Progressives rebel against DCCC blacklist

The DCCC refused to acknowledge that anything changed with 2016. So to prevent another AOC they decided to blacklist anyone that works with any primary challenger.

Progressives have roundly criticized the DCCC for its plan to not conduct business with political vendors that work for candidates who plan to challenge incumbent Democrats. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said the new policy could have prevented him from winning his congressional seat. Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the DCCC’s vendor policy would empower lobbyists because “voters will have one less avenue to pursue change.”

The DCCC raised nearly $19 million in the first two months of this year, more money than it had raised by this point last election cycle, and the committee is relying more heavily on corporate lobbyists to collect checks. Lobbyists whose clients include health care, oil, gas, and coal interests, raised almost $440,000 for the DCCC in January and February, Federal Election Commission records show.

So the DCCC has given the left a great big middle finger, and embraced corruption. It decided to do the opposite of what the grassroots are doing.
What is the grassroots going to do, amirite?

It turns out, they are going to do quite a bit.

On Friday, Newman told Politico that four consulting firms abandoned her in response to the DCCC’s announcement in late March that it would not employ firms that work with primary challengers, and would discourage candidates from hiring them as well.

Moments after the report was published, the liberal group Democracy for America endorsed Newman’s primary bid. Both DFA and the Progressive Change Campaign Committee solicited donations for Newman from their sizable email lists.

The news and the show of support from outside groups had an impact. Between Friday morning and Monday evening, Newman’s campaign raised an additional $44,646 from 2,442 online donors, demonstrating that a segment of the Democratic electorate is motivated to help candidates precisely because they are shunned by the party establishment.

It seems that being on that blacklist is an easy way to get you donations.
Which shows how much the DCCC is hated amongst voters.
Yet Newman's campaign is just an example. The BIG pushback against the DCCC is happening at the colleges.

Young Democrats at more than 30 colleges nationwide plan to boycott the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) in protest of a new policy critics say is intended to freeze out challengers to incumbent representatives.
...
The Harvard College Democrats are leading the coalition, which initially featured 26 chapters nationwide but which Harvard Democrats President Hank Sparks confirmed to The Hill currently stands at 42.

This is a big deal because college kids are the volunteers and organizers of political campaigns.
If you lose them, your campaign gets very expensive.
Plus, the GOP has a lock on old people. If the Dems can't motivate young people then the Dems won't win elections.

It seems this progressive rebellion has gotten so big that the DCCC can no longer ignore it.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman Cheri Bustos, facing mounting pressure from the party's left, has agreed to a DCCC meeting with progressive groups who want her to ditch a controversial policy meant to shield incumbents from primary challenges, according to representatives from the progressive group Our Revolution.

Bustos has so far given no public indication that the committee would relax its stance against working with consultants and other operatives who assist candidates who challenge incumbent House Democrats.

Yeh, the DCCC isn't ready to change yet, but they are feeling the pressure.

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...and community organizing...and analytics...and college students, in general, to break into the business while in college (and/or, if they're just starting out in their careers, after graduating)...to take advantage of this niche!!! (Because there will still be some degree of unmet demand in the marketplace.) F*ck the DCCC!!! The reality is they've been putting their thumbs on the scale against challengers to Dem incumbents for at least 15 years, give or take. I saw it happen, back in 2006, right here, in my own congressional district; and, at least in a few other districts throughout the country, that election cycle. (And, many times since.) But, in my district (NY-18, used to be NY-19), that year, a Republican was the incumbent. And, the DCCC just came in and decided they were only going to support one person (out of the four Dems) in the primary. And, she lost.

Of course, we know that never happens anymore, right? Because the Dems just announced that their supposedly-acceptable egregious behavior relates to just incumbents! Yeah! And, I've got a great price to offer you on a bridge over the East River in NYC.

So...ummm...this all must be the Democratic Party's status quo's twisted version of "transparency": "We're going to f*ck you like we've ALWAYS f*cked you, but at least we're letting you know about now! And, that's because we're Democrats! Rah! Freakin' Rah!"

Yeah, to say, "This really pisses me off," would be a gross understatement!

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"Freedom is something that dies unless it's used." --Hunter S. Thompson

Centaurea's picture

does this rule apply to the candidates whom the DNC is recruiting in a effort to primary progressive incumbents such as AOC, Ilhan Omar, and Tulsi?

(That's mostly a rhetorical question. I think we know the answer: "The DNC is a private organization, so it can do whatever it wants. It doesn't have to follow any rules, even its own.")

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"Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep ... Don't go back to sleep."
~Rumi

"If you want revolution, be it."
~Caitlin Johnstone

snoopydawg's picture

and instead of people walking away from the party they don't see any problem with what they are doing. Are people so focused on Russia Russia... and Trump's tweets that they don't look at what the democrats are doing in congress? How can people not know how many times democrats have voted with republicans on legislation that is bad for us? Instead I'm seeing diary after diary saying that "the democrats need to do this and that if they want to win." How many years have we heard that?

Pelosi met with Trump yesterday and said that she is "happy to be working with the president" and Schumer said something just as stupid. Gee. I thought that Trump was being very naughty and mean to democrats yada yada and here's the two old fossils coozing up to him. Nancy is very pleased with the infrastructure bill that she and Trump worked out even though "we don't know how we are going to pay for it." Duh! We know. Cuts to everything that we rely on. Where's the outrage from even the centrists on this?

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Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Lookout's picture

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

My question is whether this stupid rule by the DCCC will result in the growth of a new industry - political consulting, polling and other services that is targeted specifically for challengers? I think the growth of such an industry might actually be a boon to challenger campaigns? Maybe the DCCC decision will backfire in ways it has not considered?

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Despite the DCCC’s bullying, we’re still going to work on primaries.

This list of groups willing to help has slowly been growing.

https://dcccblacklist.com/

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