The Next DNC Chair: TOM PEREZ WINS, makes Ellison deputy chair

[Chief Justice Keef]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/11/10/liberal-democrats-lash-out-at-dnc-say-overhaul-needed-to-woo-back-working-class-voters/

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Thoughts? I'm kinda stuck between the two because while I think Howard Dean was integral to the success of Obama's 2008 campaign, I think Keith Ellison could provide the Democrats some fresh new blood that's desperately needed.

[Chief Justice Keef]

I like Tom Perez, but he's just not right for the DNC chair position. Ellison has the potential to be a great organizer over the next four years, and that's something that I can't see in Perez right now.

[Chief Justice Keef]

Perez vs. Ellison is a very hard choice for me. I like them both.

I guess it will come down to who I think has the best strategy for the party. I don't care about political leanings, that's not the DNC's role, and if Ellison tries to make it about that I would probably support Perez.

I have to disagree on your vision of the DNC's "role". I think Ellison is the only one in the race for the chairmanship that actually has a vision for a policy agenda, and I think it's better that the Democrats envision the DNC chair as less of a fundraising, behind-the-scenes role than a "face-of-the-party" role. Nothing against Perez, I think he's a great Secretary who's got a decent career ahead of him, but I frankly don't see a new vision for the party that the Democrats desperately need, and I'd much rather he run for Maryland Governor in 2018 or 2022 than he waste his time as DNC Chair.

[Chief Justice Keef]

Perez vs. Ellison is a very hard choice for me. I like them both.

I guess it will come down to who I think has the best strategy for the party. I don't care about political leanings, that's not the DNC's role, and if Ellison tries to make it about that I would probably support Perez.

I have to disagree on your vision of the DNC's "role". I think Ellison is the only one in the race for the chairmanship that actually has a vision for a policy agenda, and I think it's better that the Democrats envision the DNC chair as less of a fundraising, behind-the-scenes role than a "face-of-the-party" role. Nothing against Perez, I think he's a great Secretary who's got a decent career ahead of him, but I frankly don't see a new vision for the party that the Democrats desperately need, and I'd much rather he run for Maryland Governor in 2018 or 2022 than he waste his time as DNC Chair.

But... that's literally what the DNC Chair's job is. Congressional Democrats are supposed to focus on policy.

NO It is not. That is what Debbie was - A terrific fundraiser. And Clinton outraised & outspend Trump too.

And what did it do - Jack sh**. This kind of experiment has been tried & has failed big. It is time to move on from this archaic thinking!

It's not archaic thinking, it's the literal job description. The job of the DNC Chair is to focus on fundraising and building the party apparatus. It's mechanics, not "vision".

If that's the case, then the role needs to be changed. Fundraising and reaching out to the donor class shouldn't be the goal of the Democratic Party. That's why people don't trust the DNC, because they come off as corporate weirdos who do whatever their donors want. That's basically what DWS was anyways. They should be focused on outreach to coalitions and guiding the direction of the party, not just behind-the-scenes work.

[Chief Justice Keef]

I'm starting to lose the large amount of respect I have for Perez. If the Democrats want to keep clinging to TPP and their establishment party machines then they can forget about winning back the presidency in 2020.

[Chief Justice Keef]

A few weeks ago I thought Ellison would win the chairmanship pretty easily, but now I'm starting to feel a little less optimistic. I could totally see the DNC go "well, we want a progressive vision, but not too progressive" and end up picking Perez. Not to mention that the smear campaign against Ellison by some of the right-wing media outlets might cause DNC members to back off if they think he'll be too "controversial".

Honestly, it's perplexing when Matthew Yglesias of all people is making the most sense:
http://www.vox.com/2017/1/3/14084382/keith-ellison-dnc-chair

For anybody supporting Perez, why is his strategy the best? Because Ellison is an "antisemite"? What is he going to do for the working-class vote that Ellison can't do? As far as I'm concerned, Perez is only running for his own political future (aka MD Governor), and that's just screwed up considering we need actual leadership at the DNC who care about the party's future, not some Clinton-lite who's already saying things like "It's not just about being a progressive - I'm a progressive who gets things done!".

(Also, it's kinda hilarious seeing right-wingers get giddy about the idea of Ellison as DNC chair because "he's a Muslim, lol" when he's thinking about reviving the 50-state strategy that basically crushed them in 2006. So keep up the hubris, Republicans. It worked well for us this time around.)

[Chief Justice Keef]

I'm a little late to this party I see.

Anyways, I now think that it is within the Democrats' best interests to vote for Ellison as the next chair.

I think many of you would like this article from Vox: Democrats would be smart to embrace Ellison

Democrats need to build on to the party and not lose core coalitions like Millennials and it sends a bold message to send a Black Muslim like Ellison to be a leader during Trump's tenure as president.

The country is already polarized. Dems, don't polarize your own party.

