In the first half of last year (the latest figures available), the chamber ranked first among all organizations in lobbying expenditures, at $30 million. The chamber also contributed more than $4 million to the November Fund, a group that attacked Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry for choosing a former trial lawyer, John Edwards, as his running mate. Today, the chamber is solidly in the black, its $150 million annual budget triple what it was when Donohue took over. It also is staunchly Republican in most of its legislative positions and played a pivotal role in cutting the tax on dividends and approving free-trade pacts, among many other Bush priorities. Whenever the president or his people called, the chamber assembled coalitions of like-minded groups and contacted its 3 million member firms to step up political pressure and donate lobbying-related funds.
This year, it will lead the effort to pass the president's first significant initiative -- a bill to limit class-action lawsuits against big corporations. A senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press said the chamber's Institute for Legal Reform will be indispensable to Bush's strategy on the issue.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved a class-action lawsuit bill much to the chamber's liking, and the full Senate is scheduled to begin debate on the legislation Monday.
The institute expects to spend nearly $40 million this year, roughly equal to last year's total -- an amount that Donald A. "Dan" Danner, senior vice president of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), calls "eye-popping." Donohue will raise the most of the money.
Other business groups will also ally themselves with Bush. The chamber is part of the so-called Gang of Six trade associations that are considered the president's most reliable supporters. They include the Business Roundtable, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Restaurant Association, NFIB and NAW.
But thanks to his fundraising prowess, the pugnacious Donohue stands out. "When it comes to raising money, Tom is about as skilled as anyone can get," said Red Cavaney, president of the American Petroleum Institute.
That's vital expertise, given the ever-rising costs of lobbying. Modern legislative battles run in the millions of dollars because of the pricey and now-routine targeting of swing voters through telemarketing and television advertising. Groups that collect the most money invariably have an advantage.
For the 2004 elections, the chamber dispersed 215 political operatives to 31 states, mailed 3.7 million letters to targeted voters, made 5.6 million phone calls and sent 30 million e-mails to persuade pro-business voters to go to the polls.
The results were impressive. The Institute for Legal Reform won 15 of the 16 state Supreme Court and attorney general races it targeted. The chamber's candidates also prevailed in 21 of the 28 House seats and in seven of the nine Senate races it engaged significantly. It was especially active with commercials in the successful campaign to unseat former Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.).
These efforts have made the chamber many friends in the Bush administration, and Donohue, whose annual salary is more than $1.6 million, isn't shy about using them. He told a new $100,000 chamber member, Lurita Doan, chief executive of New Technology Management Inc., that he could arrange a meeting for her with the U.S. customs and border protection commissioner. "I'll get you in there," Donohue said. "We'll get you a meeting." Donohue works morning to night to, as he puts it, "separate some people from their cash." He said he annually makes 200 fundraising visits in person and an additional 150 over the telephone to large corporate donors whose dues are $100,000 or more.
He travels so often for that purpose that the chamber provides him a chauffeured Lincoln Town Car for in-town use and leases him a jet for longer trips. "You can't visit as many people as I do and do it commercial," Donohue said. He leaves the lobbying mostly to the staff that his fundraising pays for.
Donohue, at age 66 a veteran association executive, has reduced begging for contributions to four intense steps. First, he said, "you have to have a product to sell." Second, "you have to get in to see the right people." Third, "you have to make the ask." And last: "You follow up, follow up, follow up" until the money is delivered.
The technique has yielded a remarkable bounty, but Donohue didn't amass it all himself. The chamber has professional fundraisers and a dozen other people who prepare briefing papers on the companies that Donohue wants to solicit. The chamber's officers are also expected to pitch in.
"If you work here, you're a fundraiser," Donohue said. "You don't raise this kind of money unless you have everybody in the game."
