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Keeping Those Bundlers Happy

Big-money bundlers for John McCain are getting lots of TLC this summer. They are slated to jet to Aspen, Colo., to attend an August 14-15 bash that will feature the presumptive GOP presidential nominee and his top aides. The "Trailblazer and Innovator Appreciation Retreat" will fete scores of money harvesters--innovators who have raised more than $250,000, and trailblazers who have brought in more than $100,000.

The invitation sent by Fred Malek, the venture capitalist who runs the campaign's bundling operation, highlights two swanky dinners, a "nature hike" with McCain, and a campaign briefing. Among the campaign's top aides who are likely to attend are Charlie Black, Rick Davis, and Steve Schmidt.

Separately, during the July 26 weekend, McCain spent considerable time strategizing and enjoying a barbecue in Sedona, Ariz., where the senator has a ranch, with a contingent of state campaign leaders and a few dozen fundraisers who are raising even larger pots of money--mostly in excess of $500,000.
--Peter H. Stone

Lobbyists in Denver: Unwanted?

Democrats traditionally have relied on volunteers, including lobbyists, to help staff their national convention. But Barack Obama's anti-lobbyist rhetoric has made some lobbyists feel that the convention does not welcome them as volunteers later this month in Denver. One example, according to convention sources, involves lobbyist J. Jonathon Jones of the firm Johnson, Madigan, Peck, Boland & Stewart, who was asked by Democratic officials earlier this year to help recruit and coordinate Washington-based volunteers for Denver, but was then told that the party had changed its mind over concern about possible negative media attention. Jeri Thomson, a former secretary of the Senate, was instead hired to handle volunteer outreach. Another example comes from several lobbyists who had planned to use vacation time to volunteer in Denver but were told not to show up. A spokeswoman for the Democratic National Convention denied that lobbyists aren't welcome as volunteers.
--Bara Vaida

Fistful of Dollars

Yes, some Washington lobbyists have been known for their excesses over the years, but did you know that one even wraps her gifts in money? Lobbyist Edwina Rogers, who is married to Ed Rogers, chairman of lobbying firm BGR Holding, reveals her penchant for using sheets of dollar bills purchased from the Bureau of Engraving and Printing as wrapping paper on a television pilot produced for NBC's Washington station. National Journal obtained a copy of the show Power House, which is expected to air this fall.

Among other details Rogers reveals in the tour of her 18,000-square-foot home (named Surry Hill) in McLean, Va.: keepsakes displayed in glass cases in a special museum room; a photograph of her son, Haley, with former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., one of his 10 godfathers; and two stools that were gifts from the king of Cameroon.

"When we met with our builder and architect, we said, 'Well, we are from Alabama and we are rednecks, so we are insecure and it needs to come through in our house, so it needs to be big,' " Rogers tells host Mario Correa (a former lobbyist). The pilot also showcases the Dupont Circle home of Scott Segal, partner at the firm Bracewell & Giuliani.
--B.V.