Glen Thrush has a great piece in Politico today reporting how the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is planning 66 fundraisers in 52 days. He got his hands on the weekly fundraising memo, dated Feb. 5, that goes out to lobbyists and donors.

He points out a number interesting tidbits, such as a Washington GOP star studded event for would-be Colorado Senator Jane Norton (you can see the actual invite for this event here) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s annual itidarod Alaskan fundraiser, which you can see on our site here.

Some more insights from Thrush below. Keep up the good reporting, and remember to check here at Party Time for these invitations–and to send them our way if you get them:

A $1,000-per-PAC Feb. 9 fundraiser for New Hampshire GOP hopeful Kelly Ayotte, held at Morton’s Steakhouse near K Street, is hosted by veteran lobbyist and GOP fundraiser Jeff Walter. Walter currently represents JPMorgan Chase and once lobbied on behalf of AIG, according to Senate records.

Two weeks later, Ayotte is scheduled to attend a fundraiser hosted by Exxon Mobil lobbyist John Boudreaux.

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), who is up this year, is hosting a $1,000-$2,500-a-head fundraiser on Feb. 10 at the Caucus Room steakhouse in D.C., an event hosted by the energy-giant Southern Company Employees PAC and the Edison Electric Institute.

Later that day. NRSC Chairman John Cornyn (R-Tex.) will attend a joint fundraiser thrown by a trio of hosts not typically associated with the Tea Party movement: mega-lobbyist Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, the lobbying arm of engineering and construction giant Fluor Corp. and Pfizer pharmaceutical’s PAC.

Also on Feb. 10: David Vitter, who is running for reelection in Louisiana, actually holds a $2,000-per-host fundraiser inside the D.C. offices of Entergy, a utility company that relies heavily on nuclear power. A day later, North Carolina incumbent Richard Burr attends a K Street fundraiser hosted by energy lobbyist Michael Whatley.

This year big draw appears to be South Dakota’s John Thune, who is a guest speaker at at least four of the events.

From this report, it appears that the GOP firmament is lining up behind Arkansas Senate candidate Gilbert Baker, who is running in a hotly contested GOP primary. This is despite a promise from Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee (NRSC) that the party would not get involved in primaries.

The AP got hold of  a fundraising invitation (not in our database yet) for November 19 at NRSC headquarters, that shows Cornyn as a host of the event, along with Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and David Vitter of Louisiana.

An NRSC spokesman told The Atlantic’s Marc Ambinder that Cornyn is participating in the event in his personal capacity as a senator, not as chairman.

As the 2010 elections heat up, it will be interesting to see how fundraising invitations offer clues to other contested primary races, such as the one in my neighborhood pitting incumbent Sen. Michael Bennet against challenger Andrew Romonoff, as well as the battle between Sen. Arlen Specter and Joe Sestek in Pennsylvania.

(hat tip to Micah Sifry)

About three dozen lucky donors have the chance to gather at Charlie Palmer steakhouse tonight for a “roundtable on health care issues” featuring Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mike Enzi (R-WY), and Richard Burr (R-NC)–all of whom raise big bucks from the health care industry and sit on key health care committees.

A seat at the roundtable–only 35 available–costs a PAC $2,000, payable to the National Republican Senatorial Committee. A seat at the more exclusive dinner costs a PAC $5,000, and only 20 seats are available.

The national health care debate is at a key point, with Senate leaders hoping to complete a bill before the August recess. At the time of this posting, none of the senators’ offices had returned calls requesting information about tonight’s event.

Sen. Grassley’s top lifetime donors include health professionals, the insurance industry, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and nursing homes, and lobbyists. He is the ranking minority member of on the Senate Finance Committee. (We blogged here about a Grassley fundraiser hosted by an alternative health care lobbyist.) Grassley has gained fame recently for his idiosyncratic tweets, many on health care.

Sen. Enzi, who sits on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee, counts the pharmaceutical industry and health professionals as his top most generous lifetime donors. The HELP committee approved a health care reform bill on July 15 along party lines.

Sen. Burr’s top all-time donor is the pharmaceutical industry.  He also sits on the Senate HELP committee, and voted against the health care reform bill.

Edited  at 4:14 p.m. Eastern to add: This just in from Sen. Enzi’s press secretary, about the senator’s attendance at the health care roundtable tonight:

Senator Enzi attends numerous NRSC events throughout the year. Since he is knowledgeable about health care, being the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee ranking member, organizers asked him to speak on that topic. He agreed. Health care is #1 on the country’s agenda right now. It’s important and Senator Enzi is happy to explain this issue from his point of view whether it be at the NRSC or the Lions Club in Lander, Wyoming. Either place, he would say the same thing. As for the use of any money, that’s up to the NRSC.

Following up on a Politico report on how Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) bashing lobbyists as part of his latest email fundraising pitch, the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee (NRSC) sent out an alert to lobbyist donors today assuring them that the folks there appreciate the job they are doing:

For what it is worth, we believe you are doing your job, a job that is very much a part of the democratic process; to make sure Congress understands how proposed policy will affect their constituents, business and other interests around our country. I guess Chris Dodd just wants your financial support but not your company.

The NRSC has a good point: Sen. Chris Dodd has taken more than $400,000 since 2005 directly from lobbyists, ranking them number seven among his top giving industries. We’re doubting Dodd’s invitations to lobbyists for fundraisers like these use the same sort of pitch.

As for the NRSC, seems like the group is committing a veritable “Kinsley Gaffe, “the term used for telling the truth by accident.” (Thanks to my colleague Bill Allison for the reference.) It’s highly doubtful that the committee would be so open publicly about how much it values lobbyists.