Nestled in this New York Times article about the launch of Hillary’s campaign is this nugget of information: “Mrs. Clinton’s supporters and outside super PACs [are] looking to raise as much as $2.5 billion”. Hmmm, sounds like a fair amount of money. Mrs. Clinton said, “Everyday American need a champion, and I want to be that champion.” Somehow I doubt that everyday Americans are going to be the main group represented at her fundraisers. She said, “the deck is stacked in favor of those at the top.” Yet for some reason I have a suspicion that those at the top will probably end of giving her a sizable amount of money.
Indeed, if Hillary keeps claiming to be a champion of the little people against those on top, one would think it would provide no end of fodder for her opponents, both in the Democratic primary and in the general election. The Clintons like to schmooze with rich people. Bill’s tight friendship with billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted pedophile, is hardly a secret, but that’s just one of many very rich people that they’ve hung out with. During Bill’s presidency, they sent their daughter to the illustrious Sidwell Friends School, a private school with an enormous price tag where you don’t find too many everyday Americans. When they bought a house in New York so that Hillary could run for Senate they chose Chappaqua, a neighborhood where the median income in several times the national average. Little in the Clintons’ past or present lifestyle suggests a deep and abiding identification with those of average means.
Neither, for that matter, do Hillary’s positions. Take the notorious corn ethanol mandate, a prototypical example of a policy that benefits a few large corporations and hurts ordinary Americans by driving up the price of gasoline and food. Hillary herself acknowledged these facts when speaking on the matter as a Senator. Before the 2008 campaign, though, she had a change of heart and decided to suddenly be in favor of the ethanol mandate. To some, this might suggest that the interests of everyday folk are somewhat subordinate to political expediency in her book.
If Hillary really does value everyday Americans over those at the top, there’s a fine opportunity for her to prove it. John Catsimatidis is a billionaire–funny how often that word comes up–who donated a large amount to Hillary in 2008 and will presumably do so again. He’s also donated a ton to other candidates, mostly Democrats, and skirted around campaign finance laws while doing so. Currently he’s fighting for his own biofuel mandate in New York State. He wants a law that would require all heating oil in the state to include 2% biofuels. This would raise heating costs for many average New Yorkers by hundreds of dollars. By sheer coincidence, the plant that would process most of the new fuel is owned by … John Catsimatidis.
So how about Hillary Clinton speaking up to draw attention to this issue and explain that even though Catsimatidis gave her a big wad of money, she strongly opposes the New York biofuel bill? Obviously she doesn’t have any direct vote on the matter, but she’s capable of bringing public attention to it, and thus helping to defeat it. And it would demonstrate that she really does support “everyday Americans” against “those on top”. What’s not to like?