Are Multi-Million Dollar Consulting Contracts Worth the Future of the Democratic Party?

[PatsFan87]

Great piece by Nomiki Konst about conflicts of interest in the DNC. Instead of Bernie wing vs. Hillary wing, these are the conversations we need to be having. A 50-state strategy is not achievable if we don't deal with the consultant class keeping money away from state parties & state organizing.

https://medium.com/theyoungturks/are-multi-million-dollar-consulting-contracts-worth-the-future-of-the-democratic-party-247f3ecba480#.ooi211sby

Former Chair Candidate, NH State Chairman Ray Buckley broke the news during the Phoenix DNC forum that as an executive member he had never seen the budget — and that most leaders at the DNC, as well as all of the members, had no idea where the record amount of money raised was being spent. When the DNC Chair candidates debated over whether the party should accept lobbyist money (which was banned under Obama’s administration), Buckley stated “the question should not be about whether we need the lobbyist money, but rather where we’ve spent all this money we’ve raised.”

Several DNC members have privately disclosed that they received calls on behalf of Tom Perez from Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, a partner of Precision Strategies and former Executive Director of the DNC when the OFA was housed within it. Dillon is also a Co-Chair of the upcoming Unity Commission, forged out of the 2016 rules committee. The goal of the Unity commission is to set the DNC’s new rules.

Members have repeatedly discussed the frustration with the conflicts of interests within the Democratic party. For Dillon — whose firm received $571,573 from HRC and $593,397 from the DNC, totaling almost $1.2 million — having a seat as a co-chair of the DNC’s rules committee, raises red flags.

One DNC member voting for Mayor Pete Buttigieg stated, “When a firm with a large contract with the DNC co-chairs the new rules committee and makes calls on behalf of a DNC candidate, you can’t help but wonder whether Perez’s interests lie with the DNC members or if he’s cut a deal to keep the contract with Precision.”

Another long time high ranking DNC member stated, “We’ve been quietly complaining about OFA sucking the resources from the DNC. Now to see Dillon — who ran OFA — making calls for Perez, I’m alarmed that these people don’t realize how they killed our party.”

[OKNancy]

1. Nobody "killed our party"

Sick and tired of all this over the top complaining about something that isn't even real.

[PatsFan87]

5. A fair share of DNC members/state parties/DNC chair candidates seem to disagree.

They seem to think OFA has taken funds and organizing away from state parties. It's a fair conversation to have moving forward especially given our current situation where we've been losing tons of seats.

[George II]

13. Have you interviewed them? Otherwise how do you know this?

[PatsFan87]

17. There was an interview with Jane Kleeb, Chair of the Nebraska Democratic party

if you would like to watch and learn about it.

[George II]

19. You said "A fair share of DNC members/state parties/DNC chair candidates seem to disagree."

That's only one person. The DNC has about 450 members and thousands of members of the state parties.

[Cha]

25. No, she doesn't know wth she's talking about.

[Jim Beard]

15. I was a Texas County chair for 8 years and the only money I got from the

state or national parties was $3.83.

[PatsFan87]

18. That's pathetic. Thank you for your service!

[TexasBushwhacker]

2. Well, that nukes Perez for me n/t

[DURHAM D]

3. lol

young turks

[PatsFan87]

4. Any comment on the actual content? This is the conversation happening in the DNC,

not just amongst TYT.

[Blue_true]

6. No one should trust the Young Turks. They have proven themselves

anti to the goal of progressivism.

[George II]

14. It's not "content", it's opinion.

[njhoneybadger]

7. Is somebody orchestrating all these divisive post on DU?

[lapucelle]

12. Joseph Cannon thinks its the Russians.

He's noticed the same trend in the past week on Kos as well. He also predicted a reemergence of the "lock her up" crowd, and guess what happened at CPAC yesterday?

Somebody's getting scared because somebody is getting close.

[PatsFan87]

16. This is why a lot of people don't take Democrats seriously.

Any bit or criticism to the party structure/how the party does business and it's the work of the Russians. It looks extremely pathetic and weakens our case when we actually DO want to investigate Russian influence. The Boy Who Cried Wolf, anyone?

To me, bringing up "you're being divisive" or "it's the Russians" comes across as a way to avoid actually discussing the topic at hand. Seeing as how we're at a point where we're determining the future of the DNC, this post is appropriate and meant to encourage discussion. Let's not be afraid to discuss hard topics about where the party is and where it is going. They're conversations we need to have.

[lapucelle]

22. Methinks thou dost protest too much.

Sorry, but it's hard to take any narrative that TMT (they're mostly middle aged at this point) pimps seriously. They helped elect Trump.

[George II]

20. There seem to have been a lot of them this week.

[PatsFan87]

8. Should we trust DNC members who see these conflicts of interest as an issue?

Isn't the DNC about helping state parties get Democrats elected all across the country, not helping Joe Blow buy a beach house at a state party's expense?

[Hekate]

24. You have a source for that accusation, PatsFan87? Throwing around slurs without backing them up...

...with facts is less than helpful.

[Hekate]

10. Now what? OFA was started by Obama's people. How did they "kill the Democratic Party"?

[PatsFan87]

11. A lot of this was discussed by many of the DNC chair candidates in the past Future forums

in Phoenix, Houston, Detroit, and Baltimore. A lot of the state parties have basically been left for dead with very little money. You saw this in the primaries where caucuses and polling stations weren't properly staffed because state parties didn't have proper funding. OFA takes resources away from state parties and state organizing (they're basically competing for money, organizing, etc.) A discussion worth having is not abolishing OFA but how to get competing factions working together, resources being funneled back into states, etc. I don't see a 50-state strategy working without doing this.

[George II]

21. You should check into the finances of the OFA to see where they spend their money not just speculate

[Hekate]

23. Links? Sources?