Storm Rages But GOP Convention Parties Roll On

ST. PAUL, Minn.-- Hurricane Gustav forced Republicans to restructure Monday's convention schedule to avoid appearing insensitive, but the parties kept on going.

Across the Twin Cities, corporations - almost all that lobby Congress and state governments - and interest groups are going ahead with hundreds of parties to fete lawmakers - from country music concerts to exclusive dinners at posh restaurants.

For example, AT&T, the telecom giant that earlier this year persuaded Congress to grant it immunity from warrantless wiretapping lawsuits, hosted parties for delegations from South Carolina, Indiana and others.

Events hosted by railroads, pharmaceutical companies, realtors, beer companies and dozens of other industries that lobby Congress are planned through the week.

The events provide elected officials with free drinks and food. They provide lobbyists easy access to lawmakers to talk up favorable legislation.

Recent changes in federal ethics laws have made it harder for lobbyists to throw parties for senators and representatives than at past national political conventions. But the new rules still leave plenty of room for schmoozing, said Sheila Krumholz, director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign finance watchdog group.

The permissible dollar value of goodie bags handed out to lawmakers at many parties has dropped from $50 to approximately $10.

"So, instead of getting a primo cigar in their (goodie) bags, you get a lesser cigar," she said.

Corporations with interests in federal and state regulations sponsor receptions and other parties as part of an overall strategy to influence policy that includes targeted campaign contributions, industry political action committees and maintaining a lobbying presence on Capitol Hill.

"These parties aren't charity. They are a vehicle that allow them to gain access to members of Congress," and other elected officials, Krumholz said.

Because of Hurricane Gustav, McCain campaign manager Rick Davis asked corporate sponsors Sunday to make sure that the events were "respectful." He also asked them to consider adding a fundraising element to the parties to collect money for storm victims.

Many did. At an AT&T event held at a British pub in Minneapolis Sunday night, attendees were handed a card with instructions on how to send money via text message to the Red Cross.

At the event - held for South Carolina delegates - state GOP chairman Katon Dawson also set out big red buckets to collect cash for the Salvation Army's hurricane response activities.

South Carolina Republicans plan to continue raising money at all delegation parties this week, he said.

"Being from South Carolina, we understand the carnage a hurricane causes... Hurricane victims, it doesn't matter if they're Democrats or Republicans. They're Americans," Dawson said.

Sean Mussenden can be reached at smussenden@mediageneral.com or 202-662-7668.

TODAY

Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge were scheduled to speak Tuesday. Hurricane Gustav forced a dramatic rearrangement of the convention schedule. At press time, convention planners had not released an updated list of speakers.

QUOTABLE

"I think she has a lot of experience that none of the other three people who are on either ticket have, and that is she has the experience of being a mayor, which I think is very important."
-- First Lady Laura Bush on Sarah Palin in an interview Monday on CNN

NEWSMAKER

Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin stunned delegates Monday by revealing that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter was pregnant. Here are five other things you probably didn't know about the Alaska governor:

--She attends an Assembly of God church
--She was elected to her first political office - the Wasilla, Alaska city council - at age 32 --"Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned Alaska's Political Establishment Upside Down" is the title of the only Palin biography. It was published in April. On Monday, it was ranked 23 in sales on Amazon.com
--Her nickname as a star high school basketball player was "Sarah Barracuda"
--She played the flute in the Miss Alaska pageant, where she came in first runner-up in 1984

FAST FACTS

There is no Democratic Party in Minnesota. The state's Democrats belong to the Democratic-Farm-Labor Party, or DFL for short.

F. Scott Fitzgerald grew up in St. Paul. A statue honoring the author stands in Rice Park, near the GOP convention site.

Herb Brooks, who coached the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to a stunning victory over the Soviet team, was born in St. Paul.

In January, St. Paul celebrates its cold climate with a winter carnival, a tradition that began in 1886 after a New York reporter called the city "another Siberia, unfit for human habitation."

NOTABLE

Republicans launched a major fundraising effort for victims of Hurricane Gustav on Monday. They created a center in St. Paul where volunteers planned to assemble and send 80,000 "comfort packages" to storm victims along the Gulf Coast.

The Republican National Committee also encouraged convention-goers to donate to one of five charities in affected states: AidMatrix in Louisiana; Gov. Haley Barbour's Mississippi Hurricane Recovery Fund; the Governor's Emergency Relief Fund in Alabama; Texas Responds; and the Florida Disaster Fund.

--Sean Mussenden and Marsha Mercer