Denver helps set stage in battle for White House
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Corporate money, activists fuel ceremonial coronations
8/23/2008 - 8/24/08
They're huge pep rallies, choreographed to fire up the troops to get behind the party's ticket.
They're giant infomercials, programmed to sway television viewers with messages about the life, philosophy and character of the party's candidate for president.
They're extravaganzas of schmoozing, networking and entertaining for politicians and party leaders, underwritten by the same corporations and interest groups that spend billions lobbying Congress and funding campaigns.
This is what the major political parties' national conventions — which used to be held to decide on nominees — have become in the early 21st century.
The first one of the 2008 presidential year begins Monday in Denver, where thousands of Democrats, even more journalists, and a wide array of lobbyists and others involved in the political process will come to see U.S. Sen. Barack Obama accept the party's nomination for president of the United States.
Next month, the Republicans have their turn in Minneapolis, where U.S. Sen. John McCain will accept the GOP nomination.
The conventions, which cost millions, are a logistical nightmare for planners and a pain for those locals who aren't directly making money from the event.
Since the nominations of Obama and McCain are purely ceremonial confirmations of who won the most primaries and caucus votes, why have the conventions?
"The purpose is to excite and activate the activist core of both parties and to tell a story about the nominee to the public," Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics, explained in a telephone interview last week. "It's all about civic education and civic activation."
Campaign finance watchdogs, however, warn that conventions represent something else. "It's as if the laws are suspended so corporations can foot the bill for these huge infomercials for the two parties," said Massie Ritsch, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Center of Responsive Politics,
Sabato, who's attended all major party conventions since 1976, said despite the popular view that conventions have evolved into staid and predictable pep rallies, the events still are important for the major political parties. "They still have conventions because they're still relevant," he said. "But the nature of conventions have changed. Conventions used to be competitive."
In fact, not long ago, conventions used to be where presidential nominations were decided.
As recently as the 1950s, Sabato said, conventions were known for backroom arm-twisting, and wheeling-and-dealing delegates had a much larger role in choosing the nominee. Before the '50s, conventions frequently would go beyond the first ballot to select the nominee.
But by the early 1970s, both major parties had moved to give voters more of a say in who got nominated. More and more states moved to hold primaries and caucuses that legally bind delegates to vote for the candidates based on the amount of voter support they receive.
For example, this year in New Mexico, Hillary Clinton barely edged out Barack Obama in the February Democratic Caucuses. That means Clinton won 14 New Mexico "pledged delegates" while Obama won 12.
One last vestige of the old backroom king-maker system is the "superdelegate" system. This system became especially controversial early this year when Obama and Clinton were fighting it out, raising the possibility the nominee could eventually be determined by these delegates, who are not chosen by primaries or caucuses. Superdelegates mainly are elected officials — governors, Congress members, other high-ranking officials — as well as state party leaders and activists.
In New Mexico, six superdelegates support Clinton, while five superdelegates and one "add-on" selected by the Democrats' state Central Committee support Obama.
The Obama superdelegates are Gov. Bill Richardson, U.S. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, state party chairman Brian Colón, former state party chairman Fred Harris and "add on" Laurie Weahkee, who is the lead organizer for the Native American Voters Alliance.
Clinton's New Mexico superdelegates are Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez, labor leader Christine Trujillo, state party vice chairwoman Annadelle Sanchez, DNC committeeman Raymond G. Sanchez and DNC committeewoman Mary Gail Gwaltney.
Food, drink and politics
The New Mexico delegation has a full schedule in Denver. Each day the group starts out with a breakfast at the Crowne Plaza hotel, the headquarters of the delegation. Assuming the breakfasts are similar to the ones held in Boston in 2004, delegates will hear news about other convention-related events from party leaders — over eggs and coffee. And usually there is a breakfast speaker. For instance, on Thursday, Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens — a Republican, for the record — will talk about his plan for alternative energy.
There also are lunches planned each day of the election for the delegates at restaurants including Maggiano's Little Italy, Nine75, Union Station Rail Car and The Samba Room at Larimer Square.
