NEW: Turns out @ewarren had a big wine fundraiser of her own. Donors were treated to a Melissa Etheridge concert and those who gave $1,000+ got a souvenir wine bottle. It was part of a conventional fundraising operation she only recently opted to reject https://t.co/Y8mmImFuJE

— Brian Slodysko (@BrianSlodysko) December 21, 2019

Warren’s souvenir wine bottle pops up in big donor debate

On a Saturday evening in June 2018, with temperatures in the 70s and the Red Sox playing at Fenway Park, supporters of Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren gathered at the City Winery Boston for a fundraiser.

They were treated to songs by the Grammy-winning artist Melissa Etheridge and heard remarks from Warren, who was months away from announcing her campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. For the top donors, those who could contribute or raise $5,400 per couple or $2,700 a person, there was a VIP photo reception and premium seating.

For them and others who gave at least $1,000, there was also a gift: a souvenir wine bottle.

In Thursday night’s Democratic presidential debate in Los Angeles, Warren lit into rival Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, for attending a fundraiser at a “wine cave” in California’s Napa Valley where he dined and sipped under a chandelier with Swarovski crystals and where a novelty large bottle of wine can cost $900.

“Billionaires in wine caves should not pick the next president of the United States,” Warren said. Later, she added, “I do not sell access to my time.”
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For Sanders, that’s largely been his practice for decades. For Warren, as the Boston event shows, it’s come more recently. She used more than $10 million from her Senate campaign account, some of it raised at large donor events, to help seed her presidential bid, a fact Buttigieg eagerly pointed out.

Past Warren donors say she was an engaging presence at those events, asking questions of her wealthy patrons and listening intently to what they had to say.

She also made it personal. She bestowed awards on those who were successful at tapping their personal networks to raise money for her. Those who bundled large amounts under $50,000 for her Senate campaign earned a silver pin, while those who brought in more were awarded a gold one engraved with her signature. Her campaign says it’s a practice she discontinued in 2012.

As Warren considered a White House run, she held a series of small meetings at her home to court top Boston-area donors who raised large sums for Hillary Clinton and to gauge their interest in supporting the senator’s potential bid, according to a past contributor who attended one of the meetings. The donor spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private matters.

“When we made the decision to run the campaign this way, the players in the usual money-for-influence game dismissed it as naive,” Warren spokesman Chris Hayden said in a statement. “We’re pleased that our 100% grassroots strategy has been so effective that they’re now threatened enough to be attacking us for it.”
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Even after her pledge not to hold private fundraisers, Warren has continued to attend the very kind of events for which she has criticized others. She has headlined fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee in settings that raise handsome sums, and she said she would continue to do that if she were the nominee, so that Democrats would not be at a financial disadvantage against President Donald Trump.

Those kind of events are at odds with her self-proclaimed image of a candidate who would rather be taking down-to-earth selfies with supporters who send her campaign $5 than being among the party’s donor elite.
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Warren and Sanders have made scorning the big money part of a broader campaign to rid what they say is its corrupting influence in politics.

For Sanders, that’s largely been his practice for decades. For Warren, as the Boston event shows, it’s come more recently. She used more than $10 million from her Senate campaign account, some of it raised at large donor events, to help seed her presidential bid, a fact Buttigieg eagerly pointed out.

Warren has a disclaimer on fundraising:

“I’ve said to anyone who wants to donate to me, ‘If you want to donate to me, that’s fine, but don’t come around later expecting to be named ambassador,’ because that’s what goes on in these high-dollar fundraisers,” Warren said during this week’s debate.