This past weekend in New York City, in one of the most expensive hotels in the world, the Pennsylvania Society feted the rich and powerful, elected and aspiring officials and the lobbyists who try to get the government to service their clients.
Major corporations sponsored the event. The few invited to the private parties fill the hours talking to the rich and powerful and fill their mouths with delicacies. Those taking advantage of the largesse were elected officials of all types. The right-wing, social Darwinist Republicans and the left-wing progressives lined up at the bars and tables for free food, drinks, and the hope of future campaign contributions. The Society web page is filled with well-dressed people smiling and toasting. Missing from the pictures are captions that tell who those well-connected and those seeking to be well-connected are. If you don’t know who the power brokers are, the Pennsylvania Society will not help you figure it out.
Like many “clubs” of the rich and powerful, The Society points to its “good work.” It supports food pantries while refusing to fund organizations fighting to raise the minimum wage or increase SNAP benefits. The Society sponsors a small number of college scholarships while refusing to support organizations fighting to eliminate debt and make college tuition accessible.
There is so much wrong with the Pennsylvania Society it is shocking how little attention it gets. First, the Society meets in New York City, away from the eyes and ears of normal Philadelphians. The money spent is spent in New York City, not Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Scranton, or any other PA city that could use a multi-million-dollar injection.
Several years ago, there was an effort to move the annual meeting to Pennsylvania, but the Pennsylvania Society rejected the requests. Former Governor Rendell, who was one of the people trying to move it, in a recent Inquirer article, exposed the reason why the Society refused. Rendell is quoted as saying said the lack of a home-field advantage for any Pennsylvania leader makes everyone be more frank, be more honest and more forthcoming.”
In other words, the members of the Pennsylvania Society and those who come “hat in hand” for campaign contributions don’t want the public to hear the “honest conversations”.
The Pennsylvania Society, like many private clubs, doesn’t allow anyone to join—only people whom two existing members approve of can. And the public dinner, for which anyone can buy tickets, is not the most important event of the weekend. It’s the private, invitation-only events where the “networking,” lobbying, and requests for campaign contributions occur. This past weekend, there were over 35 invitations-only parties.
Because the parties are private, by invitation only, the public rarely hears the “frank, honest, more forthcoming” conversations. Now and again, something slips out. For example, one candidate for a state-wide office told the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Office the rising prices that have plagued working people were “not greedflation, it’s not you in this room — business people — it’s not because you’re greedy, it’s not because you’re price gouging.” This is not something the candidate has said to the public. To us, he says he will fight corporations using Chinese-manufactured products.
There have been demonstrations in front of the invitation-only meetings pointing out how one wealthy man, Jeffery Yass, is trying to buy elected offices.
And there is the crux of the issue. Candidates who refuse to meet behind closed doors with the rich and powerful have little chance of winning. Running costs so much that any candidate who refuses to accept more than $ 25.00 from each donor in campaign contributions has only a minimal chance of being elected.
None of the elected officials who attend the multiple parties disclose their attendance on their City or State Ethics report. Philadelphia Ethics Board executive director emailed Hall Monitor, “I can’t offer any comment about the Pennsylvania Society event, but I can give you information about the gift disclosure rules (City and State), and “I don’t have any information about Board members who may have attended.” The “good government group” the Committee of 70 according to my source had members attending the events. (The Committee failed to respond to a request to confirm or deny our source.)
Even the protestors, in public, chose not to ask the candidates they supported to reject the Pennsylvania Society’s and corporate sponsors’ invites to meet behind closed doors and partake in the free food and drink. A corporate-funded private club holds meetings in another city, connecting candidates and elected officials for “frank” conversations with the wealthy and powerful. No ethics board or “good government group raises a question. Progressive politicians attend. It brings to mind Orwell’s quote, “To see what is in front of one’s nose needs a constant struggle.”
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