Think Tank CEI Partying Big With Big Donor Money

Here is more from Politico about a recent Competitive Enterprise Institute's (CEI) party to celebrate its 35 years in existence:

The Competitive Enterprise Institute celebrated its 35th anniversary with a “Game of Thrones”-themed dinner at the Marriott Marquis in downtown D.C. Pool report: “Guests were able to take pictures on the Iron Throne, and ‘Red Wedding’ and ‘Wildfire’ cocktails were served into glasses through an ice luge. Author, lecturer and documentary filmmaker Johan Norberg received CEI’s Julian Simon Award, and Pulitzer Prize-winning humorist and author Dave Barry gave the keynote.”

SPOTTED: Fred and Fran Smith, Kathy Kraninger, Andrew Wheeler, C. Boyden Gray, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), Luther Strange, Paul Teller, Jim Neill, Alexa Walker, Dan Huff, Matt Leopold, Mike Rose, Kevin Madden, Gregg Keller, Paul Atkins, Katherine Mangu-Ward, Byron Tau, Mike Bastach, Chris Bedford, Doug Domenech, Lawson Bader, Andrew Grossman, Melissa Holyoak, Syvlie Légère, Emily Domenech and Bridgett Wagner.

After the party, the New York Times wrote a piece about about CEI funders after finding out various donors to the gala.  Here is more:

It’s difficult to figure out who’s funding climate denial, because many of the think tanks that continue to question established climate science are nonprofit groups that aren’t required to disclose their donors. That’s true of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a free-market research organization in Washington that disputes that climate change is a problem.

So, the program for a recent gala organized by the institute, which included a list of corporate donors, offered a rare glimpse into the money that makes the work of these think tanks possible.

Among the sponsors for the Game of Thrones-themed gala were groups that have long been aligned with fossil fuel interests, including the Charles Koch Institute and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. The fuel and petrochemical group, which lobbies for gasoline producers, pushed to weaken car fuel economy standards, one of the Obama administration’s landmark climate policies.

But the program for the event, obtained by The New York Times and verified by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, also included major corporations, like Google and Amazon, that have made their commitment to addressing climate change a key part of their corporate public relations strategies.

Here is a link to a 20-page pamphlet from the gala, listing the dinner menu, drink menu, and various sponsors for the event, including: Marathon Petroleum, American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, Credit Union National Association, DCI Group, the Heritage Foundation, PhRMA, T-Mobile, Distilled Spirits Council, Amazon, American Beverage Association, Consumer Technology Association, Juul, Syngenta, Verizon, Altria, Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Phillip Morris International, Uber, AT&T, BNSF Railway, CSX Corporation, National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific Corporation.

Atlantic Council Fetes at the Ritz

Here is more from Politico:

The Atlantic Council held its 2019 Distinguished Leadership Awards at the Ritz-Carlton on Tuesday night. The event honored NATO, whose award was received by Rose Gottemoeller from retired Gen. Jim Jones; Adrienne Arsht, whose award was presented by Alonzo Mourning; Christine Lagarde, whose award was presented by Ivanka Trump; and Fred Smith, whose award was presented by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.).

ALSO SPOTTED: Wolf Blitzer, Bret and Amy Baier, Colin and Alma Powell, Marillyn Hewson, Dina Powell and David McCormick, John F.W. Rogers (the incoming chairman of the board), Anthony Scaramucci, Steve Clemons, Niki Christoff, Mitch Landrieu, John Waldron, Nicole and Dave Nason, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and wife Lourdes, Sharon Rockefeller,Julie and Wynn Radford, Fred Kempe, Josh and Ali Rogin, Morgan Ortagus and Jonathan Weinberger, Stuart and Gwen Holiday, Franco Nuschese, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Wesley Clark, Anita McBride, Capricia Marshall, Sam Vinograd and many ambassadors.

Here is more about this year's Distinguished Leadership Awards, which were presented to NATO, philanthropist Adrienne Arsht, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, and FedEx Chairman Frederick Smith.

AEI Has Grand Opening Party for New Headquarters

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) continues to celebrate its new headquarters in Washington, DC. 

