It’s a bargain: Lunch with President Bush $500, photo $4,600

Brent Wistrom — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 22:28:00 +0000

A picture is worth a thousand words — or $4,600 if you want one with President Bush. That’s the going rate for a photo at the $500-per-head lunch reception Bush will attend to raise money for Sen. Pat Roberts in Wichita on Friday, June 15.

That’s an expensive photo, but when Dick Cheney came to Wichita in 2002, the Vice President drew $5,000 from folks who wanted a private meet and greet and photograph. The Hall Monitor dug a little more using Lexis-Nexis and found the Wichita event is a pretty fair price — if not a bargain — compared to other fundraisers.
The Prez drew $1,000 a plate and $10,000 per photo at a fundraiser at a Hilton in Milwaukee last July, according to The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
People paid $1,000 a lunch plate in Denver last year, too.
In Tennessee last year, Bush supporters paid $2,100 a plate to attend a fundraiser for Senate candidate Bob Corker, The Commercial Appeal reported.
Californians peeled off the same amount for a photo at an event near San Fransisco last year, The Contra Costa Times wrote. And, down in Phoenix, folks paid $500 for breakfast and $2,100 a photo during a cash-raising event for Rep. Rick Renzi, according to The Arizona Republic. We called the Roberts Victory Committee, which gets the cash, to see how they decided the going rate for a plate and a photo, but haven’t heard back yet. The business attire lunch is near the Country Club in east Wichita at the home of Dave and Janet Murfin. Dave is the president of Murfin Drilling Company. No surprise, both Dave and Janet are registered Republicans who have voted in the last three elections. For more on the Bush visit, check out The Eagle’s story. Here’s a Kansas City Star story about the fundraiser. The photo above shows Roberts next to Bush, Sen. Sam Brownback and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in Greensburg.

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It’s a bargain: Lunch with President Bush $500, photo $4,600