Hillary's Luncheon Lottery

The more I think about that Hill and Billary luncheon pitch, the more it bothers me.

I was describing it over breakfast to my wife (a much better table companion by far, and with no need for a donation), and what angered her about it is that this Democrat who claims to care for the poor is exploiting the poor with a lottery.

This is a particularly odious form of fundraising. It is not a straight donation, as in: if you support me, send in $100. It is not a standard "pay up and you get close to the candidate" donation. That would be the $1000 a plate dinner. Wealthy people go to those things, and they know what they are getting for their money. You pay your $1000 and you know that you will get a nice meal, a relatively exclusive audience with the candidate, and the status boost for having been there.

Hillary Clinton is running a lottery, however. Lotteries take advantage of the poor. They take money from people who can ill afford to spend it, but who spend it anyway in the vain hope of easy wealth or, in this case, a brief encounter with fame and power.

On top of that, she adds the deceitful hook. She addresses me personally, asking me to get together with her informally. You have to scroll down to find out that it's a lottery that requires a donation. (Of course, as I read it I'm skeptical. Where's the catch? What's her angle? But you respond this way to people whom you suspect are conning you.) And that line about Hillary popping out to pick up groceries for the meal? Whatever.

Then the letter from Bill as though he just "heard about it" and wants in on the pleasant conversation. He gets so little time with her...and there's also you! None of this is presented as a joke. There is no tongue in cheek, no wink. They are preying on the silly dreams of "the little people." It seems that P.T. Barnum is on the payroll. There's a sucker born every minute, and these emails trolling for them.

Then to complete the hard sell, they send out this email from Patti Solis Doyle, Hillary's campaign manager.

Dear David,

Here at campaign headquarters we can't stop talking about the response to Hillary and Bill's latest messages -- it seems like everyone in the country wants to sit down and have lunch with the two of them. And I know Hillary is looking forward to meeting the winner!

If you haven't participated yet, you haven't missed your chance to have lunch with Hillary and Bill -- there are still a few hours left. If you make a contribution to the campaign by midnight tonight, you could be having lunch with the Clintons at their home in Washington.

Click here to make a contribution.

...You have until midnight tonight. Make a contribution, and you could be coming to Washington, DC for lunch with Hillary and Bill. Why miss this chance?

Thank you for everything you do!

Sincerely,
Patti Solis Doyle

How often have you been pressured to "take advantage of this deal now because quantities are limited and the sale ends at midnight?"

Does this provide us with insight into how she views the people she proposes to govern and how she would conduct her presidency?

Hillary's problem is that most people see her as inhumanly cold, selfishly ambitious, and fundamentally dishonest. This stunt, part of her "national conversation" theme which is here reduced to the level of personal chit chat with the common man or woman, is perhaps designed to address the first problem. Humanize Hillary. (If you have to be "humanized," you have a problem from the start. Remember John Kerry, Al Gore, Mike Dukakis? Do you see a pattern here?) Convince people that she just like one of them. (News: Almost no one in Washington is like "one of us." Hillary Clinton even less than most.)

But that appeal will fail unless the campaign first addresses the credibility problem. People's perception is that she is so "up there" and "into herself" that you cannot trust a word that she says or anything that she does. But the Hillsters will not address this problem because Hillary doesn't see it, and no one around her has metal to tell her.

Update: I got another email from Hillary today. She's so sweet. It looks like "Julie" from Milford, Ohio, will be shooting the breeze with the Clintons over tofu bulgar salad and (no doubt) home baked cookies. Even though she's hugely busy, she takes time to tell me personally who won the luncheon lottery. All is forgiven.