Public Citizen has joined forces with the Sunlight Foundation, Common Cause, the Campaign Action Fund and Americans for Campaign Reform to recruit members from around the country to crash corporate-sponsored parties in order to blog about what they find.

The groups played an instrumental role in helping write the new ethics laws that Democrats passed when they won the majority in 2007. The laws were aimed at severing the close-knit ties between lobbyists and lawmakers and cracking down on the lavish, over-the-top wining and dining of members and their staffs, which reaches a climax every four years at the conventions.

The House and Senate ethics committees, however, interpreted the new ethics rules so loosely that hundreds of corporate-sponsored parties will take place this week with the panels’ seal of approval. The small army of ethics police want to make sure the Democrats who wrote the rules and boasted of their impact to “drain the swamp” in Washington haven’t made a mockery of them.

The Sunlight Foundation is blogging about its party-crashing efforts at www.politicalpartytime.org, while other watchdogs, such as Public Citizen and Common Cause, plan to send out action alerts to journalists and their members if they see anything particularly troublesome or egregious.

Craig Holman, who heads Public Citizen’s CongressWatch, helped spearhead the effort and estimates that 80 to 100 ethics police will patrol parties in Denver, as well as next week at the GOP gathering in St. Paul, Minn.

“Sometimes I feel like a bit of a party-pooper,” Holman admits. “But someone needs to care about it. I was really so proud of Congress for passing sweeping ethics reform, but for so many of them to cast it aside as they go to party at the conventions away from Capitol Hill, I find that despicable.”

Common Cause’s Bob Edgar said his group will pay close attention to any parties sponsored by corporate interests with recent issues before Congress.

“Telecom companies like AT&T, which was able to dodge the bullet on the FISA [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] bill, we’re concerned about how much money they are putting into this convention, as well as the real estate and home builders that brought us the mortgage crisis—and the energy companies which have fought efforts to find renewables for years,” he said.

Even though the convention officially started Monday, the groups were seeing some troubling signs at pre-convention soirees.

The New Orleans All-Star Jam-Balaya bash — which is known in Washington-speak as the “Breaux party” after former Sen. John Breaux (D-La.), who started the Mardi Gras madness at conventions in the 1990s — was one of Sunday night’s biggest events. The new ethics rules bar lobbyist-sponsored parties from being held in honor of members, but Breaux is retired and opened a lobbying shop with ex-Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), so he could be honored or help sponsor the event.

The National Restaurant Association and Tipitina’s Foundation, a nonprofit devoted to helping support and rebuild Louisiana’s music community post-Hurricane Katrina, were the event’s main sponsors. The hosts included Breaux and Louisiana natives James Carville and Donna Brazile. The foods included traditional Cajun fare — red beans and rice, chicory coffee and gumbo — and the hurricanes were flowing.

That gathering also seemed to be playing it on the safe side by serving as a charity event; any money left over after throwing the party would be donated to the Friends of New Orleans charity. Lobbying firms and corporations could earn the designation of “Mardi Gras King” if they pledged $135,000 for both the Denver and St. Paul parties (or “Captain” if they donated $50,000).

But there was one offering at the party that was a perfect warning sign of what members of Congress should avoid. Inside a subterranean VIP room, a sign offered $1-an-hour massages “all night” for those who wanted “to relax seriously.”

A staffer guarding the entrance to the room said the area was for musical talent and their entourages only and pointed out a special hard pass that was required for admittance.

According to Holman, the devil is often in the details of these parties, and VIP rooms can provide a pit of temptations. Holman said the ethics rules bar members and their staffers from venturing inside, let alone enjoying an hourlong massage for one dollar.

“Offering massages just crosses the line of what would be a permissible gift,” Holman said. “It’s extraneous to the event and shows why members of Congress and staffers should really not go to these lobbyist-sponsored parties. They pose more risks than benefits.”

A memo from the Senate Ethics Committee sent July 25 — before Congress left for the August recess and the conventions began — reminded Senate staffers and members what is and what is not permitted under the rule governing gifts, and how it applies to the national political conventions.

The rule permits free attendance at a charity event, which may include local transportation, food, refreshments or entertainment “as part of the event,” the memo stated. Lawmakers and aides can accept a T-shirt or baseball cap of “reasonable value” and “non-food items that have a total value of $10 or less” when combined.

“Unless specifically permitted by the rule as discussed above, all other gifts (other than from a relative or personal friend) must comply with the Gifts Rule’s per gift limit of less than $50 and the $100 annual limit, as well as the restrictions on gifts from registered lobbyists, agents of a foreign principals [sic] or private entities that retain or employ them,” the memo concludes.

The rules regarding parties are posted online here .

So far, some of the watchdogs haven’t had that much success crashing parties. Nancy Watzman, the blogger for www.politicalpartytime.org , as well as Garbiela Schneider, the Sunlight Foundation’s communications director, showed up with a crew from “Inside Edition” at the Denver Art Museum for a party hosted by the well-connected West Coast lobbying firm Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber, Schreck. Partner Steve Farber is the chief fundraiser for the Democratic National Convention.

At the entrance where invitees checked in there was a large sign pointing out a separate VIP line for “elected officials.” The ethics police and “Inside Edition” were not on the guest list, so they were politely denied entry.

Things got more thuggish at the Blue Night party honoring the Blue Dog Coalition, sponsored by AT&T and Genworth Financial and held outside the Pepsi Center. Watzman told the bouncers where they were from and asked if they could come in, and was told not only could she not gain entry, but that she could not stand near the entrance because it was private property.

Watzman blogged about her experience: “When I demurred from moving, a police woman walked over to me, said, ‘So YOU’RE the self professed party crasher?’ and told me I had to stand over on public space. So Gabriela and I complied.”

Schneider said the rest of the week, the ethics police are going to start getting a little more creative.