Perez removing Ellison supporters from DNC

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Freedom Fighter. Now remove Ellison himself. No quarter for Corbynites in America.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

“We don’t have the luxury to walk out of this room divided.” Tom Perez as he silently removes dissent.

He's right. The democratic party must remain united behind capitalism. If they become the party of Bernie, Trump will be re-elected.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

“We don’t have the luxury to walk out of this room divided.” Tom Perez as he silently removes dissent.

He's right. The democratic party must remain united behind capitalism. If they become the party of Bernie, Trump will be re-elected.

I forgot how Hillary soundly defeated Trump last year by defending her record with Wall Street, wooing "muh moderate suburban Republicans," and running the exact opposite of a populist campaign. That damn memory of mine...

Remember three words: Private Email Server. Take that away, and she wins in a landslide.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

“We don’t have the luxury to walk out of this room divided.” Tom Perez as he silently removes dissent.

He's right. The democratic party must remain united behind capitalism. If they become the party of Bernie, Trump will be re-elected.

I forgot how Hillary soundly defeated Trump last year by defending her record with Wall Street, wooing "muh moderate suburban Republicans," and running the exact opposite of a populist campaign. That damn memory of mine...

Remember three words: Private Email Server. Take that away, and she wins in a landslide.

The modern US economy was build by the uber socialist FDR who not only wanted free healthcare, free education but also free guaranteed universal basic income & taxed people at 90%+. And he introduced a minimum wage, broke banks & said corporations which pay low wages have no right to exist.

He had the highest possible GDP growth rates, he was more of a socialist than Bernie ever way & he was the most electable candidate Dem ever had crushing Republicans & bringing about a progressive era which lasted almost half a century. The man is not only the greatest President ever but got the whole world to follow his economic vision. And it had the best economic period of prosperity in centuries.

While I believe that FDR was a good president overall, I do not agree with taxing people at 90%+ or a universal basic income. You'll notice that we haven't had that 90%+ top tax rate for nearly 70 years  now - and that's because the country woke up and realized that tax rates that high actually discourage people from working.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

I applaud Perez for these actions. He needs to be clear that the Bernie 2016 uprising was nothing more than an aberration, and do all he can to keep it from happening again. Look over at the republican side to see why - In 2010, the tea party uprising happened. Rather than rot it out, republicans tried to figure out a way it could comfortably exist alongside the establishment. It sort of worked through the 2014 election cycle, but then in 2016, everything crumbled. The Tea Party and similar elements dominated the presidential primaries - Of the Final 5 candidates (Trump, Cruz, Kasich, Rubio, Carson), three were part of reactionary elements to the establishment's right (Trump, Cruz, and Carson). In the end, their most radical candidate, Trump, got the nomination - a true disaster for the establishment, creating real wounds that may never go away. They were forced to embrace the candidacy, especially after it won the general election, and the party is now irreparably damaged. Maybe the republican party stays relevant for several more decades - but now it must deal with true, outspoken racism and anti-Islamic sentiment being the image of the party, as opposed to the comparably tame faces of the Bushes, Bob Dole, and Mitt Romney. Tom Perez can see this just as plainly as I can - rot out the Bernie element now, or watch the Democratic equivalent of Donald Trump (and Bernie doesn't represent this, someone even more radical than him will rise up) show up in 2020, 2024, or 2028. He knows that can't happen if the party establishment, which he stands for, is to have any chance of long-term survival in its current form. The path to victory in 2020 isn't to run Sanders (although he may very well be able to beat Trump, he would send the country in an irreparably socialist direction), or Warren (who would lose heavily) - the path is to run a strong capitalist with the likability and populism to win. I'm talking about a Steve Bullock. I'm talking about a John Hickenlooper. I'm talking about a Sherrod Brown. And yes, I do think it is better for the party to lose with one of those candidates than to win with Bernie or someone from his wing.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Why are they doing this?  This is so goddamn petty and shortsighted....

Does Perez realize that by conducting this Red Wedding of all the Sanders and Ellison supporters, he is not so much stabbing the knife into their backs, but into Democratic hopes of winning the 2020 election, and ending the Trump nightmare?  You can't win without their (enthusiastic) support.  

They want to win with a platform friendly to corporate interests, or not at all.

Yep, and it's for the best that that's the case.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

DEMOCRATIC PARTY DRAMA PUTS DEPUTY CHAIR KEITH ELLISON IN A TOUGH SPOT

A PURGE OF PARTY officials loyal to Keith Ellison is putting the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee in a difficult position, calling into question his ability to shape DNC decision-making. Ellison’s decision to accept the number two spot at the DNC was controversial among his backers, but he argued that he would be able to influence the party from the inside, and help steer Chair Tom Perez in a progressive direction. People close to Ellison say that he is feeling the heat and acutely aware of the difficulty he is in, unsure exactly how to do right by the party faithful. Karthik Ganapathy, a spokesperson for Ellison, declined to comment on the unfolding situation.

Buckley made a bid for DNC chair earlier this year, running on a platform of reform. His familiarity with the arcane rules, bylaws, and byzantine procedures of the DNC is widely considered to be unmatched. After he dropped out, he backed Ellison’s bid for chair, opening up the perception that he was removed by Perez for supporting his opponent. The public response from Perez to complaints from Ellison backers has only exacerbated the tensions, as Perez, like Hinojosa, has insisted that the changes were made only for the sake of “diversity.”