Here is more from Politico:

AEI President Arthur Brooks and AEI scholars hosted the grand opening of their new HQ, The Daniel A. D’Aniello building, at 1789 Massachusetts Ave. last night. SPOTTED: Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), Rep. Pat Meehan (R-Pa.), Rep. French Hill (R-Ark.), RSC Chairman Bill Flores (R-Texas), RSC Chairman-elect Mark Walker (R-N.C.), Carl Cannon, S.E. Cupp and John Goodwin, Hugo Gurdon, Daniel Halper, John Parkinson, Paul Teller, Chris Isham, Jonathan Karl, Michele Kelemen, Bill Kristol, Libby Liu, Josh and Ali Rogin, Neil Irwin, Chris Bedford, Lauren Zelt, Benny Johnson, Katie Glueck, Rich Lowry, Chris Stirewalt, Niels Lesniewski, Matt Continetti, Jim Geraghty, John Bolton, Jim DeMint, Strobe Talbot [sic], Sue Desmond-Hellman, Jonah Goldberg, Robby George, Ramesh Ponnuru, April Ponnuru, Cornel West, Marc Thiessen, Tim Carney, David French, Danielle Pletka, Michael Strain, Kevin Hassett, Michael Barone, Paul Wolfowitz.

In truly bipartisan fashion, AEI, a conservative think tank, invited Strobe Talbott, President of the liberal think tank Brookings Institution, as well as think tank competitor Jim DeMint, the head of the Heritage Foundation.

Here is more from Think Tank Watch on AEI's new headquarters.

Third Way Knows How to Party

The think tank Third Way has just held a huge 10-year anniversary birthday bash, and here is how it celebrated (via Politico):

Third Way held a huge “Party of the Decade” 10th anniversary bash last night at Union Market Dock 5, with White Ford Bronco as its band with a grilled cheese bar, bacon bar, and dumpling bar.  SPOTTED: Stephanie Cutter (on her birthday), Jill Zuckman, “The West Wing’s” Melissa Fitzgerald, Sen. Heidi Heidtkamp, DE Gov. Jack Markell, a host of House Dems (Bera, Kind, Himes, Sinema, Aguilar, Polis, Bustos, Peters), Bill Schneider, Trisha Enright, Ryan McConaghy, and about 600 others.

We should mention that this is not just a one-off day of happiness for the think tank.  Third Way is also known for having  great snacks (and a decent stash of alcohol).

The think tank is certainly living up to one of its mottos: "We don't just sit around and think, in a tank or elsewhere."

Here is a previous Think Tank Watch piece on how libertarian think tanks party.

Of course, foreign policy and defense think tanks, such as the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), also know how to throw a rocking party.

Will Washington's Think Tank Events Become More Upscale?

Think tanks typically don't hold great parties (there are exceptions, of course), but some seem to be studying up on how to put together a better, swankier shindig.  Here is more from The Washington Post:

Though most of Washington is still in vacation mode, plans for fall fundraisers, Halloween promotions and yes, even Christmas parties, are already in full swing. You see a “save the date” and think, “Free drinks!” To your hosts — political campaigns, think tanks, corporations, charities, trade associations, NGOs — the Evite is the first step in a carefully calculated strategy to grab your time and attention.

The very important people of Washington are short on time and easily bored. Which is why, during the dog days of summer, almost 400 people gathered last week at the Ronald Reagan Building for Elevate, a conference for Washington event organizers. Their goal: learning how to make their events more memorable, attract the right guests and do it all on a politically correct budget.

It’s not enough to throw free booze at people anymore, although that never hurts. The old formula of cocktails, dinner and endless speeches is giving way to artisanal menus, designer mixologists and charging stations. Plus hashtags, live Instagram feeds and anything else that will transform another boring evening into a talker.

But remember, think tank events come with a cost.  The Post notes that a basic, two-hour reception is roughly $75 to $125 per person, plus tax and gratuity.  Seated dinners, they point out, can range from $150 to $375 per guest.  The paper also notes that renting a location is an extra cost.  They note that the Library of Congress is $35,000 for a corporate host, but only $17,500 for a non-profit such as a think tank.  Fortunately, many think tanks have ample space to hold a decent-sized party, thus leaving more room for their food budget.