Matt Romney just for the GOP Peons — The SCV Talk Archive

SCVTalk has it on good authority that tonight's meet and greet for the Republican apparatchik of the SCV with former Massachusetts Governor and GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romey's son (boy what a mouthful) Matt is just a prelude to the main Romney for president event in the SCV next month. com's first ever Gossip column.

That event occurs Friday May 4, when the local GOP elite will whip out their checkbooks for a breakfast and photo op with the squeeky-clean LDS candidate himself, Mitt Romney. Hosted at a home in West Ridge and headlined by fellow Mormon Congressman Buck McKeon and his wife, participants in the event will pay $2,300 for an individual photo with the Mitt ($4,600 for a couple, what a steal!) and just $1,000 to have breakfast with him. The "Host Committee" on the invitation, obtained by SCVTalk, reads like the participant list in one of those fluff charity circuit stories on KHTS or the Signal: local power lawyer Hunt Braly (I challenge you to find a more WASPish Republican name!), the Rasmussens, Flemings and several others are listed and will likely be at the breakfast meeting. Perhaps the most surprising name on the welcome wagon list on the invitation is Gary Horton, that supposed liberal Signal columnist and business owner who, along with Tim Myers, was recently bought off by McKeon over a lunch at Salt Creek Grille. That's right, Horton, who has devoted column after column of ink to upset the local GOP circles, will rub elbows with the same two weeks from tomorrow. Absent from the big-bucks breakfast invitation is GOP wonderboy Cameron Smyth, Assemblyman for this valley and parts of the SFV. Smyth broke ranks with McKeon last week when he announced his support for Rudy Guiliani, the hard charging former Italian Mayor of New York. Also absent is State Senator George Runner, who, rumor has it, is gunning for McKeon's job should the congressman retire soon. Runner hasn't announced who he'll support yet, but if he wants McKeon's support, look for a Romney endorsement soon. With expensive fundraising events like this, it's no wonder Romney leads the pack of GOP hopefuls for the nomination in terms of money raised. Romney has raised some $20.7 million so far, trailing only Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Will the Buck and Mitt Show pay off for McKeon? Does the eight term Congressman have his eyes on one of those juicy assistant deputy undersecretary of xyz department seats should there be a Romney Administration in 2009? As always, I'll keep you up to date.