The median income in the U.S. is $43,585. The median incomes in socialist countries Norway, Sweden and Denmark are higher. The only other country with a higher median income than the U.S. is Australia. But our elected representative in Congress are doing much better than the rets of us. Most are millionaires. I wonder how much empathy they have for people with such different economic struggles. But forget the mere millionaires. There are 22 members of Congress whose net worth is over $30 million.
With one quasi-exception-- Senator Richard Blumenthal-- none of the richest members of Congress are progressive. All of them, regardless of party, are conservatives. There are no billionaires but there are 3 with over a quarter billion. And there are some who are basically owned by billionaire patrons. These are the 22 richest, give or take:
Darrell Issa (R-CA)- $283.3 million
Rick Scott (R-FL)- $259 million
Mitt Romney (R-UT)- $250 million
Mark Warner (D-VA)- $214.1 million
Vern Buchanan (R-FL)- $157.2 million
Don Beyer (New Dem-VA)- $124.9 million
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)- $114.7 million
Michael McCaul (R-TX)- $96.8 million
Roger Williams (R-TX)- $89.4 million
Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)- $88 million
Richard Blumenthal (D-CT)- $82 million
Suzan DelBene (New Dem-WA)- $79.3 million
Fred Upton (R-MI)- $79 million
Kevin Hern (R-OK)- $61 million
Scott Peters (New Dem-CA)- $60.4 million
John Hoeven (R-ND)- $46.7 million
Ralph Norman (R-SC)- $43.4 million
Jim Risch (R-ID)- $41.8 million
Ron Johnson (R-WI)- $39.2 million
Mitch McConnell (R-KY)- $34.1 million
Buddy Carter (R-GA)- $33.2 million
Steve Daines (R-MT)- $32.9 million
I was just reading today that one of the richest men in America, a far right neo-Nazi from Germany named Peter Thiel, is making yet another attempt to buy a Senate seat for one of his protégées, this time one of his young Arizona retainers, first time candidate Blake Masters. He's bankrolling a SuperPAC to the tune of $10 million for Masters. Thiel is also funding-- also for $10 million-- a campaign for Ohio Republican J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy, who would also like to be a senator. Vance is having a little problem right now for his anti-Trump stands of the past, which he is trying to flip flop on.
Thiel is also trying to help a handful of extremists buy House seats. He helped finance a failed primary for Brian Harrison who ran for an open Texas congressional district when the anti-mask incumbent Ronald Wright. Harrison came in 4th. Now he's spending money on lunatic fringe Republican Joe Kent, who is taking on a Washington state Republican who voted to impeach Trump, Jaime Herrera Beutler.
This morning, Yvonne Sanchez, reporting for the Arizona Republic, noted that the GOP primary to take on conservative GOP-lite Democrat Mark Kelly is getting crowded. Aside from Masters, declared candidates include termed-out Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, business executive Jim Lamon, retired national guard adjutant general Michael McGuire, software engineer Robert Paveza and, in all likelihood, seditionist neo-fascist congressman and Kyrsten Sinema ally Andy Biggs. Masters was one of Thiel's students at Stanford, where he was allowed to teach in return for massive contributions to the university.
It also comes as Thiel, a vocal anti-tax crusader, has caught the attention of Democrats on Capitol Hill for using exclusive stock deals to help amass a tax-free retirement investment account estimated to be worth more than $5 billion, as detailed by ProPublica.
A self-described conservative nationalist, Masters said he will make law and order, including border security and combating illegal immigration, the centerpiece of his campaign.
Masters supports the fake Maricopa County audit, which Señor Trumpanzee "is using it as a litmus test to assess the GOP Senate candidates’ loyalty to him. The former president is widely expected to issue an endorsement in the race that could be viewed as decisive in the primary.
I'm trying to figure out how many multimillionaires are trying to buy Senate seats this cycle. There are two very unattractive candidates in Wisconsin-- Sarah Godlewski and Alex Lasry--who are both pitiful establishment shills pretending to be "for the peopl" Democrats. Texas Trump recruit Herschel Walker's net worth is around $12 million and he's supposed to be running against Rev. Raphael Warnock in Georgia.
Overwhelmingly, multi-millionaires don't support progressive agenda items. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is the progressive Democrat running for a southeast Florida House seat. She noted today that "Progressive policies are largely popular in the United States. The majority of Americans support raising the minimum wage, combating climate change, providing a public option for health insurance, the Green New Deal, and student loan forgiveness. A majority of Democrats and independents and a large portion of Republicans also support providing a basic income of $1,000 a month to every American, while there is even stronger opposition to welfare for billionaires. We should fight for our progressive policies and show that they are winning ideas. Rather than compromising on these dinner table issues that matter to every American we must fight hard for the policies that will make the United States a better place to live."