Deep-pocketed Rendell says: 'I refuse to be a lame duck'

HARRISBURG - Gov. Rendell has only 10 months left in his term, is not running for any other public office, and, by all accounts, has yet to make definitive plans for life after Harrisburg.

But you wouldn't know it looking at the invitation for his latest fund-raising extravaganza, set for tomorrow night in Center City.

The star-studded dinner, at $5,000 a person, is being billed as "an intimate opportunity" for discussion with the governor about the last year - and what the future holds.

Guests of honor, aside from the governor, include actress Morgan Fairchild and actor Richard Schiff.

In an interview last week, Rendell explained the event this way: "I refuse to be a lame duck. I keep pushing. I did it when I was in City Hall, and I intend to do the same thing here."

And money helps.

In politics, a fat campaign bank account is often the best inoculation against lame-duck status. Rendell's campaign coffers, as of the end of last year, were flush with almost $2.4 million.

And tomorrow's fund-raising dinner is expected to raise a half-million for Rendell, organizers said.

What will he do with all that cash?

Close friends say he will use the money to help bankroll candidates this year for U.S. Senate, governor, and the state House.

Those in fund-raising circles add that the confluence of high-profile races this year and a tight economy has made donors more cautious about how much they give.

Rendell, they say, can cut through that reluctance and get people to open up their wallets like few other politicians can.

"He's doing it because he can," Alan Kessler, a lawyer and fund-raiser for Rendell, said of tomorrow's event at Table 31 in the Comcast Center. "He's got this incredible cadre of very loyal friends and contributors. If Ed Rendell calls, they won't say no - whether he has an elected future or not."

Rendell's 2009 campaign records show he raised just over $1.1 million last year, with checks ranging from $100 to $50,000.

Having that kind of money will not only help Rendell's candidates of choice.

It also will make his day job easier, giving him the political equivalent of "street cred" with Democrats, particularly in the legislature, who could be tempted to write him off as a short-timer.

It could also help position him for his next career move, giving him the ability to talk to audiences across the country about issues important to him.

Confidant David L. Cohen said Rendell remained focused on the governor's duties, adding that the words "lame duck are not in his dictionary."

Cohen and others point to Rendell's final budget address last month, during which the governor outlined fiscal proposals that stirred instant controversy and all but guaranteed a legislative fight.

Rendell's chief of staff, Steve Crawford, put it this way: "It is both maddening and admirable that a guy in his eighth and final year wouldn't get up there and just do a victory speech, and sweep any future problems under the rug."

That is not to say Rendell isn't mulling his future.

In the interview, he said life after Harrisburg would likely involve a long list of endeavors, including more teaching (he teaches a political science class at the University of Pennsylvania), more sports talk ("I can't believe people get paid to do that"), the completion of his memoir (he's written five chapters), and a continued push to revitalize the country's infrastructure (there has been talk of creating a national infrastructure bank to leverage private investment).

Beyond that, it's anyone's guess.

Cohen said Rendell would likely make those kinds of weighty decisions closer to the end of the year - "I would say December or January at the earliest."

In the meantime, said lawyer and fund-raiser Mark Aronchick, expect to see Rendell keeping his high profile both in Harrisburg and on the national stage.

"He will do his job until he turns the lights out, and he will do it with all the passion and energy that he did it with on the first day," said Aronchick.

Aronchick added: "He knows the future will take care of itself."