From the Sunlight Foundation:
At least 370 Parties Scheduled for the Democratic and Republican Parties
Despite New Ethics Law, Lawmakers & Lobbyists Party On
WASHINGTON, DC — As part of its about-to-be-launched Party Time project, the Sunlight Foundation has obtained lists of 370 parties and events scheduled for the Democratic and Republican conventions, sponsored by the likes of Bank of America, the Distilled Spirits Council, Eli Lilly, AT&T, and Anheuser Busch.
Compiled by a top Washington lobbying firm, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, the lists show how partying will continue at the conventions despite the new ethics law, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007 (HOGLA), which prohibits lobbyists from throwing parties honoring specific
lawmakers. The DNC list is available at http://tinyurl.com/6pm4lo and the RNC list is online at http://tinyurl.com/6ew8rf.
A sampling of the parties listed include:
Democratic National Convention
- An opening night party on Sunday at the Democratic National Convention by the lobbying firm
- Brownstein, Hyatt, where convention organizer, Steven Farber, works, at the Denver Art Museum;
- A DNC top donor reception that same night;
- A variety of events for delegates sponsored by AT&T;
- A “late nite” party at The Loft sponsored by USTelecom on Monday night;
- An “FSR Literacy” luncheon on Tuesday sponsored by a host of financial companies.
Republican National Convention
- A health care luncheon on Tuesday sponsored by Eli Lilly;
- A host of parties sponsored by AT&T, including a “Texas honky tonk,” a Young Guns” reception, and an African American voter reception and a Hispanic voter reception;
- A reception sponsored by the National Association of Broadcasters;
- Hospitality suites sponsored by Honeywell, Anheuser Busch, and Citi;
- A wrap party hosted by the lobbying firm Patton Boggs.
“If you are looking for a good time, the conventions are still a good bet—if you’re a political insider,” said Nancy Watzman, director of the Sunlight Foundation’s Party Time project. “Many of these events are invitation only, created as a way for high level politicians to rub shoulders with lobbyists and others with an interest in what happens once they are elected.”
The lists show that the ethics reforms intended to rein in the excesses of special interest bashes for members of Congress contain loopholes. While lobbyists can no longer sponsor parties to celebrate individual members, they still have opportunities to mingle with party insiders, and can even celebrate groups of lawmakers. For example, the Quinn &Gillespie list of DNC parties includes “Blue Night in Denver,” hosted by the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of fiscally conservative Democratic House members, and sponsored by AT&T and Genworth, a financial services firm. The American Petroleum Institute and the National Mining Association are among the sponsors of an event for Republican governors and Mississippi elected officials.
The files of Sunlight’s new Party Time project, which will make its debut the week of August 18, contains invitations to other convention events not listed by Quinn & Gillespie. Party Time also compiles information from invitations to congressional fundraisers and parties that are sent out by
the dozens over fax lines, email and through snail mail to lobbyists, Political Action Committee (PAC) representatives and others around Washington, D.C. and beyond. Visitors to the Web site will be able to search the Web site to find out where the parties are, often before they happen.
The Sunlight Foundation supports, develops and deploys new Internet technologies to make information about Congress and the federal government more accessible to the American people. Through its projects and grant-making, Sunlight serves as a catalyst to create greater political
transparency and to foster more openness and accountability in government.
Visit http://SunlightFoundation.com to learn more about Sunlight’s projects, including http://LetOurCongressTweet.org, http://Realtime.sunlightprojects.org and http://OpenCongress.org.