Anyways, are there any new news on Keith Ellison endorsements?

The problem is that Ellison is anti-Semite.

Yeah, keep that cynical use of identity politics going. Despite the fact Ellison wrote a paper on Farrakhan twenty years ago, let's dump an actual chance at rebuilding the Democratic Party and go with "safe choice" Tom "progressive who gets things done" Perez.

[Chief Justice Keef]

Can anyone provide actual evidence than Ellison is anti-semitic? I'm not saying it's false - I don't know much about him - but it's f**king tedious when these labels are thrown around as if they were self-evident without the necessary context.

It's been reported that Ellison was involved with the Nation of Islam in the 1990s, and he defended Louis Farrakhan during that time against criticism of radical black leaders. But there's no evidence he's ever written anything that would constitute as anti-semitic.

As far as I'm concerned, it's a smear campaign. His actions in Congress certainly don't reflect the beliefs of the Nation of Islam, and he's publicly denounced the organization. The only notable people/groups who have accused Ellison of anti-semitism are the Anti-Defamation League (which is essentially a hackish group that advocates for Israeli policy) and Haim Saban (a mega-donor for the Democratic Party who says his greatest concern is to "protect Israel"). It's just cynical identity politics based on assumptions in my book.

[Chief Justice Keef]

Yeah, keep that cynical use of identity politics going. Despite the fact Ellison wrote a paper on Farrakhan twenty years ago, let's dump an actual chance at rebuilding the Democratic Party and go with "safe choice" Tom "progressive who gets things done" Perez.

So your idea is to tell Jews that we shouldn't worry about anti-Semitism and that if we do then it's just "identity politics?"  Pathetic.

You are in a setting in which most of us care about opposing antisemitism but also don't believe that there is any credible evidence that Keith Ellison is an antisemite. There's an easy way to resolve this: Show us that Keith Ellison has done antisemitic things.

Instead, you are taking a claim that ought to be treated seriously and treating it as the equivalent of a playground taunt. It is  wrong, it disgusts me, and I know that you can do better than that.

You know, I have to say, I read some more about this and it looks like most of the stuff Ellison said was in 1989 or 1990.  I still think that Perez is a better pick, but I'm much less invested in this race now.  Mea Culpa

Weren't you a #NeverHillary Democrat in the campaign? I can't imagine why anyone who isn't a Hillary hack would think Perez is a genuinely good choice (as opposed to the lesser evil).

I came around a week or two before the RNC, actually.  I really don't like Hillary, but she was far better than Trump.  And that's exactly how I see Perez: the lesser of two evils.  Neither would be a good Chairman IMO, but I think Perez is at least a better choice from the fundraising perspective which is a key part of the job (DNC chairs have little influence over party policy positions).  I'd rather Ellison stay in the House and try to move up in leadership, it seems like a much better fit.

Perez may be semi-progressive, but that really begs the question of why he's running if Ellison is in the race as well. The answer, to me, is only three things:

- He's running as a progressive who's a "don't let Bernie Sanders get his way" option for centrists.
- He's running as a "safe choice" after the accusations against Ellison surfaced.
- He's trying to stay relevant if he decides to run for governor of Maryland in 2018 or 2022.

Perez may be semi-progressive, but I've frankly seen nothing but vague statements about "vision" when it comes to his campaign. Compared to Ellison, who's coming out with plenty of promises, he's weaksauce.

[Chief Justice Keef]

Excellent editorial:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/why-tom-perez-strong-competitor-against-keith-ellison-democratic-party

What a garbage piece. If there's no real difference between Perez and Ellison, why did Perez jump into the race in the first place?

It's clear that the Obama/Hillary wing wants to influence the direction of the party on their way out the door, and frankly at a time when the head of the DNC should be guiding a pretty strong operation in all 50 states, you need the opposite of a party hack.

[Chief Justice Keef]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Vice President Joe Biden endorses former Labor Secretary Tom Perez to head the Democratic National Committee.

Obviously a biggie

Ugh. Awful.

[Chief Justice Keef]

Just leaving this here:

https://twitter.com/ZaidJilani/status/822930660675489792

[Chief Justice Keef]

If Perez wins, then the DNC will have the same cloud of doubt around it as it did in 2016.

Throw Bernie folks a bone to shut them up, give them Ellison or Buttigieg.

Getting Bernie folks to "shut up" really shouldn't be the goal of any Democrat. Ellison is the best choice because both Clinton and Bernie folk can support him without reservations outside of religion.

If Perez does win, then expect a ton of party takeovers at the local level.