Yet the three Ellison backers removed from the key committees are themselves a diverse bunch. Ellison, of course, is African-American, Muslim, and represents a working-class district, while Barbra Casbar Siperstein is transgender, Zogby is Lebanese-American (and Catholic), and Buckley is gay. While removing long-serving DNC members seen as favorable to Ellison and Sanders, Perez moved to maintain positions at the party for a number of corporate lobbyists. The at-large members chosen by Perez include Harold Ickes, a lobbyist for a nuclear energy company; Manny Ortiz, a lobbyist for Citigroup; Joanne Dowdell, a lobbyist for News Corporation, the parent company of Fox News; and Jaime Harrison, a former lobbyist for coal companies, big banks, and tobacco companies.

https://theintercept.com/2017/10/20/democratic-party-drama-puts-deputy-chair-keith-ellison-in-a-tough-spot/

How long before Ellison quits? The Rules committee which will decide the Unity Commission recommendations have 0 representation from the so-called Sanders wing.

If Ellison doesn't quit or say anything then he's a total cuck.

He should quit. Berniecrats can vote for Dems if they want to, but should have no role within the party. The Tea Party has inflicted serious wounds on the republican party, and the Berniecrats cannot be allowed to do the same to the democratic party, regardless of whatever short-term electoral gain it may get them. Win as capitalists or don't win at all.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

DEMOCRATIC PARTY DRAMA PUTS DEPUTY CHAIR KEITH ELLISON IN A TOUGH SPOT

A PURGE OF PARTY officials loyal to Keith Ellison is putting the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee in a difficult position, calling into question his ability to shape DNC decision-making. Ellison’s decision to accept the number two spot at the DNC was controversial among his backers, but he argued that he would be able to influence the party from the inside, and help steer Chair Tom Perez in a progressive direction. People close to Ellison say that he is feeling the heat and acutely aware of the difficulty he is in, unsure exactly how to do right by the party faithful. Karthik Ganapathy, a spokesperson for Ellison, declined to comment on the unfolding situation.

Buckley made a bid for DNC chair earlier this year, running on a platform of reform. His familiarity with the arcane rules, bylaws, and byzantine procedures of the DNC is widely considered to be unmatched. After he dropped out, he backed Ellison’s bid for chair, opening up the perception that he was removed by Perez for supporting his opponent. The public response from Perez to complaints from Ellison backers has only exacerbated the tensions, as Perez, like Hinojosa, has insisted that the changes were made only for the sake of “diversity.”

Yet the three Ellison backers removed from the key committees are themselves a diverse bunch. Ellison, of course, is African-American, Muslim, and represents a working-class district, while Barbra Casbar Siperstein is transgender, Zogby is Lebanese-American (and Catholic), and Buckley is gay. While removing long-serving DNC members seen as favorable to Ellison and Sanders, Perez moved to maintain positions at the party for a number of corporate lobbyists. The at-large members chosen by Perez include Harold Ickes, a lobbyist for a nuclear energy company; Manny Ortiz, a lobbyist for Citigroup; Joanne Dowdell, a lobbyist for News Corporation, the parent company of Fox News; and Jaime Harrison, a former lobbyist for coal companies, big banks, and tobacco companies.

https://theintercept.com/2017/10/20/democratic-party-drama-puts-deputy-chair-keith-ellison-in-a-tough-spot/

How long before Ellison quits? The Rules committee which will decide the Unity Commission recommendations have 0 representation from the so-called Sanders wing.

If Ellison doesn't quit or say anything then he's a total cuck.

He should quit. Berniecrats can vote for Dems if they want to, but should have no role within the party. The Tea Party has inflicted serious wounds on the republican party, and the Berniecrats cannot be allowed to do the same to the democratic party, regardless of whatever short-term electoral gain it may get them. Win as capitalists or don't win at all.

You do realize that’d be about 40% of the Democratic Party, yes? I’d like to know how exactly you expect party to fiction as a major political organization if it lost about 40% of its voters.

I'm aware Bernie got about 43% of the primary NPV, but I suspect that at least a third of that was an "anyone but Clinton" vote, and a ton of the rest was first time voters who will hopefully step away from socialism as they age. And for the rest, if "anyone but the republican" isn't enough of a reason for them to vote D, the party should forget about them, lest they find the democratic version of Donald Trump.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Do we need more proof that Democrats are just interested in power instead of ideas?

They are interested in power first and foremost, just as every other political party is. Before you can pass anything, you first have to gain the power (congressional majorities) to do it. And the Sanders movement is of no help in achieving that power - their candidates in NY-24 and NV-3 came nowhere near even winning the primary, and literally any Dem could win the seat Jayapal holds.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

Buttigieg should be Chair, not this Perez scum.

[Attorney General & PPT Dwarven Dragon]

What this is in a bigger context is the shift from a top-down to bottom-up scale in terms of funding for campaigns. It used to be that the central party committees (RNC and DNC) were flush with cash and could fund down-ballot races. Now, it is becoming the norm that people donate directly to the campaigns themselves via the candidate's website or checks to the HQ. This will become even more the norm as the older gens stop donating and die and the boomers stop donating due to apathy, etc. - hence the partisan funding problem from the top.

I think the DNC and RNC will cease to exist or becoming shells of their former selves in a few decades time. This is due to the above but also due to technology breathing new life and innovation into local campaigns.

The RNC and DNC will always exist at least as a means of leading the national convention every four years. How much they do beyond that though, may lessen over time. We're actually starting to see their role lessen already - most party ads are funded by "NRSC", "RGA", etc., which are below the RNC/DNC in terms of heirarchy.