So today, in typical bad-news-on-a-Friday-afternoon fashion, Bill and Hillary Clinton finally released their tax returns (I think they purposely did it when Andrew Sullivan was on vacation.) The result sounds like a baseball contract: they made $109 million in the last eight years, mostly from Bill's speeches, their requisite book deals, investments, and her Senate salary.
Far be it from me to defend Hillary, but who cares? I know exactly what will happen: The Republicans, and probably some Democrats, will talk about how the Clintons are "out of touch" becaue they have so much money, and can't stand up for the concerns of the working class because of it.
To that I say, bullshit. As I often say, isn't it better to be a rich person who cares about the poor than a rich person who doesn't? How come when liberals complain about tax cuts for the rich, it's "class warfare," but it's perfectly acceptable to insult the rich provided they are either Hollywood celebrities, lawyers, or liberal politicians? Bush has a hell of a lot of money too, but I don't see the right getting up in arms about that. I guess the cowboy boots somehow mitigate that.
That said, if this does in fact hurt Hillary with blue-collar voters in, say, Pennsylvania, tipping the state to Obama, I won't be complaining or anything.
Posted by Stephen Silver at April 5, 2008 01:20 AMI agree in one sense with you. Individually, it does not matter to me how much our Senators and Representatives make. It's a thankless job even when performed well, so I do not begrudge them the fact that they are not only wealthier than I am now but wealthier than I ever will be even having achieved my future profession.
However, I will say that the perception seems to be, a perception supported by the Democratic party I believe, is that the Republican party is the party of the rich and the Democratic party is the party of the poor. It seems disingenuous to me to support that rhetoric when both sets of our representatives are at the very least, reasonably wealthy. Furthermore, I think once you open the door by accusing your political opponents of being "the party of the rich," you must accept the slings and arrows in return if, in fact, you are wealthy yourself.
Now, I could be mistaken of the Democratic party's espousal of this rhetoric, but that's my perception.
Posted by: Rob Howell at April 6, 2008 06:06 PM