The Wine Wars Continue: Warren Had a Winery Fundraiser in 2018
It wasn’t in wine cave. But in June 2018 Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren had a fundraiser at the City Winery Boston, where guests who contributed at least $1,000 received a souvenir wine bottle, the Associated Press reported on Saturday.
The event featured a performance by Melissa Etheridge and remarks from Warren, who officially announced her campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination seven months later.
The fundraiser also included a VIP photo reception and premium seating for donors who contributed or raised $5,400 per couple or $2,700 a person, the AP reported.
That’s a fancy fundraiser with better access for bigger donors, the kind of thing most American politicians do all the time.
The problem for Warren, of course, is that this sounds not all that different from the “wine cave” fundraiser that she blasted South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg over during Thursday’s Democratic debate.
“Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States,” Warren said Thursday. Noting that she does not require donations for backers to join her “selfie lines,” Warren added: “I do not sell access to my time.”
Warren has eschewed such events as a presidential candidate. But, as Buttigieg argued on Thursday, Warren’s previous reliance on traditional fundraisers opens her to hypocrisy charges. “This is the problem with issuing purity tests you cannot yourself pass,” Buttigieg said.
Because Warren transferred funds from her Senate to presidential campaign when she launched her current bid, she is funded in part by the
“same big-ticket fundraisers you now denounce,” Buttigieg said. “Did it corrupt you, Senator?” Buttigieg asked. “Of course not.”
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