GOP Sees Hypocrisy in 2012 Dem Convention Loan

Democrats are calling their 2012 convention in Charlotte, N.C., “a people’s convention,” with the Democratic National Committee limiting all corporate and individual cash contributions to $100,000. But the Republican National Committee says that rule is being obeyed only in the breach, Politico reports.

Duke Energy Corp. is guaranteeing a $10 million line of credit for the convention.

Will Miller, the convention’s acting executive director, says the $10 million line from Fifth Third Bank “is just security in the event of a cash shortfall” and not a contribution.

“The host committee is obligated to pay it back, and the host committee will pay it back,” Miller said.

But Republicans don’t see it that way. “We said it then and we’ll say it again, this rule isn’t worth the paper it’s written on,” said Republican National Committee spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski. “It proves the ‘policy’ was nothing more than a PR move from the very beginning.”