Senator Resumes Lobbyist Huddles

Senate Republicans, eager to help Santorum, put him in charge of the party's efforts on lobbying changes, although he was soon overshadowed by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and the actions of two Senate committees. Democrats note that Santorum's campaign has received more money from lobbyists than any other congressional candidacy thus far in the 2006 election cycle.

The White House is also trying to help Santorum. On Tuesday night, presidential adviser Karl Rove attended a Santorum fundraiser at the Washington home of Sen. Christopher S. Bond (R-Mo.). Individuals and representatives of political action committees that contributed $5,000 could attend a special reception and photo opportunity with the star guests.

Supporters call Santorum a principled conservative and an underrated campaigner, and many credit him with rescuing moderate Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) when he was challenged from the political right in the 2004 GOP primary. Opponents call Santorum an opportunist who pushes the limit on using campaign funds.

Foes question Santorum's use of his leadership PAC, America's Foundation, which has paid for at least 160 small purchases at coffee shops near Santorum's Leesburg home, as well as for fast-food meals and purchases at hardware stores and bookstores.

Santorum campaign spokeswoman Virginia Davis said all the expenditures were legitimate. Leadership PACs "can be expensive to maintain," she said, and Santorum has distributed through it more than $3 million to GOP candidates since 2001.

Participants in the most recent meeting of lobbyists, on Tuesday, said that all but a few of the people who attended were mainstays of the old Capitol gatherings.

One lobbyist called the attendees "the usual suspects," and said they were among the city's best-known lobbyists whose firms represent financial services, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, oil production and tobacco companies. The lobbyist added: "There were two or three people from his [Santorum's] campaign who didn't go to meetings at the Capitol. I don't think beyond that that I recognized anybody new."

In addition, the participating lobbyists and Rodgers said that part of the discussion at the Tuesday meeting was reminiscent of the gatherings at the Capitol. Santorum discussed the Republican agenda and devoted plenty of time on lobbying changes -- a topic of personal interest to the attendees. The meeting was held one day before the Senate took up legislation meant to crack down on lobbyists and their relationships with lawmakers.

"We're going to formalize this [meeting] into a campaign briefing about once a month," Rodgers said. "This will grow with people who are committed to Rick's campaign."

Santorum, whose ties to Washington lobbyists have been criticized by his Democratic challenger, suspended his biweekly encounters on Jan. 30. His decision came as Democrats named him as their top target in November's Senate races, and after the guilty plea of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff to charges of conspiring to corrupt public officials.