Cowboys And Redskins: This Week In Political Fundraisers

Tickets to this Sunday's grudge match between the NFL's Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys can be had on Craigslist for less than $200. But for $2,000, you can enjoy the game while whispering in the ear of Rep. Joe Barton (R-Tex) in a Cowboy Stadium suite.

Rep. John Salazar (D-Colo.) charged even more for sports-fan donors who joined him at yesterday's Redskins home game at Fed Ex Field. Admission to that fundraiser, which benefited the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' Political Action Committee, cost $2,500, according to the invitation obtained by the Sunlight Foundation. (Dan Snyder would be proud.)

There's no home team advantage at the townhouse owned by law and lobbying powerhouse firm Williams & Jensen: the Sunlight Foundation notices that this venue is hosting fundraisers for opposing candidates on consecutive days. GOP Senate hopeful Jane Norton is having lunch there on Monday; on Tuesday, her likely opponent, Sen. Michael Bennet (D), will be there for an evening reception.

Also this week: On Wednesday, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) has planned a lunch fundraiser at a Capitol Hill bistro, which might conflict with a 10 a.m. Armed Services Committee hearing on Defense Budget trends. Cost of attendance: up to $5,000. For the current election cycle, Sanchez has accepted $34,000 from defense electronics and aerospace corporations, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

On Thursday, Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Penn.) has scheduled a lunch fundraiser with the National Automobile Dealers Association. Will Thompson also make it to part of the 11 a.m. hearing of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Biotechnology, Specialty Crops, and Foreign Agriculture, or the 10 a.m. Small Business Committee hearing on the oversight of the Small Business Administration?

Rep. Mike Conaway (R-Texas), ranking member of the same agriculture subcommittee, will be a "special guest" at Thompson's lunch.