Why a Billionaire Should Not Be Your Next Senator

A couple of months ago, I asked what I felt was a pretty obvious question: should a billionaire be your next senator? At the time, Florida real estate "meltdown mogul" Jeff Greene, a man who got rich on the backs of those who lost their homes in the Great Recession, had just announced his intention to run for senate as a Democrat. As someone who has run for office before (as a Republican) but has no history of actual political work, Greene claims he's an outsider. I was skeptical from the jump, and not just because I seem to have a fairly strong dislike of the rich. Even more than that, I don't appreciate it when people talk out of two sides of their mouths. Greene may not be a professional politician, but as Alex Pareene at Salon points out, Greene is, in fact, a professional rich person. That hardly makes one an outsider in these situations.

Anyway, it turns out my instinct was pretty right on; Jeff Greene is a jerk. Reports have come out this week that Greene is a "self-absorbed cheapskate" and a notorious "egomaniac" who abuses his staff. Known to be something of a screamer when it comes to relating to his employees, a former personal chef sued Greene last year after he was verbally abused and forced to pay for food for his employer out of his own pocket. One former deckhand on Greene's 145-foot yacht, who was injured while working on the boat, spent eight months trying to recoup medical costs when Greene denied knowing him, presumably so he wouldn't be forced to pay. I suppose it's also possible that, considering reports that he often just yells and curses at his employees, complaining about their work performance and calling them names, he never bothered to learn his deckhand's name before the man ended up in the hospital.

It isn't just that Jeff Greene seems to be such a nasty dude. He's giving his campaign minimal effort in obvious entitled rich white guy fashion. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Greene takes several days off every week, rarely attends campaign events before 11 a.m., and has yet to do any overnight trips for the campaign. I don't know about you, but if the guy can't even be bothered to do some campaign events, how can we expect him to show up and clock in if he were elected? This is becoming a legitimate question since he's polling ahead of his opponent. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised that outspending the other guy is enough to win the Democratic nomination, but I still had a bit of faith in the system. I hoped that just once, the wealthy wouldn't waltz in and take the election by writing checks.

Maybe character shouldn't be such an issue for voters. But ladies, back me up here: didn't your mother or grandmother ever tell you that you can judge a guy by the way he treats a waitress or how he relates to the hired help? I've told you before that I was a waitress for many years, and if I had to wait on a guy who throws hissy fits and buys his way out of trouble like Jeff Greene, you can be damn sure I wouldn't vote for him.

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