Happy Birthday B Rapoport!
It’s not every day that someone hits the big 9-0, and when the said person is one of the highest rolling (and most loved) Democratic donors, the pols turn out in droves.
Bernard Rapoport, a nice Jewish boy from Waco, Texas who grew up to earn a fortune in the insurance business, was feted at the Washington, D.C. home of Jay and Sharon Rockefeller last night.
Attendees reportedly included a high percentage of the members of Congress, including Nancy Pelosi, Hillary Clinton, Frank Lautenberg and Democratic defector Joe Lieberman. (“I was surprised he showed up,” one insider who attended told the Forward.)
Also on hand were former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle and DNC chair Howard Dean. Bill Clinton sent in a video tribute and Senator Ted Kennedy spoke.
Rapoport – known for his sense of humor and lack of pretension – was reportedly in good form, despite the fact that his arm was in a sling due to a shoulder injury sustained playing tennis. That’s right, tennis at 90.
