This just came in from a trusted source: not an invitation, per se, but an invitation to be listed on an invitation from former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney–widely seen as a frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, which provides a window on to how these events are organized.

Romney was trolling (deadline was yesterday) for hosts and co-hosts for an event benefiting his Political Action Committee,  Free & Strong America PAC, on Feb. 11, for bowling at Lucky Strike Lanes. His ask: raise or contribute $1,000 to be a host, $500 to be a co-host.

Romney has used the PAC to contribute to such candidates as the new senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, (Romney takes credit for Brown’s win here) as well as GOP leaders such as House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.)

I want you to be among the first to know about an upcoming event for the Free and Strong America PAC, featuring Gov. Romney.  On Wednesday, February 17th, Mitt will be in DC and is doing an event for his PAC at 7:00 pm.

I hope you will consider being a Host or Co-Host for this fun event – Bowling with Mitt.  The money raised will go toward the important efforts of Mitt’s Free and Strong America PAC to promote conservative causes and help Republican candidates in 2010.

Are you able to serve as a Host or Co-Host (and have your name listed on the invitation) for the “Bowling with Mitt” event on February 17th? The price to attend will be $150/person, and we are asking Hosts to raise or contribute $1,000 and Co-Hosts to raise or contribute $500.  If you are interested, please e-mail Gretchen Moss at gretchen@gretchenmoss.com, and let us know how you would like your name listed on the invitation. The deadline for getting names on the initial invitation is Monday, February 1st at 5:00 PM.  Please also forward this e-mail to any others that you think may be interested in Hosting or Co-Hosting.  Complete Event details are below:

Bowling with Mitt

and Celebrity Bowlers

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

7:00 pm

Lucky Strike Lanes

Gallery Place

701 7th Street NW
Second Floor

Washington, DC, 20001

Host: Give or raise $1,000

Co-Host: Give or raise $500

Attend: $150

Contributions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Federal law requires us to obtain and report the name, mailing address, occupation and name of employer for each individual whose contributions aggregate in excess of $200 per calendar year. By law, the maximum amount an individual may contribute is $5,000 ($10,000 per couple) per calendar year. PACs may also contribute $5,000 per calendar year. Contributions by corporations, foreign nationals (non-green card holders), labor unions, federal government contractors, and minors under the age of 16 are prohibited.

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Rep. Eric Cantor has gone to bat for real estate lobbyists who party for him, supporting their legislative goals. Specifically he championed laws creating a government safety net for the commercial insurance industry to limit exposure for terrorist acts. He also backed legislation to ease tax laws for real estate
investment trusts, known as the REIT Investment Diversification and Empowerment Act.

Sandra “Sam” and Marty Depoy, the lead hosts for the Cantor carnival that Party Time analyzed for Harper’s Magazine (Click here to see it–payment required), lobby for the real estate industry.

Sandra is a vice president at the American Resort Development Association (ARDA), a trade group that represents the vacation ownership and resort industry.

Marty labors for the Bockorny group, a lobbying firm whose clients include ARDA and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT), where he used to work.

Another lobbyist listed on the invitation, Robert Dibblee, is vice president of government relations for NAREIT.

Cantor was one of the early supporters after the attacks on 9/11 for legislation to create a government safety net for the commercial insurance industry to limit exposure for future terrorist acts. He also voted for a recent extension of the program in late 2007, despite criticism from some conservatives who saw the bill as a handout to the insurance industry.

Sandra DePoy’s employer, ARDA, is an enthusiastic proponent of this legislation, through a group called the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism. Martin DePoy has served as the coalition’s steering committee coordinator, and staffers for NAREIT, Dibblee’s employer, are listed as communications contacts for the group.

In 2007, Cantor also sponsored legislation to ease tax laws for real estate investment trusts, known as the REIT Investment Diversification and Empowerment Act. This was a key bill for NAREIT, Dibblee’s employer. A version of the legislation eventually was folded into the massive housing legislation passed in the summer of 2008, which bailed at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Protesting the provisions concerning Fannie and Freddie, most Republicans voted against the final version of the bill, as did Cantor.)

Cantor collects more cash from the real estate industry than any other, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Some 40 percent of his own personal holdings are in finance. Cantor earned a degree in real estate from Columbia University, and in his early career worked with his family’s real estate development business.

There’s the usual chicken-and-egg question here–does Cantor’s support for the real estate industry flow from his close connections with lobbyists and donors? Or does he enjoy the support of the real estate industry because he champions it? Most likely the answer is: both. Surely it doesn’t escape a top fundraiser like Cantor that the real estate sector, even the midst of the current economic meltdown, is one of the major sources of campaign cash to lawmakers, period.

Question: How does House Minority Whip Eric Cantor raise millions of dollars for himself and his GOP colleagues? Answer: Lots of partying. (You can read Party Time’s analysis of a carnival fundraiser Cantor’s leadership PAC hosted last summer in this month’s Harper’s Magazine, payment required.)

Here at Party Time we’ve got more than 60 events in our database–and counting more by the day –either hosted by Rep. Eric Cantor’s campaign committee (click here); his leadership PAC, Every Republican is Crucial (click here); or where he is featured as a draw (click here) to get others to pony up. This easily puts him in the upper rank of partying members of Congress according to our data, along with other leadership figures such as Democrat Rep. Steny Hoyer and GOP House Minority Leader John Boehner.

To help tell the story of how he does it, above is a word cloud made up of words found on his fundraising invitations. And here is a glossary to help understand it.

“CAPITOL HILL CLUB”: The Republicans’ club on the Capitol Hill, and one of the most popular partying spots in the city.

“STARBUCKS” and “COFFEE”: You can find Cantor about once a month at the Starbucks at 237 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, where, for $2,500 per PAC, you can “enjoy your morning cup of coffee with Congressman Cantor.”

“DINNER, RECEPTION,  LUNCH, etc.”: You get the idea. Cantor participates in fundraisers from dawn until dusk, often attending more than on on any particular day.

“DEPOY”: Marty and Sandra Depoy are the lobbyists, largely for real estate interests, who host fundraisers for many lawmakers–Democrats and Republicans alike.

“BOHENER, BLUNT, CAMP, etc.”: Names of GOP members of Congress who are also appearing at or are beneficiaries of fundraisers featuring Cantor.

Check out the June issue of Harper’s Magazine (see link here: alas, it’s a pay site) for your Party Time hostess’ analysis of this carnival thrown last summer by Rep. Eric Cantor’s leadership PAC, Every Republican is Crucial (ERIC PAC).

House Minority Whip Cantor earns his clout with his colleagues the old fashioned way–by raising millions of dollars for himself and other GOPers. In the first three months of this year alone, he raised more than $960,000, doubling his take from the comparable first quarter of the last non-election year, 2007, according to Congressional Quarterly. In 2006, when he led the GOP Battleground Program, the party took in some $25 million.

For his carnival shindig last summer, ERIC PAC rented a 15,000-square-foot party space at Nationals Park, a major league baseball stadium. His guests took batting practice, tossed balls at a dunking booth, hopped on the Moon Bounce, and played video games at the Sony PlayStation Pavillion.

Go to Harper’s to read the piece–and stay tuned here for tidbits that didn’t make it in.

American News Project journalist Harry Hanbury deserves some sort of award for his quest to go to every single congressional fundraiser held in Washington, DC in a single day. Check out this great video report in which he captures lobbyists, staffers, and Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), one of the GOP’s biggest fundraisers, on tape. And we’re blushing that Hanbury relied on us truly to figure out where to party.