Did you see the Times article about the staggering fees commanded by Hillary’s genius strategists as the campaign lost its way? The three are pollster Mark Penn, whose team collected over $10 million in January, ad maven Mandy Grunwald, who has collected $2.3 million so far, and communications director Howard Wolfson, who billed a mere $267,000 in January. God knows he’s worth it:
“Fees and payments are in line with industry standards,” Mr. Wolfson
said. “Spending priorities have been consistent with overall strategic
goals.”But some Democrats are now asking if the money spent on a
campaign that appears to be sputtering — $106 million so far — was
worth it.
When I was a kid we used to feel Jewish shame when three Jewish names showed up in the news in this sort of light. Now there’s no shame at all, because of course the entire culture is monetized and corrupted; but my marvel is at the new Jewish establishment. How much of blue-state wealth-generation and power is in my people’s hands? Yes, Clinton represents the old guard; my meritocratic generation of Jews came inside with the Clintons 15 years ago, and now we are long in the tooth. But aren’t we empowered?
These gargantuan fees make my stomach turn. Who are we? Where are we going? What do we believe in? Those ancient Jewish questions. And a modern one: when will journalists begin to understand that the sociology of the Jewish rise is a legitimate and important story about American society and the formation of elites?
