» Of the rich, by the rich, for the rich | ABQ Journal by Dana Milbank
wealth is power in Washington. A multimillionaire president nominated a billionaire who raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for his campaigns, and he sent her to be confirmed by the millionaires’ club that is the United States Senate.
“You will certainly have my vote,” Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (average estimated net worth: $103 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics) assured the nominee (net worth $1.85 billion, according to Forbes).
“My hope,” said Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner ($228 million), is “this committee will recommend you.”
Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill ($22 million) told Pritzker, “I find it very refreshing to find someone who is stepping up like you are in this position.”
Another committee member, Sen. Richard Blumenthal ($100 million), didn’t speak at the hearing but issued a statement calling the heiress “a longtime friend with a lifetime of business experience and acumen that will serve her well.” …
This doesn’t mean the lawmakers were bought. But it does add to the impression that the nominee and her interrogators are all part of the same club of the wealthy and the powerful.
About half the members of Congress have a net worth of more than $1 million, CRP found – about 15 times the worth of the typical American household. And it’s a bipartisan club, from Republican committee chairmen Darrell Issa ($480 million) and Michael McCaul ($500 million) to Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi ($94 million). The Senate’s wealthiest was John Kerry ($236 million), but he left to join an even more exclusive club.
How exclusive? Well, it’s about to land a billionaire.