The Democratic and Republican convention parties are over. I can’t say that I’m sorry. After spending two weeks–the first in Denver, the second in Minneapolis/St. Paul–trying to crash as many corporate and special interest-sponsored parties as I could and blog about them here, I’m in recuperation. Enough with the security guards and their omnipresent earpieces, the black limos and SUVs depositing their politician cargo, the red velvet ropes-and most of all, the constant rejection as I was turned away from yet another party.

That said, I can’t help looking back fondly and blogging some highlights. Party Time documented in our database some 400 parties at both the Democratic and Republican conventions. We’re pretty sure there were more, but we didn’t have inivitations for all of them. There’s no official requirement that these parties be reported anywhere, so our knowledge was limited to what ever information we got from our anonymous lobbyist sources. We also don’t know how much money was spent on these parties. Some of this information may be reported months from now on federal lobbying disclosure forms under ethics laws, but it’s doubtful it will be comprehensive.

We don’t have a full list of sponsors of these parties, either, although we know that the ones we saw-companies such as AT&T, Qwest, and Visa-were also donors to the Democratic and Republican convention host committees. A loophole in campaign finance law allows unlimited contributions to these groups. We don’t know how much they gave yet-those reports aren’t due until October.

Certainly what we saw in Denver and Minneapolis/St Paul was that the parties continued, despite new restrictions in ethics law in effect for the first time this year. Members of Congress made merry with lobbyists, even if the rules were a bit different. Here are the highlights.

Best slogan. “Vote for real estate!” read the placards free for the taking at a party thrown by travel industry associations at the St. Paul airport. (We’re still trying to figure out what that means.) We got a photo of Minnesota Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty doing photo ops with lobbyist attendees. The same list of sponsors had thrown a party at the Democratic convention.

Best “toothpick exemption” food: We saw caesar salad in a shot glass at a reception thrown by the lobbying firm Akin, Gump for senior council Vernon Jordan attended by several members of Congress and a long list of corporate lobbyists. “You’ll notice the absence of forks,” said Jordan, in the speech he gave as part of the reception. “I must admonish you not to try to eat the food with spoons served with the coffee.” That got a chuckle. Jordan was referring to an exemption under ethics laws that allows members of Congress and senior staff to attend receptions where finger food is served.

Best no show: In Denver, a reception to honor the freshmen class sponsored by U.S. Bank and Visa appeared to be missing a crucial ingredient: members of Congress. The party had gotten a lot of attention in the press-perhaps it was all the sunlight that scared the lawmakers away.

Most creative application of ethics law: The House ethics committee ruled that members of Congress and staff were required to pay the face value for tickets to a Kanye West concert in Denver sponsored by the Recording Industry Association of America, the One Campaign, and a long list of corporate sponsors. But the Senate ethics committee said the same event was a “widely attended event” under the ethics law and therefore it was ok for Senators and Senate staffers to go free.

Best party-attendee perk. These luxury porta-potties were reserved for guests at a private party in Denver. You had to show an ID before you could use them.

Best definition of a “customer”: A Qwest spokeswoman explained we couldn’t go in a party sponsored by Qwest CEO Ed Mueller at the Denver Art Museum’s Pallettes restaurant because it was a “private event.” When we asked why Qwest was a donor to both the Democratic and Republican conventions, she explained that Qwest believed Democrats and Republican convention attendees alike were their “customers.” I mentioned that as a Denver resident I was a Qwest customer myself-the company provides my telephone and DSL service-but that still didn’t get me in.

Party Time doesn’t end now that the convention parties are over. In our database we have thousands of invitations to fundraisers and members of Congress that are ready for scrutiny. There seems to be plenty of partying going on in September, not a surprise as congressional candidates will be reporting their third-quarter fundraising totals to the U.S. Federal Election Commission on September 30. Please keep visiting!

