Convention Rules to Live By

By Chris Cillizza And Ben Pershing
DO: and DO:
Sunday, May 25, 2008

Memorial Day is the traditional start of summer, and in an election year such as this, the national party conventions will mark the end. But the Democratic convention in Denver and the Republican one in Minneapolis-St. Paul won't be like the old days for members of Congress, who must now live under a tightened regimen of ethics rules. Fortunately, while the House and Senate ethics committees aren't always vigilant about investigating real corruption, they have been cranking out memos (including a new one last week) on what lawmakers can and can't eat, drink and do during the conventions. Here's a cheat sheet:

DO: Attend a party in honor of your state's delegates.

DON'T: Attend a party in your honor.

Let's say you're Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D). Lots of lobbyists want to "pay tribute" to your wise and heroic leadership. You can't attend an event "honoring Harry Reid." But you can attend an event honoring, say, "Nevada convention delegates," of which you are one. Got it?

DO: Snag pigs in a blanket and bacon-wrapped-somethings from a tray at a party.

DON'T: Sit down to eat a meal on a plate with a fork and knife.

Hill members and their staffs are already familiar with these sometimes confusing culinary rules. As the House ethics memo points out, you may attend "receptions at which the food served is limited to hors d'oeuvres, beverages and similar food of a nominal value." Sit-down dinners are verboten. Yes, it can be hard sometimes to stand with a drink in one hand and a plate of food in the other, and consume it all without spilling on yourself, especially if a dipping sauce is involved. But you just can't sit down and eat your meal with silverware. That would corrupt the democratic process.

DO: Attend a Colorado Rockies game in a skybox paid for by the city of Denver.

DON'T: Attend a game in a skybox paid for by a lobbyist.

The Rockies are bad this year, so you might want to avoid this scenario altogether. But if you must head to Coors Field, you can take tickets -- or pretty much any other gift -- as long as it's paid for by "any unit of state, local or federal government." The key is that the government really has to pay for the tickets and can't just serve as a conduit from some other donor. And, yes, you can sit down to eat your hot dog at the ballgame.

DO: Accept $49 worth of fried Twinkies at a Minnesota fair.

DON'T: Accept $51 worth (or die of a heart attack).

Lawmakers can accept any gifts worth less than $50 as long as the donor isn't a lobbyist or someone who works for a firm that employs lobbyists. Those who eat fried Twinkies, fried cheese curds and other Midwestern delicacies may not accept free emergency room care to restart their hearts, since most hospital systems employ lobbyists.

Allure of the Magnolia State

Mississippi isn't an obvious target for Senate Democrats looking to increase their majority. The last Democrat to win a Senate race in the Magnolia State was John Stennis in 1982. (He beat an up-and-coming Republican named Haley Barbour in that contest.) Since that time, the best showing for a Mississippi Democrat running for Senate was in 1988 when then-Rep. Wayne Dowdy took 46 percent. In 2002, the Democrats didn't even field a candidate against Sen. Thad Cochran (R), and last cycle, Sen. Trent Lott (R) rolled to a 64 percent to 35 percent win.

But Lott's resignation from the Senate late last year and a stunning special-election victory by Rep. Travis Childers (D) in a northern Mississippi congressional district earlier this month have Democrats hoping for an upset.

Two new polls affirm that Mississippi may be in play.

The first, conducted by Hamilton Campaigns for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, showed former governor Ronnie Musgrove (D) leading by 48 percent to 40 percent over appointed Sen. Roger Wicker (R).

The second, sponsored by the liberal blog Daily Kos and conducted by Research 2000, put Wicker ahead -- albeit it by a margin of four percentage points: 46 percent to 42 percent.

Some of the race's tightness is, rightly, ascribed to the fact that Musgrove is the better-known candidate at this point. He served as the state's lieutenant governor from 1995 to 1999, then ran successfully for the state's top job. In 2003, he was ousted by -- you guessed it -- Haley Barbour.

Wicker, however, toiled in relative obscurity during his 14 years in the House and is just now in the process of building his statewide name identification. His fundraising haul of $2.5 million in the first three months of 2008 should help in that effort. Rebecca Fisher, communications director at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, called Wicker a "strong candidate that is raising unbelievable money."

Musgrove has struggled somewhat on the cash-collecting front -- $447,000 raised between Jan. 1 and March 31 -- but that fundraising differential could be made up by the cash-flush Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee if it sees fit.

There's reason to think that Democrats might decide to spend on Musgrove's behalf, given the uniqueness of this election. With Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) almost certain to be leading the Democratic ticket, party strategists think that the black vote in Mississippi, which has the highest percentage of African Americans of any state, could prove decisive.

"The results in Mississippi's 1st indicate that the right kind of Democrat can win here," said Tim Phillips, who is managing Musgrove's campaign. "Ronnie Musgrove is that kind of Democrat."

Nine days: While the rest of the country is focused on final presidential votes of the Democratic race in South Dakota and Montana, The Fix will have an eye on New Mexico. The Land of Enchantment features a contested Senate GOP primary between Reps. Heather Wilson and Steve Pearce, as well as competitive primaries in all three House districts.

34 days: The Democratic Leadership Council convenes its "National Conversation" in Chicago. Once at the forefront of Democratic politics, the DLC has been derided in recent years by the liberal blogosphere and has watched as its influence waned. Can DLC Chairman Harold Ford Jr. lead the organization back to prominence?