WP,pg1: Democrats Offer Up Chairmen For Donors: Party Faulted GOP for "Selling Access"

Democrats Offer Up Chairmen For Donors
Party's Campaigns Had Faulted GOP For 'Selling Access'
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and John Solomon
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, February 24, 2007; Page A01


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will headline a March event in Northern Virginia. (Justin Sullivan - Getty Images)

Eager to shore up their fragile House and Senate majorities, congressional Democrats have enlisted their committee chairmen in an early blitz to bring millions of dollars into the party's coffers, culminating in a late-March event featuring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and 10 of the powerful panel chairs.

In the next 10 days alone, Democratic fundraisers will feature the chairmen of the House's financial services panel and the House and Senate tax-writing committees. Senate Democrats also plan a fundraising reception during a major gathering of Native Americans in the capital Tuesday evening, an event hosted by lobbyists and the political action committee for tribal casinos, including those Jack Abramoff was paid to represent.

Critics deride the aggressive fundraising push as the kind of business as usual that voters rejected at the ballot box last November -- particularly the practice of giving interest groups access to committee chairmen in exchange for sizable donations -- but Democrats are unapologetic....

***

House Democrats hope to raise between $650,000 and $1 million for each of the party's most endangered Democrats in hopes of keeping the party in control of Congress.

The tactics are hardly new. Republicans aggressively used their committee chairmen -- and the promise of access to them -- to raise money from interest groups and lobbyists during the party's 12 years of congressional control. They tracked donations closely and pressed lobbying firms to hire GOP lobbyists through the "K Street Project," promising "intimate" issue briefings with the chairmen in return for big donations....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/23/AR2007022301978.html?sub=AR

opposing party! Everyone expects politicians to make the rounds among financial supporters. The Republicans took it a step, no, a leap further and said "we'll only listen to you if you promise NOT to give any money to Dems."

This is just more Washington Post conservatism.

Just business as usual, there truly is nothing new here. If you were silly enough to expect the Dems to be different and seriously change their ways....well. I guess if they are going to carry on as before they could at least play as rough as the Repugs and demand the lobbyists are card carrying Dems and forbid them to "donate" to repugs.


I mean, if you are going to mimic the repugs at least try to be as good at it as they are. What good is unused power, haven't our repugs brothers taught us that at least?:sarcasm:

in the media.

And the GOP is hardly sitting on the sidelines this year. Republicans are also using their top lawmakers on committees to haul in donations. Rep. John L. Mica (Fla.), the ranking Republican on Transportation and Infrastructure, is scheduled to headline a "transportation luncheon" fundraiser in coming days for fellow House Republican Jerry Moran (Kan.).

The event was originally scheduled to be held at a Capitol Hill townhouse owned by the American Trucking Association but has since been moved to a restaurant. Donors are being asked to contribute between $1,000 and $2,500.

Likewise, Rep. Peter T. King (N.Y.), the senior Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, is advertised as the featured guest at a "homeland security dinner" at the French-style Les Halles restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue NW to help raise money for sophomore Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Tex.).

But it was in part a Republican lobbying scandal -- GOP lobbyist Abramoff's defrauding of Indian tribal clients and the subsequent investigation into his efforts to influence lawmakers with lavish gifts -- that gave Democrats their opening to regain control of Congress. Democrats took over in January after a campaign that accused Republicans of fostering a "culture of corruption" in Washington and "selling access" to lawmakers. Abramoff has been convicted of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy and is in federal prison.
"Glory Days"