Just another manic Monday: Obama to NYC for fundraiser, senators hit links

Hey, Partiers! After golfing on Saturday, then celebrating Mother’s Day on Sunday and hosting British Prime Minister David Cameron this morning, you might think that President Obama would be too tuckered out to deal with any fundraising. But you’d be wrong! (This is the Party Time blog. You should see these things coming...)

The president is traveling this afternoon to the New York City to attend three fairly secretive Democratic fundraisers, one DCCC/DSCC party at the Waldorf Astoria hotel and another DNC event at the home of Harvey Weinstein, legendary executive producer of two of this year’s Oscars contenders -- Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook -- and, of course, Zack and Miri Make a Porno.  As the New York Post reported, the event costs $32,400 per couple and will host fewer than 65 guests, giving Weinstein the chance to dim the lights and give his guests intimacy they crave. Let's just assume it's not the same sort of intimacy he’s famous for producing in Shakespeare in Love, Cold Mountain and Zack and Miri Make a Porno.

No info has been reported on the third event except that it is being held at a private residence. Diddy?

Lucky enough to snag an invite to any of these swell events? Put it right here.

But the president isn’t the only one kicking off the week with a fundraising bonanza. NYC Republican candidate for mayor Joe Lhota will be close by, plying donors with alcohol and conversation, along with another entertainment icon, Steve Schirripa. (He played a guy on The Sopranos. It's okay, I didn't know who he was, either.)

Further south, Sens. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., and Richard Burr, R-N.C. are hosting golf funders today, aiming for the green -- pun intended.

Mikulski kicked off her 23rd annual tournament today at the Whiskey Creek Golf Course in Ijamsville, Md., while Burr will be hitting the links in Gainesville, Va. at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Individual players will pony up a minimum of $1,000 to weather 18 holes on an unseasonably blustery May day.

Golf is the worst, which is why I give Mikulski and Burr credit for suffering through it. It might not be as bad as a Taylor Swift concert, but if I were elected to one of the nation’s highest offices, no way would I be caught trudging around a golf course on a super-fun day I was scheduled to be in session. Bravo!

Move over inaugural fetes: Congress prepares to party and dial for dollars

Life for a lawmaker is hard. You need to sit through hours-long committee meetings, write up tedious new legalese-style legislation and worry about someone else taking your job every few years. But one thing, by far, stands out as the absolute worst aspect of being in  Congress -- fundraising. The Huffington Post obtained a suggested daily schedule from the DCCC, and it looks mighty painful. It turns out generating cash isn't all glitz and glam parties; in fact, most often it involves "Call Time," a truly agonizing segment of the day where a legislator essentially dials up random strangers and asks them for money. And they're expected to do it for four hours. Every day. And that's in addition to another hour of strategic outreach, including the lovely fundraisers we collect here at Party Time.

From the article, what members themselves think of it: "You might as well be putting bamboo shoots under my fingernails," said Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., a high-ranking Democrat. "It’s the most painful thing." And Rep. Reid Ribble, R-Wis., agrees, saying, "An hour and a half is about as much as I can tolerate. There's no way to make it enjoyable." Excuse us as PT plays a sad song for them. But, you may be wondering, what about doing their actual job of representing the American people? Don't fret, Partiers -- the DCCC schedule leaves an ample two to three hours per day for that!

But it's not all doom and gloom for Congress - it's finally time to celebrate at the inaugural balls! While this weekend will be dominated by those festivities, a few determined fundraisers forge onward next week to collect some green -- PT is sure they're getting in all their call times. Check below for the details.

DSCC Dinner
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., is wasting no time in fulfilling his duties as the new DSCC chairman, leading a Jan. 23 DSCC Reception and Dinner at congressional favorite Bistro Bis. After turning down the position in 2010, he'll be expected to raise at least $100 million to help re-elect Democrats around the country, including conservative bastions such as Alaska and Arkansas. Joining Bennet will be Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore. Several lobbyists from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schrek are hosting this high-profile event, including Manny Ortiz, Elizabeth Gore, Alfred Mottur, Michael Levy and Carmencita Whonder. Tickets cost $15,000/Host, $5,000/Supporter and $2,500/Friend.

Breakfast for Bill
Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., a staunch defender of businesses, is hosting a "Breakfast" on Jan. 24 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's townhouse right on the Hill. It's a venue he's quite familiar with, hosting at least six events here before. However, one major difference appears: Huizenga used to throw fun events, like his "Flipping Flapjacks Breakfast," and now it's merely "a breakfast." The invites even had cute pictures on them. PT's question: What happened to the fun, Bill? And, more importantly, will there be flapjacks to flip?! We need answers before we shell out up to $1,000 to attend this event!

Vitter for Governor?
Even though he's not up for re-election until 2016, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has already started fundraising in 2013. His campaign committee is hosting a luncheon on Jan. 24 at the swanky members-only Republican haven that is the Capitol Hill Club. So why such a big head start? Word is that Vitter will be a likely candidate for Louisiana governor in 2015, so he may be padding his accounts for that instead. The price to attend is a flat $1,000. Will the tactics pay off? We'll have to wait and see.

Enjoy yourself at one of the 100+ inaugural balls this weekend, Partiers!

Obama for America's Fundraising Charge

President Obama's fundraising schedule has kicked in to high gear with a busy dance card of events, including one that breaks records for Party Time. Even Michelle Obama and Vice President Biden are busy with fundraisers. On Tuesday, the vice president is headlining a fundraiser in Washington, while first lady Michelle Obama is raising money in Tennessee and Pennsylvania.  On Wednesday the president himself will be rubbing shoulders and breaking bread with donors in the battleground state of Michigan.

