During Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Q & A session today at the National Press Club he was asked about fundraising for the national presidential conventions in Denver and St. Paul.  "Should voters worry about politicians being indebted to these groups?" the questioner wanted to know.

Companies are allowed to provide unlimited, tax-exempt contributions to the non-profit groups set up to organize the conventions. The Minneapolis St. Paul 2008 Host Committee intends to raise $58 million for the September gathering. As MnIndy has previously reported, many of the country’s largest companies have contributed to the cause while also spending millions of dollars on lobbying in Washington. Hamline University political science professor David Schultz has referred to convention contributions as "one of the granddaddy loopholes for corporate money in American politics."

Gov. Pawlenty, along with Sen. Norm Coleman, has been intimately involved in raising funds for the Republican soiree. And apparently T-Paw sees no problem with the unfettered corporate contributions. "I think under the new rules the ability for companies to lavish goodies on people at the convention has been greatly reduced," he told the National Press Club. "So you can come and have a hamburger or something to drink, but I doubt that’s gonna change a lot of votes in the United States Congress."

That answer, of course, doesn’t have anything to do with the question asked. What "new rules" Pawlenty’s referring to is unclear. But this much is certain: there are no restrictions on how much money companies can contribute to the conventions in hopes of ingratiating themselves to the two political parties.