Delegates might have to settle for Pepsi Center hot dogs for dinner because the convention floor sessions are going on during that hour.
But most nights after the convention, there are receptions to which delegates are invited. There's a late-night event at Churchill's in The Brown Palace Hotel, hosted by party chairman Colón; an event honoring Richardson at the Crowne Plaza's swimming pool; parties at the Coors Field/RocHenge Skybox Suite and at Lodo's Bar and Grill, which advertises "the biggest and best patio in downtown Denver."
Who's paying for this party?
Political conventions are one of the last bastions of unlimited "soft money" in the national political process. Corporate interests are happy to pick up the tab for all kinds of lavish parties, receptions, meals, meet-and-greets and various other events for the delegates, many of whom are Congress members, legislators, governors and other elected officials.
And there's an added bonus: Corporate money spent on a political convention doesn't have to be reported until 60 days after the convention ends — or just days before the election — "when most people's minds are on other things," said Ritsch, whose Center for Responsive Politics operates the OpenSecrets.org Web site.
"Conventions are an opportunity for corporations to do what they're not normally permitted to do — subsidize campaigns with unlimited amounts of money right out of their treasuries," Ritsch said. "The goal is to get access to policy makers in a social atmosphere."
Ritsch said conventions give delegates a little taste of the lobbyist-paid wining and dining that goes on in Washington, D.C., when Congress is in session. "It's just more concentrated at the conventions," he said
The rationale for the conventions loophole in federal campaign finance laws is that the money spent isn't really for political reasons but to promote the host cities of the conventions. However, a study by OpenSecrets.org and The Campaign Finance Institute, also headquartered in Washington, D.C., shows that the companies footing the convention bill in Denver might have other things on their minds besides promoting the Mile High City.
According to the study, the 141 corporate sponsors of the Democratic Convention have spent nearly $160 million on campaign contributions to presidential and congressional candidates and more than a billion dollars in lobbying expenses since 2005. In addition, there are at least 48 contributors to both the Democratic and Republican conventions that have paid out more than $180 million in campaign contributions and $1.3 billion in lobbyist expenses since 2005.
The New Mexico delegation has its own sponsors for the various meals and parties.
Among them are railroads including Union Pacific and BNSF; communications giants like Qwest and Verizon; energy interests like The Williams Cos., a natural-gas corporation, and the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association; financial industry interests like RBC Dain Rauscher, American Benefits Consulting and Fidelity Investments; developers like Albuquerque's Mesa del Sol; at least one electronics giant, Intel; a well-connected consultant, Zamora Strategic Advisors, headed by Geno Zamora, former counsel for Richardson's office and now a senior adviser in the New Mexico Obama campaign; and labor unions including the film and television technicians and firefighters unions.
In addition to those sponsoring specific events, the state party lists other sponsors for the New Mexico delegation.
There are "presidential" sponsors who donated a lump sum of money to the state party for the delegation. These include the International Association of Firefighters; Merck, a pharmaceutical company; and Nestor and Angela Romero. A spokeswoman for the state party said the amounts these sponsors donated will be disclosed on the party's next Federal Elections Commission report.
One of these, Nestor Romero, was the subject of past controversy. A 2005 Legislative Finance Committee report revealed his company had received fees totaling more than $10 million in the previous two years for performing examinations of insurance companies for the state Public Regulation Commission's Insurance Division under then-Superintendent Eric Serna. Under the state's system, the examiner is paid by the insurance companies instead of state funds. Romero's company has performed 90 percent of the insurance examinations since 2003 through no-bid contracts. No legal action was taken against Romero.
There are also "gift" sponsors listed who donated unspecified gifts to the delegation. These are Route 66 Resort & Casino (which donated T-shirts, key chains, American flag pins and water bottles), MVD Express, New Mexico Association of Counties, Sacred Wind, a communications company involving lobbyist and longtime Richardson ally Butch Maki (which gave delegates model wind turbines) and Maki's company, Butch Maki & Associates.
Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com.
