President Clinton's labor secretary, Robert Reich, writes:
In the 2012 election cycle, the top .01 percent's donations to Democrats were more than four times larger than all labor union donations to Democrats put together.
And the independent self-described socialist Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with the Democrats and is publicly considering a 2016 presidential campaign, tells NPR:
In the last election, in state after state, you had an abysmally low vote for the Democrats among white, working-class people. And I think the reason for that is that the Democrats have not made it clear that they are prepared to stand with the working-class people of this country, take on the big money interests. I think the key issue that we have to focus on, and I know people are uncomfortable about talking about it, is the role of the billionaire class in American society.
On why Americans are uncomfortable talking about the 'billionaire class'
Because they fund organizations like NPR and the media in general. Because they make huge campaign contributions, to politics, to politicians of all stripes.
I'm not sure I buy the assumption that "Americans" are uncomfortable talking about billionaires — the Democrats sure spent a lot of time and money in the 2014 election cycle attacking the Koch brothers, and President Obama uses the phrase "millionaires and billionaires" plenty — but these statements are, if nothing else, useful responses to the campaign-season claims that Republicans alone are somehow the party of the rich. If the Reich-Sanders wing of the Democratic primary electorate attacks Hillary Clinton along these lines for her paid Goldman Sachs speaking appearances, it might actually force Mrs. Clinton into making the point that hardworking financially successful people aren't the problem with this country. I don't know if she's capable of making that point persuasively, but if she is, it'd be a good thing.