I tell you I’m shocked. After months of reading story after story about how tough it was for the Denver host committee to raise its goal of $40.6 million to pay for the Democratic National Convention, the Denver Post reports that planners have succeeded.

The story gives props to Mayor John Hickenlooper for being “tenacious,” and points out the efforts also to lobbyist Steve Farber, of Brownstein, Hyatt who “staked his reputation on getting the bills paid, reaching out to contacts near and far.”

Hickenlooper is quoted noting that Sen. Barack Obama’s decision to give his acceptance speech at Invesco Field was quite helpful in raising cash. “With Invesco Field, you can do much nicer packages,” he said.

Earlier the Denver Post had reported that top fundraisers for the “Obama Victory Fund” were offered club-level seats for $1,000 apiece, and that some of the biggest donors to the host committee were getting “ultra-plush suites”:

Separately, almost all of the 131 private luxury suites, which seat from 14 to 20 people, are being granted to big donors and party officials. Corporations such as Xcel Energy and MolsonCoors, which have donated more than $1 million to the Denver committee hosting the convention, have been granted suites. So have party VIPs including Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Gov. Bill Ritter and Sen. Ken Salazar, who have served the host committee as fundraisers.

I never doubted that the host committee would meet its goals. With a big soft money loophole allowing corporations, special interests, and wealthy individuals to give unlimited amounts of cash to the host committee, with all that organizers were offering in terms of special access–well, let’s just say I had confidence they would be able to pull it off.

And there’s another great report out today from the Campaign Finance Institute (CFI) on the soft money loophole that allows donors to spend unlimited amounts of money into city “host committees” to help pay for the conventions. The U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) says this is ok because these companies and interests supposedly are giving in the name of civic boosterism, not for political reasons.

But CFI, in partnership with the Center for Responsive Politics, points out that the expected $112 million that these committees are expected to collect comes from donors who also have a huge stake in federal policy. Together the 173 donors since 2005 have contributed $180 million to federal candidates and political parties. They’ve also spent $1.3 billion on lobbying.

Has all that cash gone toward their fervent desire to promote my home city, Denver, and the Twin Cities? Call me doubtful.

Sometimes a title just says it all: “Party Conventions Are Free-For-All for Influence Peddling,” says Public Citizen in an excellent new report issued today. If you are looking for a primer on the legal loopholes that allow lobbyists to keep paying and partying in Denver and the Twin Cities over the next few weeks, this is the place to go.

For example, it walks the reader through all the many exceptions of the new ethics law, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. It’s not ok for a lobbyist to pay for a party honoring a particular lawmaker-but it is ok for a lobbyist to pay for a reception where lawmakers are invited, as long as they follow the infamous “toothpick rule,” under which you can’t sit down to eat a steak dinner, but you can stand up and eat a kobe beef meatball.

Public Citizen says that some of the parties we’ve listed here on Party Time may cross the line into illegality. For example, an AT&T reception at the Republican convention honoring the Republican Main Street Partnership.

Public Citizen, like Party Time, will be watching the party scene in Denver and the Twin Cities. We’ll keep you posted.