Did someone say “tone deaf”? Not at this high-dollar gathering.

When it comes to buying and selling political influence, the pitch is perfect.

This week the Texas House Republican Caucus convenes for planning purposes.

Sounds boring: four walls and stale Danish.

Actually, no. It’s at Lost Pines Resort and Spa.

Who’s footing the bill? The GOP has solicited “unlimited” corporate and individual contributions to keep all well-fed and in comfort while brainstorming and strategizing.

That’s sad, and sadly ironic, when the economy is in the dumps and when Gov. Rick Perry has told the state to expect deep budget cuts — undoubtedly to hit Texas’ neediest.

Don’t worry about those who shell out between $5,000 and $25,000 to the caucus. They’ll have personal audiences with lawmakers, including VIP dinners and golf dates, to discuss whatever it is they want.

It is refreshing to hear Republican state Rep. Tommy Merritt denounce this:

“It’s very startling to me that we are going to a resort to plan our strategy and charge someone for access to members of the Legislature,” he said. “My door is always open. They don’t have to pay for access.”

No pun meant, but this is par for the course. It’s the way things get run in the Great State, unless . . .

There’s a chance that Merritt, or others challenging Tom Craddick for the House speakership, could change things if the House changed speakers.

One would think that legislative leaders need no such prodding. For one thing, they will be coming into the session putting on a face of austerity on state spending.

For another, several scandals have rocked the Texas Capitol about the role of corporate dollars in the state political process.

The most recent was the guilty plea by the Texas Association of Business on misdemeanor charges of funneling corporate contributions to six House Republican candidates.

Before that was the indictment of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. He faces charges of laundering corporate dollars to benefit Republican statehouse candidates.

The majority party barely held on to control of the Texas House in the Nov. 4 elections. Surely it needs no reminding that corruption and the appearance of influence-peddling were a key to the 2006 House-of-cards fall of DeLay and Republican leadership in Washington.

Unless all the votes have been bought and disbursed, the smartest thing the Republicans might do toward holding on to control of the Texas House would be to find another speaker, and to discover a new sense of propriety during times when everyone, we’re told, is going to have to make sacrifices.