Just as business legend and lore claim that most deals are done on the golf course, much of the business at political conventions is done not on stage but in smaller breakfast groups and business/social interaction that is supposed to pass as simply passing the time of day. Both parties do it, spending a lot of money to do so.
Taxpayers foot part of the bill, regardless of which party receives one's loyalty -- or even if neither party is to your liking.
The Federal Election Commission first began public funding for the conventions in 1976. That year, each party received slightly more than $2 million in taxpayer dollars. Now the base is $4 million, but adjustments for inflation bring the total far above the base.
For 2012, each party received $18.2 million from the FEC to put on the respective conventions, according to the FEC website. Each host city also received $50 million from Congress for security. The grand total: $136 million. That's just the beginning. And for what?
It's not like the presidential nominees aren't known far in advance of the great glad-handing gatherings. For the most part, today's conventions are more parties than politicking.
But even the government's largesse doesn't foot all the bills. The conventions cost around three times what the FEC antes up.
The Republican host committee, according to the New York Times, had no limits put in place by the national party, and its $55 million budget was partially corporate-sponsored by Target, Chevron and Microsoft, among others.
According to the chief executive of the Tampa host committee, former election lawyer Ken Jones (with a Washington law firm that represents numerous lobbyists), sponsors weren't seeking access to lawmakers but only to advertise their brands. The committee was only following the law, said Jones, in accepting the use of Passats from Volkswagen and sport-utility vehicles that operate on natural gas from Chesapeake Energy.