[Chief Justice Keef]

Pretty great article from Glenn Greenwald in The Intercept on the proxy war this race has become, and the Democratic Party in general. I'm comfortable enough to call myself a "Democrat", but it's kinda scary how much hubris goes on in the minds of those in Washington.

https://theintercept.com/2017/02/09/tom-perez-apologizes-for-telling-the-truth-showing-why-democrats-flaws-urgently-need-attention/

[Chief Justice Keef]

THEY'VE LEARNED NOTHING

THIS ISN'T A MATH PROBLEM YOU MINDLESS TECHNOCRATS

[Chief Justice Keef]

I haven't read anything about Trump this week that's infuriated me as much as that paragraph.

[Chief Justice Keef]

I haven't read anything about Trump this week that's infuriated me as much as that paragraph.

Then you have your priorities seriously out of wack.

Are you serious? These people are the only thing we have stopping us from all the terrible madness Trump is proposing, and their way of mobilizing people against the terrible sycophants in power is more math problems.

[Chief Justice Keef]

On the topic of how awful Dem leadership is, here's a choice quote from Pelosi today:

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"We stand for nothing and have no ideology, unlike those crazies who keep beating us in elections."

I saw that earlier, and it infuriated me. These people are supposed to be defending Americans from Trump's horror show, and they refuse to even be welcome to change in ideology.

You have vast SWATHS of people across this country who's lives have been ruined by Republican capitalism, and there's absolutely no motivation among these party elite to accommodate those disenfranchised voters, even if it meant winning more elections. They are absolutely terrible.

[Chief Justice Keef]

THEY'VE LEARNED NOTHING

THIS ISN'T A MATH PROBLEM YOU MINDLESS TECHNOCRATS

It is a math problem. They just don't have the right variables for it. But if you're seriously eschewing big data as a campaign tool, you are seriously handicapping yourself.

Yes, big data is an important part of campaigning. But this is exactly why people feel disenfranchised with the system, because grassroots support comes secondary to these algorithms run by Washington insiders.

[Chief Justice Keef]

I'm still heavily rooting for Ellison, but I actually really like Buttigieg. TBH if both of them teamed up behind-the-scenes like Hindsight described, I'd be really enthusiastic about the party over the next 4 years. That, and I think either one of them could become a presidential candidate in the future.

Still, Ellison's the only one who's really talked about a 50-state strategy and less corporate influence, so he's got my support.

[Chief Justice Keef]

lol

[Chief Justice Keef]

If the DNC chair is supposed to be the spokesman for the party, then it ABSOLUTELY shouldn't be Perez. The dude ran away from a question about Palestine home demolitions. How the hell is he supposed to lead a more transparent DNC if he can't answer the tough questions without turning his back on reporters?

https://www.twitter.com/zaidjilani/status/822930660675489792

I'm honestly afraid of 2018 if Democrats pick this shill instead of Ellison.

[Chief Justice Keef]

Tom Perez finally accepted an interview from TYT Politics and he pretty much failed and showed his true colors. Especially at the end.

https://www.youtube.com/shared?ci=g81xG3e0oYI

The witchhunt against Tom Perez is quite disgusting. "Who in the Bernie Sanders world is supporting you?" Who f**king cares? The party does not revolve around a guy who's not even in said party.

Isn't that an important question, though? You have millions of people who voted for Sanders in the primary that want to feel like their interests are being represented in the Democratic party, and it makes sense that the DNC chair, as the spokesman of the party, should be able to represent not only the establishment in a way, but to this now-powerful voting block within the party.

This is why it's so maddening why Perez is running: he's not some Third Way sycophant. He's actually got a decently progressive record. But it's so obviously clear that he's been pushed into this race by the Obama administration to have some influence on the party agenda going forward. Perez is only in because of Clintonites not wanting a "Berniecrat" in charge of the show, which is literally the only actual reason people have to oppose him, and support Perez. There's no good reason for him to be in this race at all, except for him acting as an agent of fundamentally rejecting change.

(Actually, it's mind-boggling why Perez isn't running for Maryland Governor in 2018 instead of this race. That's way more important on a practical strategic level than running for a bureaucratic position like DNC chair.)

[Chief Justice Keef]

Excluding organisations, advocacy / labor leaders and non-political individuals, these are the number of endorsements each candidate has (according to Wikipedia):

Keith Ellison - 104 (1 Vice President, 11 U.S. Senators, 42 U.S. Representatives, 34 state and local politicians and 16 DNC members)
Tom Perez - 22 (1 Vice President, 2 U.S. Representatives, 18 state and local politicians and 1 DNC member)
Raymond Buckley - 20 (2 U.S. Senators, 2 U.S. Representatives, 10 state and local politicians and 6 DNC members)
Jaime Harrison - 13 (8 U.S. Representatives, 2 state and local politicians and 3 DNC members)
Pete Buttigieg - 10 (1 U.S. Senator, 8 state and local politicians, 1 DNC member)

[Chief Justice Keef]

I think it's very possible this goes to multiple ballots, which could give Buttigieg a chance.

If it goes to multiple ballots, would either Ellison or Perez have a better chance?