cities.
- St. Louis Post Dispatch - Earmarks remain an issue in Congress
WASHINGTON — It's spending season in Washington, as lawmakers lard up on projects and roll out press releases touting their success in snagging earmarks for their home states.