Guest AuthorMany political offices come with a high public profile and considerable power. The higher the office, the greater the power and the higher the profile.
Those with great wealth often spend millions to either get an office for themselves or control someone who occupies one.
Some megabuck zillionaires purchase sports teams for fun, but some “purchase” political offices for their hobby.
When Meg Whitman got tired of running eBay, she spent $119 million of her own money to run for governor of California, eclipsing Michael Bloomberg’s $109 million to get re-elected mayor of New York.
By any standard, Sean Parker is a very cool donor. And this year, the 34-year-old co-founder of Napster is poised to make a significant investment in the 2014 election cycle.
He has donated almost exclusively to Democrats. At least for now, the Silicon Valley billionaire is primarily interested in fixing what he views as a broken political process, promoting voter engagement and supporting politicians who work across the aisle. Loosely translated, that says, “I am getting ready to buy an office as soon as I can decide which one to buy.”
It is not uncommon for congressional candidates to spend in excess of $500,000 of their personal funds to get elected.
Congress has become a “millionaire’s club.”
For the first time in history, more than half the members of Congress are millionaires. Of the 534 members of the House and Senate, 268 had an average net worth of $1 million or more in 2012. The median net worth for members of the House and Senate was $1,008,767. Many of them used personal and family wealth to get there.
One need only look to Southwest Florida for a recent example. Last week Curt Clawson won the primary for the congressional seat formerly held by disgraced Trey Radel.
Unlike his two leading opponents, the millionaire former automobile-wheel executive never spent any time in the state Legislature. He even boasted about his lack of political experience. He relied on his personal wealth to overwhelm the opposition, putting $3.4 million of his own money in the race to get a political job that pays $174,000 per year.
Clawson was a political unknown running against entrenched and experienced Southwest Florida political leaders, but his personal wealth altered the playing field.
I well remember when I was in the House and first ran for the Senate. I was unopposed when a wealthy developer who had no political experience jumped into the race with today’s equivalent of a half million dollars, an unheard of sum in those days. I eventually won, but my opponent nearly bought himself a seat in the Florida Senate with his wealth.
Then there are those who ask why you want to be one when you can own one.
Most people haven’t heard of Tom Steyer, a San Francisco billionaire who is a former hedge fund manager and radical environmentalist. He “owns” President Obama.
Earlier this month, the Obama Administration announced that it has again delayed a final decision on the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The administration understands how unpopular the delay is, but it made the announcement while most Americans were focused on Passover and Easter.
Building the pipeline is overwhelmingly popular with the public, in part because it will create tens of thousands of jobs and help free us from Middle East petroleum control.
But here’s the biggest outrage: the power broker behind the decision is Steyer, who has reportedly warned the Obama Administration that he would be very unhappy if it approves the pipeline.
He says he will throw $100 million into key congressional races this fall to help the left so long as Obama doesn’t move forward on the pipeline. So, faced with the choice of creating blue-collar jobs in the heartland and achieving energy independence or following the orders of a San Francisco environmental extremist, Obama chose the billionaire.
Steyer is bankrolling many Democrat campaigns and left-wing causes. He spent $11 million to support the election of Terry McAuliffe as governor of Virginia in 2013. He’s using his fortune to advocate for policies that will prevent the creation of thousands of jobs, while arguably doing little for the environment.
Michael Bloomberg, now that he is not tied to the mayor’s desk in New York, has decided to match the NRA with $50 million of his personal money to thwart the Second Amendment and do away with the lawful right of Americans to own firearms for personal protection. The list of examples goes on.
When the direction of government is controlled by a few of the wealthiest rather than the will of the people, our ship of state is on a course for disaster.
That’s My Opinion and I am sticking to it.
John Grant is a political columnist who served 21 years in the Florida Legislature and now practices estate planning law in Tampa. He can be reached at [email protected] Column courtesy of Context Florida.
