Friday, July 31, 2009 3:49 PM

No Camp for Baucus

The 10th annual Camp Baucus -- a three-day fundraiser in Montana for Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus' leadership political action committee has it all -- or does it?

Starting today at the posh Big Sky Resort there's fly-fishing in three nearby rivers, golfing on an Arnold Palmer-designed course, horseback riding and hiking, family fun and gorgeous scenery. Indeed, all that will be missing is the senator himself. Baucus will be staying in Washington, an aide confirms, to tend to faltering bipartisan negotiations over health care reform legislation.

By staying away, Baucus will also miss the protest awaiting fundraiser attendees -- who are forking out $2,500 per individual and $5,000 per PAC. Gene Fenderson of Helena, a retired labor leader and co-founder of Montanans for Single Payer told the Great Falls Tribune that protesters will line the road to resort holding signs with slogans that read "Buy Back Baucus" as well as large scale faux checks that read "Max -- A seat at the table. What does it cost? $4 million. Buy Back Our Senator!" The figure is an apparent reference to $3 million Baucus' PAC and campaign committee already collected from the health and insurance sectors from 2003 to 2008, and which has kept flooding in this year according to The Washington Post.

Less than 10 percent of the money came from Montana. Fenderson argues that it's inappropriate for Baucus to hold an upscale fundraiser with lobbyists from the health care sector while the committee is drafting a bill.

Baucus aides told The Washington Post that he adopted an internal office policy of refusing contributions from health care PACs that would continue until after Congress passes a reform bill. But the paper found in a later look at Federal Election Commission files that the policy didn't appear to exclude contributions from individual lobbyists or executives with health care connections.