The Eye

Rep. Vic Snyder (D-Ark.) is sticking to his current non-fundraising pledge, while his Republican opponent is building his campaign warchest with the help of two heavy-hitters from the George W. Bush administration.

Former White House assistant Mary Matalin and former White House counsel Ed Gillespie -- who also served as chairman of the Republican National Committee -- will hold separate fundraisers on Dec. 7 in Little Rock for attorney Tim Griffin.

The Matalin event is a $250 per-ticket luncheon; Gillespie will hold a business roundtable discussion which will cost $1,000 per ticket.

The two events are an example of how Griffin -- a former White House special assistant who also worked at the Republican National Committee -- is making use of his national party connections in his congressional bid.

Griffin raked in $130,000 for his campaign in less than two weeks before the Sept. 30 Federal Election Commission filing deadline. Meanwhile, Snyder continues to sit on less than $8,000 in cash on hand and doesn't intend to start raising money until after the first of the year.

This week, the National Republican Congressional Committee -- which is hoping to move the conservative Little Rock-based 2nd District into their column next year -- is targeting Snyder in a new ad attacking him for his vote in favor of the House version of the controversial health care bill.