Coveted invitations to join the Bush-Cheney inauguration celebration at the highest levels — $250,000 and $100,000 — have begun landing in the mailboxes of wealthy Republicans and corporate chieftains across the country.
And our town's Nancy Kinder is part of the national team in charge of harvesting those top-tier sponsorships.
As finance chair of the Presidential Inauguration Committee, Kinder, along with committee leaders Bill DeWitt, Brad Freeman, Mercer Reynolds and Jeanne L. Phillips, has the megaresponsibility of raising $45 million, the price tag for the four days of inaugural festivities. Kinder was offered the plum position directly by the White House.
With only a few weeks to raise that super sum, Kinder, who was one of the top female fund-raisers in the country for the Bush-Cheney campaign, is charging full steam ahead. But don't expect to see her in the D.C. office that has been reserved with her name on the door. This high-powered fund-raiser is conducting her inaugural business from home base.
The high rollers who pony up at the six-figure levels, with only 100 available in each category, earn multiple tickets to a variety of parties and special events during the Jan. 18-21 celebration. And despite the high price tag, Kinder says the VIP packages are going fast.
She adds that the pricy sponsorships allow ordinary citizens to enjoy the four days of festivities at a more reasonable price. It will cost regular folks $150 each to attend an inaugural ball.
Nancy Kinder is better known as the wife of Richard Kinder, an ex-president of Enron Corp., Bush’s top career patron, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