We’re just back from a party thrown by Qwest CEO Ed Mueller at the Denver Art Museum’s Palletes restaurant. Designed to be a “widely attended event” under the new ethics law, according to the invitation, apparently it wasn’t so widely attended that they were prepared to allow me in. (To meet the “widely attended” loophole, the event must have at least 25 attendees who are not members of Congress, and there must be some official business for the lawmaker attending, among other conditions.)

Johanna Hoff, a spokesperson for Qwest, politely explained to us that the event was “private,” that she really didn’t have any details about what they were serving or who was on the guest list. I mentioned that since the invitation specifically said the event was designed to be “widely attended,” it seemed like some members of Congress would be attending, but again, she pleaded ignorance.

She confirmed that yes, Qwest is supporting both the Democratic and the Republican conventions, because the company considers both Democrats and Republicans alike to be its “customers.”

We got some great footage on video , which will be available via our twitter account-www.twitter.com/SFPartytime as soon as Qik.com comes back up.

Recently Denver Post columnist Bill Husted reported Denver convention organizer, lobbyist Steve Farber, saying there could be as many as 1,000 parties in the mile high city when the Democratic convention comes to town next month. And that’s just Denver, not counting the Republican convention in Minneapolis. I couldn’t possibly get to all of them, even if I were invited, which I’m not.

With the conventions coming soon, caterers are busy preparing for events sponsored by the likes of Qwest, Coca Cola, Xcel, Amgen, Teletch, JP Morgan, the American Wind Energy Association, the Wind Energy Institute, Target, CH2MHIll, and unions such the Service Employees International Union and United Food and Commercial Workers.

CQ Politics reports that the lobbying firms will all be out in force, too, including Farber’s employer, Brownstein Hyatt Farber & Schreck, which is hosting a big blow out at the Denver Art Museum on opening night. Patton Boggs will throw a party at Bar Standard, “a brand new Art Deco club,” in Denver, and at St. Paul’s Landmark Center, “a century-old Post Office and courthouse renovated into a cultural center,” in Minneapolis.

What gives? Doesn’t the new ethics law–the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007–specifically say that lobbyists can’t throw parties honoring specific lawmakers at the political conventions anymore?

Yes, the law says that. But these companies and organizations seem to be going with the flow, figuring out how to throw parties that meet the letter of the law while still being able to court access.

First, the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct says that parties are allowed that do not occur on the actual days of the conventions, and second, parties honoring a state delegation or multiple lawmakers (PDF). Fundraising events are also outside the scope of the law (PDF). So are “widely-attended events”—receptions where food is limited to hors d’oeuvres, beverages and “similar food of nominal value.”

The Senate Committee on Ethics’ guidance is a bit more strict than the House’s, specifically prohibiting lobbyist-funded parties for multiple lawmakers (PDF). However, parties are still permissible for days before and after the conventions. They are also allowed for parties where a lawmaker is honored along with people who are not members of Congress (PDF).

Here at Party Time, we’re watching all the party planning for the two cities, Denver and Minneapolis, with a mix of awe and trepidation. Awe because of the massive amount of work involved–see this excerpt from a report from specialevents.com:

Many in the Denver event community are already hard at work. Epicurean Culinary Group, based in Centennial, Colo., has 57 events on the books specifically for convention week, notes chief operating officer Greg Karl. The company’s Epicurean Catering arm is handling 35 projects, the largest of which will be a 15,000-guest event for media from throughout the world. The Epicurean Entertainment arm is catering 10 events at Invesco Field at Mile High stadium, where the Denver Broncos football team plays, while Epicurean @ DCPA is catering nine events at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. For Sen. Barack Obama’s Aug. 28 acceptance speech at Mile High, 45 years to the day since Martin Luther King Jr.’s landmark “I Have a Dream” speech, the company will cater 140 executive suites on site.

The trepidation is because of the sang-froid we must rally when preparing ourselves for trying to crash–and report on–these parties. What to wear, especially when you know you are not welcome?