Posted on 06/23/2002 8:25:24 AM PDT by RJCogburn
THE RICH guy he big house at the end of the block had somebody — I am guessing his butler — drop off a notice at each home in the neighbor-hood.
“Dear Neighbor,” it began. “We are hosting a fund-raiser at our home for Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA). President Bill Clinton (he put that name in italics, just so we would not miss it) will be our special guest along with several Members of the U.S. House and Senate. . . We hope traffic will not inconvenience you too much.”
We all got the notice on the morning of the fund-raiser — too late, in other words, for anybody to complain or make plans to lie down in the road.
The rich guy in the big house at the end of the block did this same thing for Al Gore two years ago. I guess it is the kind of thing you do if you want to become an ambassador or get a highway rest stop named after you.
I went to that one as a reporter. The press was kept outside in a tent, lest we pollute the rich guy’s big house. I remember it rained very heavily and the tent leaked.
I also remember that Gore would not answer any questions or speak to us. So it was a cold, wet evening all the way around.
This year, the rich guy in the big house at the end of the block made clear what it was going to cost to get in: $20,000 would get you six tickets to the VIP Reception, “most prominent listing” in the program and a “photo opportunity” with “special guests.”
That last item is why people pay the big bucks. In political terms, it is known as a “grip and grin.”
The people plunk down their money, line up, shake the hand of the political biggy, turn to the camera, smile and then ... move along, Bub, so the next sucker can get his turn!
A few weeks later, you get the picture in the mail (it is usually not autographed; you’ve got to give real money to get an autograph), and you can put it on a wall somewhere, I guess.
Me, if I had 20 grand to waste, I’d put the individual dollar bills on the wall — but it takes all kinds.
The rich guy in the big house at the end of the block would let you in to his big house for a lousy $1,000, the note said, but forget about the VIP reception, the prominent listing or the grip and grin.
There was one exception: If you lived in the neighborhood and were going to have your streets blocked and the parking spaces taken, the rich guy in the big house was willing to extend an olive branch.
“We would very much like you to join us in supporting the Senators and meeting the former President,” he wrote in the notice. “As a neighborly gesture, we will accept contributions of $500 per person from neighbors who wish to attend, rather than the normal rate of $1,000.”
A “neighborly gesture” used to mean taking dinner over to people on the day they moved into the neighborhood or lending the guy next door your hedge clippers, but those days are gone.
Today, a “neighborly gesture” is charging somebody $500 to come into your house, rather than the “normal” $1,000.
I don’t want to give the impression that just Democrats like to raise dough. On the contrary.
As I write this, President Bush is preparing to rake in about $30 million at a single dinner (I wonder what neighbors got charged for that one), having raked in a similar amount a few weeks ago.
And in case you haven’t noticed, no matter how many stories are done about the evil effect of money on politics, one phenomenon is inescapable: People keep giving dough to politicians. Lots and lots of dough.
Bush and Cheney have out-raised the Democrats by 9-to-1 so far this year, because the biggest draw the Democrats have is Clinton — would you pay money to listen to Al Gore? — and Clinton has a problem. He has to reserve time to raise money for his other favorite cause: himself.
In his first year out of office, Clinton has been paid $9.2 million for giving 59 speeches. “There’s no question he’s the highest-paid speaker in the history of the lecture industry,” according to Don Walker, who heads the agency that handles Clinton.
Even after I emptied all my pockets and went through the cushions on the couch, I could not come up with $500. So I stayed home.
Besides, as a reporter, I’ll bet I have heard Clinton speak nearly 100 times, and those never cost me a penny.
Which is exactly what most political speeches are worth.
Good one..
One time a friend of mine was strongarmed into buying tickets for such an affair for Gerald Ford. There was one catch, you had to buy and you or "someone" had to attend. To fill the seats. Being a corporate CEO he got bummed for several tickets. He ended up "hiring" employees to go. So he got bummed twice. Political extortion at its finest.
These same people lionize princess diana and ignore people of integrity and honor.
Good column.
Though Simon is quite liberal, evidently he didn't gulp the Clinton Kool-Aid.
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