Sunlight Foundation's New Party Time Web Site Documents Convention Party Circuit - and Beyond

Convention Party Count Above 400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 19, 2008

Contact: Gabriela Schneider 202/742-1520

WASHINGTON, DC – The count of parties and events scheduled for the Democratic and Republican National Conventions is now above 400—and counting, according to the Sunlight Foundation’s new Party Time Web site, which launched today.

These convention parties, often sponsored by corporate interests such as Citi, Eli Lilly and Qwest, as well as powerhouse lobbying firms such as Patton Boggs, continue despite new ethics reforms intended to rein in excesses of special interest bashes for members of Congress. Many of these party hosts are also sponsors of the conventions’ host committees, major donors to federal candidates and party committees and are also big spenders on federal lobbying.

For example:

• AT&T is hosting more than a dozen parties at both conventions, most of them parties for different state delegations. The company is also underwriting both the Democratic and GOP Convention committees, and happens to be the #2 top donor to federal and candidates and parties since 1989, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. AT&T has spent more than $3 million on federal campaign contributions and lobbying combined in 2008 alone, 60% of which is directed to the GOP. It has also spent another $3.2 million on federal lobbying.
• Qwest’s CEO, Ed Mueller, is hosting an event at the Denver Art Museum on Monday, August 25. The company is also giving the Democratic and GOP Convention host committees a total of some $12 million in direct and in-kind contributions. Qwest has given $682,000 to federal candidates and parties so far this election cycle, and spent $1.7 million on lobbying.
• AstraZeneca is hosting events at both conventions. AstraZeneca is also underwriting both the Democratic and Republican host committees, has given some $650,000 to federal candidates and parties so far this election cycle and has spent $2.1 million on federal lobbying.
• A long list of financial service powerhouses are sponsoring a “financial literacy brunch” at the Democratic National Convention, including Allstate, AEGON, Bank of America, Capitol One, Charles Schwab, Edward Jones, Fidelity, Genworth, MasterCard, Mutual of Omaha, Nationwide, Principal Financial Group, State Farm, NASDAQ, US Bank, Visa, Wachovia and Wells Fargo. These companies are major campaign contributors and lobbying forces in Washington.
• In conjunction with the Nuclear Energy Institute, the Edison Electric Institute, a major trade association representing electric utilities, is sponsoring a function for the Republican Governors Association. The Edison Electric Institute is also a sponsor of both convention host committees. The Institute has given $378,000 to federal candidates and parties in the 2008 election cycle, and has spent $4.2 million on federal lobbying.

Sunlight’s interactive Party Time Web site will be tracking parties and events at this year’s political conventions. It also compiles information on fundraising parties for members of Congress and congressional candidates, Democrats and Republicans alike, dating back to 2006, often posting invitations before the events happen.

“We’re watching while lawmakers party with donors in Denver and the Twin Cities, and we’ll be watching when they go back to Washington, DC and party some more,” said Nancy Watzman, director of Sunlight’s Party Time project. “This way journalists, citizen activists and anybody who likes can find out about these parties and connect the dots to see how all this schmoozing may affect how lawmakers make decisions about energy, health care and other public policy issues.”

While invitations to these parties and events go out by the dozen to lobbyists, there is no official requirement that they be reported to the public. Sunlight collects them from sources whose anonymity is protected. Because of this, the list of parties is ever-growing as we hear about them. Sunlight also encourages Party Time users who receive invitations themselves to submit them anonymously to the Party Time Web site.

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 SunlightFoundation.com to learn more about Sunlight’s projects, including PublicMarkup.org, Real Time Investigations and OpenCongress.org.
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