If I Were a Big Donor, I'd Party in My Sky Box All Day Long

Posted by Nancy Watzman, Political Party Time at 3:50 PM on August 25, 2008.

Ok, first apologies to the writers of Fiddler on the Roof for that headline.



Leslie Wayne and Michael Luo of The New York Times nail the convention party story today in their report on how campaign donors to the political parties are getting, well, a little special treatment when they attend the Democratic and Republican conventions.



Major donors to the Democratic Party, the Obama campaign and the Denver host committee are getting Invesco sky boxes. Donors giving $1,000 to the Obama Victory Fund in Colorado get "club level" seats and a postspeech reception. And bundlers who delivered on their $250,000 pledges will get premium seats and convention passes.



On the Republican side:

[M]ajor McCain and Republican National Committee, many of them lobbyists, are getting a special Platinum Package, which provides hotel rooms at the Grand Hotel or the Westin in Minneapolis, exclusive dinners and cocktail receptions, as well as a Tuesday night party featuring the comedian Dennis Miller. The group, referred to as McCain Friends and Family, has its own schedule of events, part of what campaigns call "donor maintenance."

The important thing to remember about these donor perks, parties, and receptions is that because they are part of political fundraising, they are exempt from the new ethics law, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. That means no worry about toothpicks, none about whether an event is "widely attended" or not-no worry about anything like that. Even though there still are plenty of old-fashioned entertainment at the conventions sponsored by special interests, my guess is that a lot of the partying action has moved to these donor events.

Tagged as: democrats, republicans, rich