Chicago Tribune Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Jul. 26--BOSTON -- The leading ladies and gentlemen of John Kerry's fundraising circle lined up outside the Winthrop Room of the Four Seasons Hotel on Sunday to collect their rewards for investing in the best-financed Democratic presidential campaign ever.
Some came in bow ties and summer dresses, others wore shorts and T-shirts, but all shared a title that affords them a regal view of the Democratic convention here this week. As 'Finance Honored Guests,' their gracious treatment includes a clambake at the Kennedy compound, a personal briefing by Bill Clinton and a chance to shoot a game of pool with Ben Affleck.
While the purpose of the Democratic National Convention may be to coronate Kerry and tell his story to the American public before sending him on to face President Bush in the fall campaign, the convention's real party is unfolding in fashionable night clubs, hotel suites and harbor cruise ships. It's a convention within a convention that revolves around fundraising: past, present and future.
The Kerry fundraising effort, tallied last week at $203 million, was more fruitful than anyone in the campaign had imagined. But an unusually high number of fundraisers and contributors--more than 1,400 who received the top designation--has created a string of problems that convention organizers had not expected.
How, after all, does one delicately explain to a donor who may have raised up to $100,000 that they must spend the week at the AmeriSuites in nearby Medford or the Comfort Inn in Revere when others contributors are staying at the Four Seasons or the Ritz Carlton Boston?
'They are faced with these incredible situations to try to make all these people happy,' said Barry Field, a Boston lawyer who has raised about $25,000 for Kerry and collected more than $100,000 for Clinton's first race. 'You have to bite your lip sometimes.'
As an incentive, the chief Kerry fundraisers were promised four special-access credentials to the convention floor. But when it became clear there was a shortage of passes, the allotment was reduced late last week to two, creating a furor among the top financiers. Democratic officials downplayed the dispute, but conceded it could cost them credibility in fundraising over the next three months.
Still, when the convention formally opens Monday and more than 4,000 delegates begin filing into the FleetCenter, many of the 'Finance Honored Guests' will enjoy a far different experience. A review of the itinerary given to the special guests Sunday illustrates that in politics all things are not equal.
'The Finance Committee will operate its own shuttle system for all exclusive finance events,' reads a memo in the glossy brochure, titled 'Passport to the 2004 Democratic National Convention.' 'A Finance Honored Guest identification AND an official ticket is required to access the Finance event shuttle system.'
On Monday afternoon, the cocktails are to be poured early when Democratic chairman Terry McAuliffe hosts a welcome party at the Boston Harbor Hotel. The next day, the Passport agenda calls for a detour with a Boston-born movie star: 'Come join Ben Affleck and shoot some pool and share cocktails at Jillian's Sports Bar located minutes away from Fenway Park.'
And on Wednesday, Hollywood stars Chevy Chase and Alec Baldwin join Affleck at a discussion titled 'Funny But True: Important issues in 2004.' For two hours, the trio of actors is scheduled to regale donors with 'the humorous side of election year politics.'
Without the drama of any salty political fights on the convention floor, Democrats have turned to party planners to entertain delegates and donors. There are no other occasions when corporate lobbyists or special interest groups can devote so much time to mingle with political officials, from sunrise breakfasts to midnight dinners.
'There's nothing really getting decided here,' said William Mayer, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston who has studied the history of political conventions. 'So almost inevitably it means attention is focused on the social aspect of things.'
So as the Boston Red Sox played the New York Yankees here Sunday evening at Fenway Park, a group of donors and elected officials took in the game after attending a reception there. As an extra treat, Kerry himself showed up to throw out the first pitch and enjoy the game. In nearby Lexington, meanwhile, convention goers were shown a re-enactment of the Battle of Lexington.
Later in the week, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will be toasted at a 'Champagne & Cigar' celebration. The Puerto Rico Democratic Party sponsors a Boston Rum Party. And the Association of Nurses hosts a late-night club party at 'The Big Easy.'
For the party planners, no detail is too small, even the volume of the band.
'This is a major schmooze opportunity, so you don't want really loud music,' said Frank Coleman, a senior vice president of public affairs for the Distilled Spirits Council, which is co-hosting a top-shelf event Monday in honor of Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
Bill Allison of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan organization that studies the role of money in politics, questioned whether it was appropriate for corporations to sponsor events to 'honor' lawmakers. He said he also was troubled that business and industry were picking up the bulk of the convention's tab.
