SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg attended a swanky fundraiser Sunday night at a winery owned by billionaire Democratic Party donors. (Photo: Teddy Schleifer/Twitter)
As Buttigieg Attends Fundraisers of Ultra-Rich, Sanders Reminds Voters Billionaires Not Donating 'Through Goodness of Their Hearts'
"Why would many, many billionaires be contributing to candidates if they didn't think they were getting something out of it?"
Dec 15, 2019
Just as images emerged of 2020 Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg dining with wealthy donors at a high-dollar weekend fundraiser, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday delivered a fresh indictment of a "rotten" system in which the wealthy back candidates in order to buy access and influence.
Sanders, in comments to CBS News, took a critical view of the super-rich donating large sums to political campaigns.
"Why would many, many billionaires be contributing to candidates if they didn't think they were getting something out of it?" said Sanders. "They're not doing it through the goodness of their hearts."
Buttigieg, whose campaign had already by 2019's third quarter attracted the support of 39 billionaires, came under fire from progressives on social media after pictures surfaced from a fundraiser on Sunday in Napa, California's Hall Rutherford wine caves which appeared to show the mayor dining with elites.
The Associated Press described the scene of the dinner in an article Friday:
The Hall Rutherford wine caves in the hills of California's Napa Valley boast a chandelier with 1,500 Swarovski crystals, an onyx banquet table to reflect its luminescence, and bottles of cabernet sauvignon that sell for as much as $900.
It is also where Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic presidential candidate, will dine privately with donors following a Sunday fundraiser hosted by Craig and Kathryn Hall, the winery's billionaire owners, according to an invitation obtained by The Associated Press.
"Looks like a really good Black Mirror episode about the luxurious life in a billionaire's bunker as a climate apocalypse unfolds up on the surface," said Sanders speechwriter David Sirota.
According to Recode, a separate Buttigieg fundraiser on Monday was expected to be attended by a who's-who of Silicon Valley's powerful:
A host list circulated to prospective donors for an event on Monday morning in Palo Alto, California, features individuals with family ties to some of the most prominent people in Big Tech. Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings is listed as a co-host of the event, as is Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin; Wendy Schmidt, the wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt; and Michelle Sandberg, the sister of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, sources say.
On Saturday, Buttigieg faced tough questions from labor reporter Mike Elk, who asked the mayor to disavow Monday fundraiser host Hastings over the CEO's support for charter schools. Buttigieg declined to do so, claiming that his positions would not be affected by big money.
In his comments to CBS News, Sanders expressed doubt that billionaire donors get nothing for their cash.
"I think what history tells us is that the big donors, the people who make large contributions, do get access," said Sanders. "They get tax breaks, they get deregulated. That's the way the unfortunate system is working."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Just as images emerged of 2020 Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg dining with wealthy donors at a high-dollar weekend fundraiser, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday delivered a fresh indictment of a "rotten" system in which the wealthy back candidates in order to buy access and influence.
Sanders, in comments to CBS News, took a critical view of the super-rich donating large sums to political campaigns.
"Why would many, many billionaires be contributing to candidates if they didn't think they were getting something out of it?" said Sanders. "They're not doing it through the goodness of their hearts."
Buttigieg, whose campaign had already by 2019's third quarter attracted the support of 39 billionaires, came under fire from progressives on social media after pictures surfaced from a fundraiser on Sunday in Napa, California's Hall Rutherford wine caves which appeared to show the mayor dining with elites.
The Associated Press described the scene of the dinner in an article Friday:
The Hall Rutherford wine caves in the hills of California's Napa Valley boast a chandelier with 1,500 Swarovski crystals, an onyx banquet table to reflect its luminescence, and bottles of cabernet sauvignon that sell for as much as $900.
It is also where Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic presidential candidate, will dine privately with donors following a Sunday fundraiser hosted by Craig and Kathryn Hall, the winery's billionaire owners, according to an invitation obtained by The Associated Press.
"Looks like a really good Black Mirror episode about the luxurious life in a billionaire's bunker as a climate apocalypse unfolds up on the surface," said Sanders speechwriter David Sirota.
According to Recode, a separate Buttigieg fundraiser on Monday was expected to be attended by a who's-who of Silicon Valley's powerful:
A host list circulated to prospective donors for an event on Monday morning in Palo Alto, California, features individuals with family ties to some of the most prominent people in Big Tech. Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings is listed as a co-host of the event, as is Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin; Wendy Schmidt, the wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt; and Michelle Sandberg, the sister of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, sources say.
On Saturday, Buttigieg faced tough questions from labor reporter Mike Elk, who asked the mayor to disavow Monday fundraiser host Hastings over the CEO's support for charter schools. Buttigieg declined to do so, claiming that his positions would not be affected by big money.
In his comments to CBS News, Sanders expressed doubt that billionaire donors get nothing for their cash.
"I think what history tells us is that the big donors, the people who make large contributions, do get access," said Sanders. "They get tax breaks, they get deregulated. That's the way the unfortunate system is working."
Just as images emerged of 2020 Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg dining with wealthy donors at a high-dollar weekend fundraiser, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday delivered a fresh indictment of a "rotten" system in which the wealthy back candidates in order to buy access and influence.
Sanders, in comments to CBS News, took a critical view of the super-rich donating large sums to political campaigns.
"Why would many, many billionaires be contributing to candidates if they didn't think they were getting something out of it?" said Sanders. "They're not doing it through the goodness of their hearts."
Buttigieg, whose campaign had already by 2019's third quarter attracted the support of 39 billionaires, came under fire from progressives on social media after pictures surfaced from a fundraiser on Sunday in Napa, California's Hall Rutherford wine caves which appeared to show the mayor dining with elites.
The Associated Press described the scene of the dinner in an article Friday:
The Hall Rutherford wine caves in the hills of California's Napa Valley boast a chandelier with 1,500 Swarovski crystals, an onyx banquet table to reflect its luminescence, and bottles of cabernet sauvignon that sell for as much as $900.
It is also where Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic presidential candidate, will dine privately with donors following a Sunday fundraiser hosted by Craig and Kathryn Hall, the winery's billionaire owners, according to an invitation obtained by The Associated Press.
"Looks like a really good Black Mirror episode about the luxurious life in a billionaire's bunker as a climate apocalypse unfolds up on the surface," said Sanders speechwriter David Sirota.
According to Recode, a separate Buttigieg fundraiser on Monday was expected to be attended by a who's-who of Silicon Valley's powerful:
A host list circulated to prospective donors for an event on Monday morning in Palo Alto, California, features individuals with family ties to some of the most prominent people in Big Tech. Netflix CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings is listed as a co-host of the event, as is Nicole Shanahan, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin; Wendy Schmidt, the wife of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt; and Michelle Sandberg, the sister of Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, sources say.
On Saturday, Buttigieg faced tough questions from labor reporter Mike Elk, who asked the mayor to disavow Monday fundraiser host Hastings over the CEO's support for charter schools. Buttigieg declined to do so, claiming that his positions would not be affected by big money.
In his comments to CBS News, Sanders expressed doubt that billionaire donors get nothing for their cash.
"I think what history tells us is that the big donors, the people who make large contributions, do get access," said Sanders. "They get tax breaks, they get deregulated. That's the way the unfortunate system is working."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.