The guilty verdict in the trial of Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) had barely been delivered this afternoon when a few GOP senatorial heavyweights started using words like “disgrace,” and “consequences.” It was a far cry from four months ago, just before he was indicted, when a long list of GOP senators were listed on an invitation for a luncheon in his honor.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) was on that list. Today, instead of toasting Stevens, he had this to say:

“This is a sad but serious day. Sen. Stevens was found guilty by a jury of his peers, and now must face the consequences of those actions. As a result of his conviction, Sen. Stevens will be held accountable so the public trust can be restored.”

So was Sen. John Ensign (R-NV). Today Ensign said:

“This is a sad day for the United States Senate. Ted Stevens served his constituents for over 40 years and I am disappointed to see his career end in disgrace.”

Only fellow Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, who also was listed on the June invitation, stood by her man:

“Ted has asked for Alaskans and his Senate colleagues to stand with him as he pursues his legal rights. He stood with Alaskans for 40 years, and I plan to continue to stand with him.”

Does that mean she would still party for him?

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Senate veteran Mitch McConnell (R-KY) wasn’t supposed to be in a tight race. He’s an old pro who has raised far more money than his opponent, Democrat Bruce Lunsford. But now polls are tightening a bit, and even the conservative National Review says he “is in a much closer race than Republicans would like to admit.” (”Pushing 60,” National Review, Nov. 3, 2008, subscription required.)

As befitting a fundraising pro–McConnell served as the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee in the late 1990s–our Party Time database shows that the senator spends a lot of his time partying for others. We’ve got 21 invitations on file where he has been mentioned as a draw to get donors to attend an event for GOP senators and candidates. Last month alone, he got a half dozen mentions on fundraising invitations. These included parties for Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) , Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) , Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), would-be senator Bob Schaffer from Colorado and Rep. Steve Pearce, who is running for Senate in Arizona. (It should be noted that a number of other senators are also mentioned on these invitations.)

McConnell was also mentioned on an unusual invitation–a September party honoring not lawmakers themselves, but rather their chiefs of staff.  While the staffers may have gotten the kudos, however, the checks went to their bosses via a special joint fundraising committee, the “Special Teams 2008 Committee, established by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and a long list of state GOP committees-Alaska, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Oregon.

We also have two parties on file that benefit McConnell’s own campaign committee. One party, scheduled in April, was hosted by the U.S. Chamber PAC.  The other was a March party at the lobbying firm Patton Boggs hosted by partners  Ben Ginsberg, Ed Newberry , Darryl Nirenberg, and Kevin O’Neill.

What about McConnell’s opponent, Bruce Lunsford? We have only one invitation for him on file, a July party at the home of Heather and Tony Podesta, the powerful Democratic lobbyist couple. (See this blog post from the Wall Street Journal’s Brody Mullins on Heather’s novel protest of Sen. Barack Obama’s reign-in-the-lobbyists stance. )

As always, we must caution that this doesn’t mean that Lunsford didn’t have more fundraising parties; he must have. And McConnell certainly had more, too. Here at Party Time, we tell you what we know based on what our anonymous sources have sent us. We’d love more submissions, because the more we know-the more you know.

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