'With closing of the soft money pipeline to the parties, this is one way that companies interested in having access can get access,' Allison said, referring to the campaign finance laws designed to regulate money in politics. 'It lets companies that do business before the federal government do favors for a political party.'
In 1980, each political convention cost slightly more than $10 million, with most of the money coming from a federal grant, according to the Campaign Finance Institute.
The Democratic convention in Boston, by comparison, is expected to cost about $65 million, excluding federal grants for security. The corporate contributions, which are expected to cover about $40 million, could not legally be given to a political party or a candidate under the new law.
Even in a year where record amounts of money have already been raised and spent on the presidential campaign, fresh financial solicitations are pulsating throughout this city.
While the Kerry campaign quietly asked political candidates seeking other offices not to raise money here, organizers of several independent Democratic fundraising groups have a strong presence at the convention. So-called 527s, the entities named after a section of the tax code that allow certain kinds of unlimited contributions, hope to get donations from those who have already given the legal maximum to Kerry and the Democratic National Committee.
'It's a full-court press,' said Harold Ickes, a former Clinton administration official who is raising money for America Coming Together, a voter mobilization group. 'It's a very efficient and effective way to meet donors.'
In an interview Sunday, Ickes said he would pay special attention to donors who have the financial means to contribute $50,000 or more before Election Day. He said he and several associates hope to meet with nearly 300 prospective donors this week.
In a suite at the Four Seasons Hotel here, donors and potential donors are treated to coffee, snacks and an open bar. They also can view DVDs featuring anti-Bush ads previously aired by the Media Fund, another Democratic group that has spent about $23 million attacking Bush in battleground states.
The hotel, which sits across from the expansive Boston Common, is a hub for fundraising and fundraisers alike. As the contributors arrived in the Winthrop Room for their special credentials and tickets Sunday afternoon, they downplayed their desire for perks and instead vowed true allegiance to Kerry.
'It's important,' said Michael Harmless, an Indiana fundraiser who has collected nearly $150,000 for Kerry, 'that they thank everyone who is helping at all levels.'
By Jeff Zeleny and John McCormick
By Jeff Zeleny and John McCormick
BOSTON -- The leading ladies and gentlemen of John Kerry's fund-raising circle lined up outside the Winthrop Room of the Four Seasons Hotel on Sunday to collect their rewards for investing in the best-financed Democratic presidential campaign ever.
Some came in bow ties and summer dresses, others wore shorts and T-shirts, but all shared a title that affords them a regal view of the Democratic convention here this week. As 'Finance Honored Guests,' their gracious treatment includes a clambake at the Kennedy compound, a personal briefing by Bill Clinton and a chance to shoot a game of pool with Ben Affleck.
While the purpose of the Democratic National Convention may be to coronate Kerry and tell his story to the American public before sending him on to face President Bush in the fall campaign, the convention's real party is unfolding in fashionable night clubs, hotel suites and harbor cruise ships. It's a convention within a convention that revolves around fund raising: past, present and future.
The Kerry fund-raising effort, tallied last week at $203 million, was more fruitful than anyone in the campaign had imagined. But an unusually high number of fund-raisers and contributors -- more than 1,400 who received the top designation -- has created a string of problems that convention organizers had not expected.
How, after all, does one delicately explain to a donor who may have raised up to $100,000 that they must spend the week at the AmeriSuites in nearby Medford or the Comfort Inn in Revere when others contributors are staying at the Four Seasons or the Ritz-Carlton Boston?
'They are faced with these incredible situations to try to make all these people happy,' said Barry Field, a Boston lawyer who has raised about $25,000 for Kerry and collected more than $100,000 for Clinton's first race. 'You have to bite your lip sometimes.'
As an incentive, the chief Kerry fund-raisers were promised four special-access credentials to the convention floor. But when it became clear there was a shortage of passes, the allotment was reduced late last week to two, creating a furor among the top financiers. Democratic officials downplayed the dispute, but conceded it could cost them credibility in fund raising over the next three months.
Still, when the convention formally opens Monday and more than 4,000 delegates begin filing into the FleetCenter, many of the 'Finance Honored Guests' will enjoy a far different experience. A review of the itinerary given to the special guests Sunday illustrates that in politics all things are not equal.
'The Finance Committee will operate its own shuttle system for all exclusive finance events,' reads a memo in the glossy brochure, titled 'Passport to the 2004 Democratic National Convention.' 'A Finance Honored Guest identification AND an official ticket is required to access the Finance event shuttle system.'
