PrintNovember 27, 2007
The 'Party of the little guy?'
Does it strike anyone that the Democratic Party is hypocritical when it comes to Hollywood and income inequality?
While Democrats rail about the injustices stemming from putative income inequality in America, the party regularly trots out to Hollywood and to certain zip codes in NYC to troll for financial support and endorsements. Entertainment celebrities are at the pinnacle of wealth in America and symbolize, more than any other group, the problems behind income inequality in America.
Of course, we could also make the same claim about trial lawyers. This line of thought is prompted by yesterday's front-page article in the New York Times regarding GOP efforts to recruit candidates.The article focuses on efforts to recruit wealthy candidates who can self-fund their own campaigns ( a recognition that GOP has fundraising woes) which further reinforces the stereotype of the GOP being a party of and for the rich.
The article neglects to mention that many of the Democratic Party's leading figures are themselves quite wealthy-many of them by inheritance (Senators Kohl, Kennedy and Rockefeller; Democrat Party head Howard Dean) or by business (Lautenberg, Corzine), marriage ( Speaker of the House Pelosi-to a LBO sort of investor, Senator Feinstein, Senator Kerry). See here for more.
While Democrats rail about the injustices stemming from putative income inequality in America, the party regularly trots out to Hollywood and to certain zip codes in NYC to troll for financial support and endorsements. Entertainment celebrities are at the pinnacle of wealth in America and symbolize, more than any other group, the problems behind income inequality in America.
Of course, we could also make the same claim about trial lawyers. This line of thought is prompted by yesterday's front-page article in the New York Times regarding GOP efforts to recruit candidates.The article focuses on efforts to recruit wealthy candidates who can self-fund their own campaigns ( a recognition that GOP has fundraising woes) which further reinforces the stereotype of the GOP being a party of and for the rich.
The article neglects to mention that many of the Democratic Party's leading figures are themselves quite wealthy-many of them by inheritance (Senators Kohl, Kennedy and Rockefeller; Democrat Party head Howard Dean) or by business (Lautenberg, Corzine), marriage ( Speaker of the House Pelosi-to a LBO sort of investor, Senator Feinstein, Senator Kerry). See here for more.
A few days ago the agenda-driven New Yokr Times also featured an article about Paul Singer, a hedge fund investor who supports Rudy Giuliani. The paper has displayed "incuriosity" about the poltical activities of a much more influential and powerful hedge fund manager- George Soros - who, with a coterie of other wealthy activists, have had a major impact on the Democratic Party and its policies.
