Boehner convened a meeting of top Republican lobbyists at the National Republican Congressional Committee last Thursday to enlist them in the cause. | John Shinkle/POLITICO The cash-for-speaker program

To the House minority leader, “Speaker” Boehner seems to have a nice ring to it.

So much so that months before any midterm votes are cast, John Boehner of Ohio is putting his own face on the GOP’s drive to take back the House by quietly launching a “Boehner for Speaker” committee that aims to boost the party’s lagging fundraising, in part by introducing him as a “regular guy” from Ohio.

But while the effort plays up Boehner’s modest roots, the going rate to participate is pricey: According to materials distributed by Boehner’s camp and obtained by POLITICO, lobbyists and other major donors across the country who give the maximum or help raise $100,000 will get meetings with Boehner, calls from senior aides with updates on the campaign and “VIP access to all events, including roundtables, briefings, breakout discussions and interactive panel discussions.”


Boehner convened a meeting of top Republican lobbyists at the National Republican Congressional Committee last Thursday to enlist them in the cause and armed them with slick, presidential-level brochures and fundraising materials making the case for putting him in the speaker’s chair.

[Documents: Boehner for Speaker brochure and Boehner for Speaker fundraising levels.]

It’s the most aggressive step the clubby Ohioan has taken yet to stamp his imprint on the GOP’s 2010 House campaign and comes as Republicans fret that their lack of money could be the only barrier keeping them from dethroning Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

That was the urgent message Boehner delivered last week to a group of lobbyists, some of whom are his closest advisers, according to two sources in attendance.

“He said that we’re hitting on all cylinders with the exception of funding,” one of the sources said.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had $34 million in the bank at the end of the June, while the NRCC had just $17 million on hand.

To bring in more cash, the minority leader has set up a joint committee that allows individual donors to contribute up to $37,800, which will be split between Boehner’s PAC, his reelection account and the NRCC. His reelection funds can be transferred to the NRCC.

Boehner reported raising about $570,000 for the committee during the most recent quarter and is expected to show considerably more in the next filing.

He told the group Thursday that he will be spending almost all of August raising money for Republican House hopefuls and the NRCC.

Don Seymour, a spokesman for Boehner’s PAC, said Boehner will headline fundraising events for more than 30 GOP candidates, traveling state to state by bus.

All told, Boehner will stop in 17 states for events benefiting candidates and the NRCC.

The pitch laid out in the materials includes much standard-issue rhetoric on halting the Democratic agenda, but to a hitherto-unseen degree it’s also about introducing the man who would become the new speaker if the GOP recaptures the majority. It's reminiscent of the Democrats effort in 2006 to put Pelosi's stamp on their House campaign. Like the Republicans now, Democrats created SpeakerPelosi.com and told about an Italian Catholic mother and grandmother who would be the first woman speaker.

The GOP strategy now is especially important because it gives Republicans a way to personalize the coming election — an effort aimed at reassuring donors that there money will be well spent. Many key party contributors are hesitant to give to the Republican National Committee or party committees because of concern over RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s stewardship of the national party, as well as lingering concerns about the last House GOP majority’s transgressions on ethics and spending.

So the pamphlets attempt to tell the Boehner story. Under a picture of him in his Archbishop Moeller High School football uniform, the leader is depicted as a child of the Midwest who grew up as the son of a Cincinnati tavern owner, learned life lessons from legendary football coach Gerry Faust and got his start in politics by joining his neighborhood homeowners’ association.

It’s an image far different from the perpetually tan, cigarette-smoking, golf-playing Boehner of Washington caricature and is geared toward introducing the leader to donors beyond the Beltway.

“Some people are more comfortable helping what they see as a cause rather than just a party committee,” explained John DeStefano, Boehner’s political director and deputy executive director at the NRCC. “And they want to be confident that we’ll do what we say we’re going to do.”

To this end, the literature depicts Boehner as different from both the current Democratic majority and the Tom DeLay-era GOP.

“A staunch opponent of pork-barrel politics and backroom deals, John made a name for himself by taking on the establishment in the House of Representatives — Democrats and Republicans,” one brochure reads.

Boehner’s refusal to take earmarks is recounted along with his efforts to curb spending in President George W. Bush’s second term.

The “Boehner for Speaker” apparatus is housed in the NRCC and led by DeStefano, Boehner’s close aide and liaison in the building.

Also helping are a group of lobbyists Boehner is close to, many of whom were present last Thursday. The K Street crowd included former Reps. Bill Paxon and Susan Molinari, NFIB President Dan Danner, Altria lobbyist Bruce Gates, former Boehner aide Sam Geduldig, Citigroup’s Nick Calio and Ogilvy’s Drew Maloney.

According to a source in attendance last week, the leader implored the group to help the cause.

“He said, ‘You’re my friends, and I need your help now more than ever,’” the source said.

But Boehner aides emphasized that they hope to use conservative anger toward the current majority to develop a national network of donors and supporters who perhaps haven’t traditionally given to GOP House efforts but see retaking the chamber as the party’s best bet for gains this November.

Republicans must be creative about how they raise money this cycle and look beyond the usual sources, said a lobbyist who attended the meeting.

“Democrats being in the majority means a lot of the PAC money is going their way,” the lobbyist said. “And the resources we’ve traditionally gotten from the RNC are not going to be as plentiful as in years past.”