Kennedy Compound Becomes Donor Perk

WASHINGTON —  Visiting Camelot ain’t cheap.

Democrats eager to win back the majority in the House are offering big-money donors access to one of their shrines: the Kennedy family compound in Hyannis Port, Mass., where Jack, Bobby and Teddy once passed a football back and forth.

The entrance fee for the September clambake: a $100,000 check to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The Hyannis Port perquisite is just one of many being offered by the committee, whose new leader is Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy of Rhode Island, the youngest son of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

Playing for Big Donations

But the prospect of donors traipsing through the historic Kennedy home suggested to some the controversial perks provided by Democrats to big contributors during the 1996 presidential campaign: overnight stays in the White House Lincoln Bedroom, rides on Air Force One and coffee with President Clinton.

“The comparison is unfair,” said spokesman Erik Smith of the Democratic campaign committee, noting that the Kennedy compound is a private home, not government property.

Other upcoming retreats for $100,000 givers, outlined in a recent fund-raising letter, will be staged in Newport, R.I., Aspen, Colo., and Puerto Rico.

The outreach to the well-heeled, Smith said, represents no retreat on the part of Democrats on the need for campaign finance reform.

“To reform the system, Democrats need to win back the House of Representatives,” he said. “Meanwhile, we have to operate under existing rules.”

And the rules as they now are written encourage campaign organizations to seek checks with as many zeros as possible.

“When we have a system that’s democracy for rent, I certainly can’t be surprised when I see the Hyannis Port compound for rent too,” said Meredith McGehee, a spokeswoman for Common Cause, a government watchdog group.

“I can’t really criticize,” said Ed Blakely, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, which is developing its own outreach effort to those who make six-figure donations.

Still, he could not help pointing out that the chairman of the House Republicans’ reelection effort--Rep. Thomas M. Davis (R-Va.)--is of meager means, compared to Kennedy. “Our chairman has a plastic spoon, not a silver one, in his mouth,” Blakely said.

Republicans Have Own Game Plan

Republicans are by no means undernourished, however, when it comes to campaign cash.

In 1996, the GOP collected $92 million for their House reelection effort, compared to $38 million for Democrats. Two years later, Republicans boosted their purse to $97 million, compared to $41 million for Democrats. But in both elections, Democrats managed to pick up seats.

Various Kennedys running for office over the years have rewarded donors with visits to the Hyannis Port compound, which first gained fame when John F. Kennedy was elected president in 1960. But this year’s Democratic-sponsored retreat marks the first time that the home will be used for a major, national contribution drive.