Just one day after President Barack Obama dined with wealthy Democratic donors at an exclusive estate in Greenwich, U.S. Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi joined a different group of donors in Hartford at a restaurant specializing in haute cuisine.
The Pelosi luncheon for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee wasn’t as well-publicized as Obama’s visit, but it was just as pricey with tickets starting at $1,500 per person and going as high as $30,400. A spokeswoman for the DCCC said they won’t know how much was raised until next week.
Pelosi whose negotiations on health care reform may have put a number of her members at risk also seems to be losing ground on allowing the Bush tax cuts for wealthy residents expire. The Connecticut fundraiser was just one of many Pelosi is headlining for the DCCC.
Pelosi is expected to appear at the Hartford event with U.S. Rep. John Larson.
In a blog Friday morning Republican Party Chairman Chris Healy wrote: “The Pelosi led health care reform bill, which Larson and the entire Democratic delegation supported, has become a huge turd in the punchbowl for Hartford insurance and financial sectors. How and where Larson will find ready contributors from these industries is a mystery.”
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, who was in Hartford Friday afternoon to speak about his new legislation that ensures Medicare covers the costs of skilled care for seniors, said he wasn’t going to be attending the DCCC fundraiser.
But it’s possible he’ll see Pelosi later in the day at U.S. Rep. John Larson’s annual bocce ball tournament in East Hartford.
Courtney said Larson was “quarterbacking” the DCCC fundraiser with Pelosi, but proceeds from the bocce ball tournament don’t benefit any political organization or campaign.
The proceeds from the bocce ball tournament will benefit the East Hartford Interfaith Ministries and St. Patrick St. Anthony Church in Hartford.