The Convention tickets described in the leaked document may well be the most expensive tickets to any event ever held in Philadelphia. Four possible "packages" named after Philadelphia-area sites were available to contributors. The cost of the packages ranged from $66,800 for the "Main Line" up to $467,600 for the "Rittenhouse Square." As an alternative, you could get the same range of packages by raising between $250,000 and $1,250,000.
If you paid for one of the packages, you're entitled to special access at the convention. For instance, the "Main Line" package bought this:
• Preferred booking for one hotel room within the National Finance Committee room block • 2 credentials to Democratic National Convention proceedings • Tickets to stadium/arena VIP lounges on select night(s) • 2 tickets for an exclusive preview and photo opportunity at the 2016 Convention podium • 4 VIP tickets to the official Convention Welcome Party • Invitations to select National Finance Committee events • 2 reserved place for an exclusive roundtable and campaign briefing with high-level Democratic officials • Participation in business roundtables and industry panels throughout the ConventionThe more expensive packages, which included the "Fairmount" (give $133,600, or raise $500,000) and the "Society Hill: (give $267,200, or raise $750,000) conferred the right to more goodies. The most expensive, the "Rittenhouse Square," offered these:
• Priority booking in a premiere hotel within the National Finance Committee room block • VIP credentials for all Democratic National Convention proceedings • Nightly access to stadium/arena VIP lounges • 6 tickets for an exclusive preview and photo opportunity at the 2016 Convention podium • 20 VIP tickets to the official Convention Welcome Party • VIP invitations to all exclusive National Finance Committee events • 6 tickets to an exclusive VIP party • 6 reserved places for an exclusive roundtable and campaign briefing with high-level Democratic officials • Participation in business roundtables and industry panels throughout the ConventionIn WikiLeaks, the document appears as an attachment to a short email between two DNC staffers sent in May 2015 under the subject line "Re: wendy abrams." Draft versions of it also appear among the leaked documents, but this version is apparently final. You can view it by going to the link above, clicking the "Attachments" link, and choosing the first attachment.
By the looks of the document, its file name, and the email to which it was attached, it received limited distribution to rich people thought to be potential contributors. One might infer from the email and attachment that someone named Wendy Abrams had asked, or was being asked, to buy one of the packages. It so happens that there's a big Democratic contributor named Wendy Abrams.
In October 2015, the political news website The Hill wrote about a gathering of DNC leaders and lobbyists in Washington to raise money to pay for the Convention. The Hill's article by Megan R. Wilson included links to two documents similar to the leaked one showing packages available for lobbyists and political action committees. But they had to pay up by December 31, 2015, to get their special access. The rich individuals who received the recently leaked document had five more months to get the cash flowing. If you compare the documents, you can also see that the packages on offer to the rich individuals suggested larger contributions.
If you were like me and couldn't raise $250,000 or give $66,800 to the DNC by June 1, 2016, as the cheapest package required, it appears that you won't be rubbing elbows with anyone important at the Convention. If you know someone who's going, politely ask them how much they paid for their ticket. If it wasn't anything like these amounts, you may have to inform them, regrettably, that they got the cheap seats.
Incidentally, Philadelphia's Democratic leaders are attending the Convention. Mayor Jim Kenney, Governor Tom Wolf, Senator Bob Casey, Representative Bob Brady and Representative Brendan Boyle are all speaking. If you get the rare opportunity to ask your elected officials questions to which they must respond publicly, feel free to inquire about the "package" holders they met at the Convention. Who were they, and what did they want?
If they won't tell you, it's not because they're not allowed. There's nothing that legally requires them to keep their discussions with donors at the Convention confidential. If they won't tell you, it's because you didn't pay enough to join in the discussion.
The Democrats may be less effective at preventing leaks than the Republicans, but the Republicans must have charged similar sums to rich people who wanted special opportunities to have their voices heard. If that is so, it's one more reason to think that politicians in both parties are totally beholden to rich people. Anyone who can't pay enormous sums has no real voice in either party, and can't expect anything from either party's politicians.
