[ganbaru]

At Tampa convention, cheerleaders and tequila are serious business
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...87T05N20120830

Voters watching the Republican National Convention may see Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and other party standard bearers on their television sets, but they don't get to sip tequila with NFL cheerleaders.
They don't get to swat line drives at Tropicana Field, home to baseball's Tampa Bay Rays. They won't get in to the yacht parties, beach parties and cigar parties that await delegates outside the convention hall.
In short, TV viewers are missing out on the real business of Tampa. At a swirl of breakfast briefings, luncheons and late-night blowouts, Republican politicians and delegates can forge tighter ties with the business interests and wealthy donors who underwrite the party.
Donors face few limits on the amount of money they can give to the convention. Interest groups and trade associations also are paying for many of the 200 events scheduled in the Tampa area this week.
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A PARTY GOES AWRY

A similar event on Wednesday proved embarrassing for the Romney campaign.

According to ABC News, Romney officials met with top donors aboard a 150-foot (45-meter) yacht that was flying the flag of the Cayman Islands - the offshore tax haven that has served as a home for some of Romney's $200 million-plus fortune.
"Some advance staffer is going to lose his job over that," said a Romney supporter who did not want to be identified.