Romney Mines the Hamptons for Campaign Cash EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. - A woman in a blue chiffon dress poked her head out of a black Range Rover here on Sunday afternoon and yelled to an aide to Mitt Romney. Is there a V.I.P. entrance? The line of cars waiting to enter a Romney fund-raiser on a waterfront estate here had reached 30 deep, a gridlocked testament to the Republican candidate's financial might on a weekend when he is expected to haul in close to $4 million in the Hamptons. The aides to the governor apologized for the wait: each donor had to be checked off a guest list, setting off a major backup. "We are doing our best," a staff member with a clipboard said. Mr. Romney arrived around noon for the first of three major fund-raisers on Sunday afternoon, his motorcade of Chevrolet Suburbans bypassing a line of gleaming Bentleys, Porsches and Mercedes-Benzes waiting to deposit guests paying up to $25,000 a head to hear him speak. But what was billed as a day of elegant campaign events at the homes of the ultrarich turned out to be an afternoon of curious and clashing tableaus: protesters with their bandannas and Occupy Wall Street-inspired chants ("We got sold out, banks got bailed out!") standing amid multimillion-dollar mansions, where live bands played "Margaritaville" and donors dined on prosciutto-wrapped melon balls. A luncheon fund-raiser was held at the sprawling home of Ronald O. Perelman, the billionaire financier and Revlon chairman. Widely described as the largest estate in East Hampton, when last advertised in the early 1990s, the house was said to have 40 rooms, 9 fireplaces and a mile of frontage on Georgica Pond. After that, Mr. Romney attended events at the Southampton homes of Clifford Sobel, the former United States ambassador to Brazil, and David Koch, the billionaire industrialist and longtime benefactor of conservative political causes. Mr. Romney, who amassed a fortune as a private equity executive, seemed sensitive to the imagery of the presumptive Republican nominee spending a day raising money in some of the most exclusive corners of the Hamptons. In remarks to about 250 donors inside a giant white tent on Mr. Sobel's property, Mr. Romney pointedly acknowledged the financial comfort of those around him. "If you are here, by and large, you are doing just fine," he said, his voice audible to a reporter standing on a public street not far away. I don't spend a lot of time worrying about those here. I spend a lot of time worrying about those that are poor and those in the middle class that are finding it hard to make a bright future for themselves. The event at Mr. Koch's home drew about 200 protesters, who in brochures promoting their demonstration said that they opposed "the ever-growing and pervasive influence of Koch Industries" money," a reference to the company controlled by Mr. Koch and his brother, Charles. They went so far as to hire a local pilot to fly a giant red and black banner over Mr. Koch's house, which read: "Romney has a Koch problem," a play on the drug. Mr. Koch's name is pronounced the same as the word coke. A truck, festooned with the logos of big banks like Citigroup and Wells Fargo, circled the neighborhood with a plastic dog on the roof, a jab at Mr. Romney's much-mocked family vacation in which he traveled with his Irish setter inside a pet carrier on the roof of a car. Protesters said they were offended by the reach of corporate money in Republican politics, scoffing at the $50,000 admission price to Mr. Koch's event. "It took my father a lifetime to save $50,000," one of the demonstrators shouted. Donors drove by without speaking to the protesters, who were separated from them by a line of police officers. Inside, according to an attendee, Mr. Koch told donors he was committed to ousting President Obama, citing the evening's fund-raiser and his own efforts to raise campaign money this year, which he has done through the "super PAC" Americans for Prosperity. Outside Mr. Perelman's house, where just a handful of demonstrators had gathered, guests stuck in the long line rolled down their tinted windows to chat, or simply shouted from their convertibles, describing their enthusiasm for Mr. Romney and disdain for Mr. Obama. Laura R. Schwartz, the woman inside the Range Rover and a fund-raiser, complained that Mr. Obama had not visited Israel as president, a slight to the country, in her eyes. Her companion, Rody Mehdizadeh, who said he manufactures laundry detergent, praised Mr. Romney's business acumen, calling him "somebody who can lead the country in a more enterprise-driven way." A few cars back, Ted Conklin, the owner of the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, long a favorite of the Hamptons" well-off and well-known, could barely contain his displeasure with Mr. Obama. His idea is find a problem that doesn't exist and get government to intervene," Mr. Conklin said from inside a gold Mercedes, as his wife, Carol Simmons, nodded in agreement. Ms. Simmons paused to highlight what she said was her husband's generous spirit. Tell them who's on your yacht this weekend! Over Mr. Conklin's objections, Ms. Simmons disclosed that a major executive from Miramax was on Mr. Conklin's 75-foot yacht, because, she said, there were no rooms left at the hotel. Up the driveway, Mr. Romney - described as re-energized from a vacation in New Hampshire - discussed his education and economic plans. "I gotta tell you, it was Romney at his best," said one of the event's hosts, Andrew Sabin. The packed day of fund-raisers seemed to create some confusion among donors. As he pulled up outside Mr. Perelman's estate, Ms. Schwartz's companion initially wondered if he was at the home of the Koch brothers, a fund-raiser scheduled for several hours later. Michael Barbaro reported from East Hampton, and Sarah Wheaton from Southampton, N.Y. Jim Rutenberg contributed reporting from Montauk, N.Y.