"From Capitol Hill breakfasts to ski weekends in Colorado, lawmakers are busy collecting donations for an election that's nearly two years away and retiring debts from the election that ended a little more than two months ago. One group of incoming Republican House freshmen, swept into power in an election fueled by anti-establishment sentiment, held a fundraiser at a posh Washington hotel even before they were sworn in Jan. 5.
'This is how members are welcomed to Washington,' said Nancy Watzman, who tracks political fundraisers for the non-partisan Sunlight Foundation. 'Lawmakers hold out their hands, and lobbyists pull out their checkbooks.'"
With eyes on 2012, lawmakers kick off fundraisers
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