September 1, 2004

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  Corporate Donations to Republican Convention to Reach $160 Million. by Bill Mesler, Special to CorpWatch August 31st, 2004

  Cartoonist: Khalil Bendib There will be a extravagant dinners at the New York’s famous Rainbow Room, cocktails among priceless ancient Egyptian sandstone carvings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exclusive Broadway performances and a midnight yacht cruise through New York Harbor. But perhaps the most important extravaganza at this week’s Republican convention is the one that will no longer be taking place. Senator Tom DeLay’s (R-Texas) cynical Celebrations for Children events have been canceled. The tax exempt parties were to include a rock concert, a golf tournament, and for the big contributors—very big at $500,000 a pop—a yacht cruise of their own, but the powerful Senator backed down in the midst of a Texas grand jury’s investigation into his fundraising tactics and a storm of criticism that the bulk of the money was in fact being used to throw elaborate celebrations for DeLay’s political benefactors. Despite the high profile cancellation, the Republican National Convention hasn’t missed a beat. The extravagant spectacle is expected to cost upwards of $160 million, easily making it the most expensive political convention in history. It will dwarf the record $95 million spent by Democrats on their 2004 convention. In fact, the Republicans will be spending quite a bit more than the $130 million raised by Al Gore and Joe Lieberman for their entire 2000 campaign. "We're talking about vast sums of money, all of it spent with the goal of gaining access. Money paves the way for the lobbyists to come and do their work," says Steve Weiss, communications director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "The conventions are the last bastion of soft-money giving at the federal level."

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