Thank You For Lobbying

By Ken Silverstein

These are grim times for the GOP, with the President’s and the Republican congress’s poll numbers heading south, Andrew Card gone, and even Karl Rove being demoted. But never underestimate the GOP’s ability to perform the most important of all political tasks: the raising of cash.

Consider the following invitation to the “RNC Rally” set for April 26 at Washington's St. Regis Hotel. The invitation, emailed around town on Wednesday, was sent by Juanita Duggan of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America, and went to a lengthy recipient list that reads like a cast of characters from Thank You For Smoking : Beverly McKittrick and several others from Altria (formerly known as Philip Morris), Jeff Becker, head of The Beer Institute, and a host of lobbyists, including Ed Rogers (clients include Lorillard Tobacco) and David McIntosh (Lockheed Martin).

So get out your party clothes and prepare to get down and dirty, GOP-style. Just remember to bring $15,000, the price of entry into the “Eagles” program—available for the special donors who want to supersize their access to party officials. As Duggan wrote in her email, it's “money well-spent.”

[Click on the images to zoom in and out.]

Page one of the invite.

Page two of the invite.

Special events for members of the “Eagles” program.

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