On Monday afternoon, the cocktails are to be poured early when Democratic chairman Terry McAuliffe hosts a welcome party at the Boston Harbor Hotel. The next day, the Passport agenda calls for a detour with a Boston-born movie star: 'Come join Ben Affleck and shoot some pool and share cocktails at Jillian's Sports Bar located minutes away from Fenway Park.'
And on Wednesday, Hollywood stars Chevy Chase and Alec Baldwin join Affleck at a discussion titled 'Funny But True: Important issues in 2004.' For two hours, the trio of actors is scheduled to regale donors with 'the humorous side of election year politics.'
Without the drama of any salty political fights on the convention floor, Democrats have turned to party planners to entertain delegates and donors. There are no other occasions when corporate lobbyists or special interest groups can devote so much time to mingle with political officials, from sunrise breakfasts to midnight dinners.
(EDITORS: BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)
'There's nothing really getting decided here,' said William Mayer, a professor at Northeastern University in Boston who has studied the history of political conventions. 'So almost inevitably it means attention is focused on the social aspect of things.'
So as the Boston Red Sox played the New York Yankees here Sunday evening at Fenway Park, a group of donors and elected officials took in the game after attending a reception there. As an extra treat, Kerry himself showed up to throw out the first pitch and enjoy the game. In nearby Lexington, meanwhile, convention-goers were shown a re-enactment of the Battle of Lexington.
Later in the week, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will be toasted at a 'Champagne & Cigar' celebration. The Puerto Rico Democratic Party sponsors a Boston Rum Party. And the Association of Nurses hosts a late-night club party at The Big Easy.
For the party planners, no detail is too small, even the volume of the band.
'This is a major schmooze opportunity, so you don't want really loud music,' said Frank Coleman, a senior vice president of public affairs for the Distilled Spirits Council, which is co-hosting a top-shelf event Monday in honor of Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota.
(END OPTIONAL TRIM)
Bill Allison of the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan organization that studies the role of money in politics, questioned whether it was appropriate for corporations to sponsor events to 'honor' lawmakers. He said he also was troubled that business and industry were picking up the bulk of the convention's tab.
'With closing of the soft money pipeline to the parties, this is one way that companies interested in having access can get access,' Allison said, referring to the campaign finance laws designed to regulate money in politics. 'It lets companies that do business before the federal government do favors for a political party.'
In 1980, each political convention cost slightly more than $10 million, with most of the money coming from a federal grant, according to the Campaign Finance Institute.
The Democratic convention in Boston, by comparison, is expected to cost about $65 million, excluding federal grants for security. The corporate contributions, which are expected to cover about $40 million, could not legally be given to a political party or a candidate under the new law.
Even in a year where record amounts of money have already been raised and spent on the presidential campaign, fresh financial solicitations are pulsating throughout this city.
While the Kerry campaign quietly asked political candidates seeking other offices not to raise money here, organizers of several independent Democratic fund-raising groups have a strong presence at the convention. So-called 527s, the entities named after a section of the tax code that allow certain kinds of unlimited contributions, hope to get donations from those who have already given the legal maximum to Kerry and the Democratic National Committee.
'It's a full-court press,' said Harold Ickes, a former Clinton administration official who is raising money for America Coming Together, a voter mobilization group. 'It's a very efficient and effective way to meet donors.'
(EDITORS: STORY CAN END HERE)
In an interview Sunday, Ickes said he would pay special attention to donors who have the financial means to contribute $50,000 or more before Election Day. He said he and several associates hope to meet with nearly 300 prospective donors this week.
In a suite at the Four Seasons Hotel here, donors and potential donors are treated to coffee, snacks and an open bar. They also can view DVDs featuring anti-Bush ads previously aired by the Media Fund, another Democratic group that has spent about $23 million attacking Bush in battleground states.
The hotel, which sits across from the expansive Boston Common, is a hub for fund raising and fund-raisers alike. As the contributors arrived in the Winthrop Room for their special credentials and tickets Sunday afternoon, they downplayed their desire for perks and instead vowed true allegiance to Kerry.
'It's important,' said Michael Harmless, an Indiana fund-raiser who has collected nearly $150,000 for Kerry, 'that they thank everyone who is helping at all levels.'
(c) 2004, Chicago Tribune.
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