Dinner with George Clooney

[Playinghardball]

Email from Bernie...

Xxx -

In the movie Oceans 11, a gang of lovable thieves successfully heist $150 million from a vault in the basement of the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.

Fueled primarily from high-dollar donations, Hillary Clinton has raised more than that in this campaign, and is now enlisting the support of George Clooney (Danny Ocean) to pad that total at a dinner event that will cost people up to $353,400 to attend.

Now, most of us can agree that is an obscene amount of money. It’s a sum that would require an employee making the federal minimum wage to work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for more than 5 years.

This is what we’re up against in this campaign, and why it’s so impressive we’ve held our own raising $5, $10, $27 at a time from working Americans. But with three critical caucuses just a day away, we have to ask:

Your contribution to our campaign will help us win three critical caucuses tomorrow, and send a message that you have had ENOUGH of billionaires buying our elections.

Here is the truth: while tens of millions of Americans are struggling to put dinner on the table, the wealthiest people in this country have never had it so good. And the great question of this campaign is will we restore a vibrant democracy in this country, or will we slide into an oligarchy in which the economic and political life is controlled by a handful of billionaires?

That is our fight, and why your contribution is so important.

In solidarity,
Jeff Weaver
Campaign Manager
Bernie 2016

[merrily]

1. Thanks, Playing Hardball!

[Nanjeanne]

2. I love George Clooney & still find this shameful. Until money is out of politics nothing will change

[merrily]

3. Why would George Clooney want change? He's doing well, I think.

[Nanjeanne]

4. Clooney supports a number of things I do as well. Hillary isn't one of them.

[PyaarRevolution]

5. If you see him...

Call him out on it.

[Nanjeanne]

6. I won't be attending Hillary's fundraiser so I don't think we run in the same circles!

[Tanuki]

7. I wonder why Jeff Weaver failed to mention that this supports 32 state Democratic committees

and the DNC as well as Clinton herself, and that the maximum Clinton can receive from those big donations is $2,700 for the primary and $2,700 for the general, and not even that much if the donor has already contributed to her campaign? Or that Steven Spielberg, Kate Capshaw, Jeff Katzenberg, and others are co-hosts? The Victory Fund is not some kind of personal slush fund, and it is pathetic to see so much criticism of efforts to help not just one presidential candidate but scores of down-ticket Democrats across the country who could not on their own attract this type of support. This isn't the first thread I have seen on DU trashing this particular fundraiser. I'm having trouble remembering this type of hostility when Clooney hosted a similar event in 2012 for the Obama Victory Fund.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/obama-set-for-george-clooney-fundraiser-tonight/

[Lucinda]

8. Thank you! Funny how they left that out...but then, they aren't fund raising for other Dems

so that may have something to do with it...

[Armstead]

9. I'd rather not see Democrats so reliant on such high dollar contributors

It kinda screws up priorities

[Tanuki]

10. What about Bernie's high dollar contributors?

I haven't seen you or other Sanders supporters object, but then I don't see every post.

[Armstead]

11. Bernie doesn't spend his time at fundraisers at $353,400 a pop

Yes I know he has attended Democratic fundraisers at times, but there's the Catch 22 of those who complain he has never helped the party.