Delegates and politicians will be stuffed with crepes bought by Boeing, play skeeball at Dave and Buster's courtesy of oil refinery Tosco, and cruise up the Delaware River on a trip offered by AT&T More than 100 events a day are planned.
Although it is difficult to calculate the total amount of money spent, the costs per company can be staggering. For example, each state delegation is provided a free breakfast every day. Depending on the size of the state, the price tags for these events run between $2,500 and $15,000. That's roughly $1.3 million for breakfast alone.
"It's strategic. You get a chance to speak in front of the delegates," said Jeff Jubelier, a senior account executive with Tierney Communications, a marketing firm handling 25 of the parties. "You can give something out, hang a sign. Every company has a different issue. It could be just an event for one committee you are trying to influence.
"Somebody's got to be paying for all this. You
don't see
candidates coming here and breaking open their wallets."
Those wallets certainly
have to be deep. Over the next week, politicians (and reporters) will
drink
lots of free gin and play thousands of rounds of golf. They will listen
to Blues Traveler, go home with free calling cards, and tote around
water
bottles bought for them by pro-deregulation utility companies.
"We support the convention because, as a company with its Pennsylvania headquarters in Philadelphia, we are interested in the success of any major international event like the convention," said Sharon L. Fioravanti, a spokesperson for Verizon, which will be supplying a $4.5 million communications network for the convention as well as a few receptions and breakfasts.
But with a nominee already chosen, and no active debate over the party platform, many watchdog groups now say that partying is what the convention is really about.
"Nominating the party's nominee is the excuse to come here. Money is what they come here for," said Larry Makinson, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a campaign-finance activist group.
Companies aren't required to tell the public about the money spent on parties. But some money is reportable, namely the donations given to the city's host committee for the convention, Philadelphia 2000. Most donation reports won't be made available for 60 days after the convention ends, but some have already been released.
From the size of these donations, it looks like corporate sponsors are paying far more this time. At the last Republican Convention in 1996, sponsors and trade groups gave a total of $30 million. This time, the donations have increased to $50 million.
"One way for corporations to ingratiate themselves is to throw lavish parties in (politicians' honor). There is no requirement to disclose catering bills just because a member of Congress is dropping by," said Jeff Cronin, spokesman for Common Cause, a public-interest research group. "It's just another unseemly way for money that would otherwise be illegal to get into the system."
Invitations are showered down on every delegate, from the small states up to the larger states such as Florida or Texas, all the way up to senators who sit on heavy-duty committees like Finance, Defense, or Interstate Commerce. And of course, the presumptive nominee gets his share of invitations, too.
Boeing, which manufactured $12.2 billion worth of jet fighters and missiles last year, will be sponsoring four receptions throughout the week, including one hosted by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott.
"Who is invited depends on their geographic location. Support goes to people with positions on the defense committees, or to states where we are represented," said Hugh Burns, a Boeing spokesperson. "We are located in 46 or 47 of the states, but we would have quite an interested in the biggest states."
AT&T will be sponsoring at least three major events during the week, including a reception for Virginian Rep. Thomas Bliley. Bliley is the retiring chair of the House commerce committee, which handles legislation important to the telecommunications industry.
For the delegations from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut, AT&T will be sponsoring a cruise up the Delaware River. Over the last year, the telecommunications company has been fighting in Massachusetts courtrooms to get access to Bell Atlantic's cable network.