Obama's money-raising safari, which will follow an economic speech in Ohio, will include a reception at the Henry Ford museum. Donors can schmooze with the president -- who claims that his bailout kept the entire U.S. auto industry from becoming a museum piece -- while looking at Model Ts. Tickets start at $100 and run to $5,000 with proceeds benefiting the the Obama Victory Fund.

The Detroit Free Press reports that there will be an additional fundraiser at the home of Denise Ilitch, whose family owns the Little Caesar's pizza chain as well as Detroit's professional hockey and baseball teams, the Red Wings and the Tigers.

Thursday, Obama will be the featured attraction at a Washington campaign briefing fundraiser with a $40,000 price tag. Guests will get a campaign briefing, then a chance to mingle with the president at a reception, followed by a dinner with big Democratic enviro Carol Browner. Browner, who headed the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change and at the beginning of Obama's administration, and served as former President Bill Clinton's Environmental Protection Agency chief, currently works for Center for American Progress.

By comparison to the Thursday event's price tag, an April 29 fundraiser that features both Presidents Obama and Clinton is a comparative bargain. The event, in the Washington bedroom community of McLean, Va.,  will cost between $1,000 and $25,000. Really? A campaign briefing is worth more than a pic with two Oval Office occupants?

The Obama-Clinton event looks downright cheap compared what Obama backers have to pay to become Conference Chair at the Annual National Women's Issues Conference in DC. It's such a doozy we've made it the subject of a separate post.

Obama also has ample fundraising help:

• The first lady is busy. She  hosted a fundraiser at the Jefferson Hotel a few blocks from the White House on Monday. On Tuesday, Mrs. Obama  is hosting a fundraiser with folk artist Emmylou Harris in Nashville and will appear at The Rivers Club in Pittsburgh. Next Tuesday, she's at a reception in Omaha.


• Biden and some of his children are presiding Tuesday evening over a fundraiser at the newly refurbished Howard Theater in Washington's historic black entertainment district.


• Democratic campaign superstar, David Axelrod is headlining a Minneapolis dinner April 24 for the Obama Victory Campaign. Tickets range from $2,500 to $5,000.


• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan will be hosting a reception at the Microsoft New England Research & Development Center in Cambridge, Mass. on May 25.

Fundraising Trip to Miami for Health Industry faves

Well before the midterms, a small group of GOP lawmakers, three quarters of whom serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee, were already looking towards the next fundraising campaign.

The four congressmen arranged for a “Post Election Trip in Miami” this weekend as early as Oct. 8, when a GOP fundraising firm sent out email invitations asking for $2,500 from PACs and $1,500 from individuals to benefit each member's political action committee. Other invitations from the National Republican Congressional Committee mistakenly called for $5,000 PAC donations, as The Hill reported. All four won re-election easily.

One of the lawmakers, Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., was among the House’s top recipients of health care professionals’ campaign dollars for the midterm elections, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. At least for him, the retreat is on, according to his campaign’s finance director Elizabeth Rhodes.

Another trip planner, Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill., who is vying to chair the Energy committee, is a favorite of the pharmaceutical and health products industry among his House colleagues, according to CRP.

The Energy and Commerce Committee may try to chip away at parts of the Democrats’ health care overhaul next year, and its ranking member, Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, has said he would investigate the decisions of the Obama Administration’s top health appointees.

Gingrey has said he wants to repeal the law because it would slash doctors' salaries and discourage people from entering medical school.

The health sector leads all others in donations to Gingrey’s campaign and PAC, and his top donors include pharmaceutical company Abbot Laboratories, the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons and OB-GYN PAC, according to CRP. The Georgia lawmaker, a former practicing physician, and Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Penn., a former psychologist, founded the GOP Doctors’ Caucus last year.

Murphy, who also planned the Miami getaway, gets more donations from the health and energy sectors than any others.

Also going along, invitations show, is John Campbell, R-Calif., who does not sit on the committee and gets most of his donations from the Finance, Insurance and Real Estate sector, CRP’s data shows.

Calls to Murphy, Shimkus and Campbell were not returned by the time of posting.

To keep tabs on all committees' fundraisers, visit Parties by Committee.

NRSC plans Maine retreat for its heavy-hitters

With its "majority makers" getaway this weekend and a dinner Monday night, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is continuing its streak of fundraisers.

"Majority maker" is a term the NRSC uses for  individual donors who give the maximum $30,400 to the party committee.

Last year's majority makers retreat was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. We know considerably less about this year's getaway, except that it's on Clapboard Island, a tiny island just off the coast of Portland, Maine and is hosted by NRSC chairman, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

The Texas lawmaker has been fundraising for the NRSC a lot of late, including a June 18 trip to Buffalo, which reportedly raised more than $250,000, and a June 22 "Judiciary Roundtable." Three days later, he was out at a Colorado country club fundraiser to support Senate candidate Jane Norton, which helped her second quarter numbers. The NRSC and Norton planned to split the proceeds, the Wall Street Journal reported. Norton, who claims she raised  $900,000 in the second quarter, is vying for Sen. Michael Bennet's seat but is being challenged from the right by Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck.

In all, the NRSC has raked in $64 million this election cycle, including a boost from Cornyn's campaign chest and joint fundraising committee. The Cornyn Majority Committee donated nearly $960,000 while his campaign gave $60,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The NRSC's biggest contributors are business interests, topped by Elliott Management's $365,000 and Goldman Sachs' $222,000, according to CRP.