Oct 19, 2009 -- Gannett: House Minority Leader John Boehner Raises Money - In Style
By: Peter Urban

House Minority Leader John Boehner has crisscrossed the country like a traveling salesman to make the pitch for the GOP, but it could hardly be described as drudge work.

Rather, the 59-year-old Ohio Republican, who grew up the second-oldest of 12 children in a two-bedroom home, is raising money while staying in some of the finest hotels, dining in gourmet restaurants and golfing on famous courses.

A Gannett analysis shows that in the past two years:

* Boehner has walked the fairways of the Greenbrier Resort's famed Old White course in scenic West Virginia, where greens fees run $195 and golf legends Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer have played. Tom Watson is the current golf pro.

* He has stayed at the Peninsula Beverly Hills, the highest-rated luxury hotel in Southern California, where the cheapest room goes for more than $500 a night.

* He has dined at Bar Boulud, which is frequented by a who's who of New York City Upper East Side regulars and whose chef has been honored for his contribution to French culture.

Boehner didn't make himself available for an interview for this story, but a spokesman said the expenses are all legal, reported publicly -- and needed to help raise money to elect other Congressional Republicans.

In all, Boehner has traveled to more than three dozen stately and sunny resorts in places such as Naples, Fla., and Palm Desert, Calif., since 2007, with the tab covered by contributions often made by lobbyists and special interests to his congressional campaign committee and the Freedom Project, a "leadership committee" set up by Boehner to raise money for other Republican candidates.

Freedom Project contributed a little more than $1 million to Republican congressional candidates during the two years leading up to the 2008 elections. But it rang up $2 million in expenses, including $550,881 on travel, events and entertainment. That's the most spent among the 405 leadership committees in existence, according to a recent study by ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative journalism group.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has a similar leadership committee that gave $662,895 to Republican candidates -- but spent just $13,558 on events, entertainment and travel during the 2008 cycle.

'POLITICAL SLUSH FUNDS'

Under ethics rules adopted by Congress in early 2007, members can't accept meals, trips and other gifts directly from lobbyists. But leadership committees are a huge loophole, critics say. Lobbyists can contribute to the leadership committees, which are then used for fundraising dinners and trips that lobbyists attend.

"They are essentially political slush funds backed by Washington money players seeking access and influence," said Meredith McGehee, policy director for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit group focusing on campaign finance and government ethics.

McGehee said leaders such as Boehner could just as easily solicit contributions for campaigns by phone. But spending time at resorts is enticing for both lawmakers and the contributors who gain access, she said.

"That is what this is about -- the lifestyle and the face time," she said.

Freedom Project spokesman Don Seymour said the committee's spending is a fundraising necessity.

"It costs money to fundraise, and the Freedom Project raises a lot to help elect Republicans to Congress," Seymour said.

Boehner headlined more than 271 events for candidates during the 2008 election cycle and made direct contributions to 155 Republican office seekers, Seymour said.

"Events like the ones you cited help make possible that high level of support," Seymour said. "Boehner attends the fundraisers, and the dollars we raise and spend participating in the political process are reported, transparent and publicly available."

DISNEY, GREENBRIER AND THE RITZ

Not all leaders rely so heavily on events, entertainment and travel to fuel their fundraising efforts.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander gave $440,780 to GOP campaigns from his Tenn PAC committee while spending $20,911 on entertainment, events and travel, according to an analysis by ProPublica of Federal Election Commission data compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's leadership PAC contributed $1.2 million to Democratic candidates during that cycle, surpassing the $1.1 million Boehner's distributed, according to FEC filings. ProPublica's report found that Hoyer's PAC spent $413,404 on entertainment, events and travel.

FEC reports filed by Freedom Project and the congressman's re-election committee, Friends of John Boehner, show a slew of contributions came in this year from political action committees funded by executives in the insurance and health care industries.

Expenses include nearly $1 million for airfare, hotels, meals and golf split about evenly between the two committees, according to reports from January 2007 through August 2009 for Freedom Project and January 2007 through September 2009 for Friends of John Boehner. Each spent a little more than $50,000 on air travel. The Freedom Project spent at least $472,000 on lodging, food, entertainment and events, with about $417,000 of that spent outside Ohio. Friends of John Boehner spent at least $416,000, with about $143,000 in Ohio for events, entertainment, food and lodging.

In all, the two committees have spent:

* $58,987 at Walt Disney Resorts

* $44,496 at Bighorn Golf Resort in Palm Desert, Calif.

* $60,894 at Wetherington Golf & Country Club in West Chester

* $38,183 at La Quinta Resort in Palm Springs, Calif.

* $37,334 at the Ritz Carlton in Naples, Fla.

* $32,587 at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Washington, D.C.

* $24,577 at The Greenbrier Hotel in West Virginia.

'THE GOLF CAUCUS'

Freedom Project golf fundraisers aren't new. They date back to 1995, the year Boehner set up the committee. During the 2006 election cycle, the committee spent $685,000 on food, travel, entertainment and fundraisers, according to a 2008 article in Harper's magazine that examined data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

"The golf caucus' has been an ongoing problem where people happen to show up in cities and places where there also just happens to be golf," said Fred Wertheimer with Washington-based Democracy 21, which works to reduce the role of money in politics.

Wertheimer would like to see leadership committees banned.

"They have become slush funds for members of Congress -- places where lobbyists, PACs and special interests can provide substantial sums which everyone knows are going to be used by the member for their own interest. It allows influence-seekers to do favors for members of Congress," Wertheimer said.

Wertheimer doubts Congress will do anything to close the loophole.

That's probably a safe bet.

During a 2007 appearance on "Face the Nation," Boehner said there was no palatable alternative for funding campaigns, claiming most taxpayers oppose public financing.

"There aren't any of my taxpayers who'll want their hard-earned tax money that they're paying to the government to be given to politicians so they can throw mud at each other," Boehner said.