Does anyone believe that even one penny of the $$$$ raised by this grab for cash by the DNC will go to Bernie's campaign?
True, the "From:" line in the email makes it clear that this was sent by the DNC, and not by Bernie.
But SURELY, this must have been done with Bernie's blessing, right?
Of course not. If you're not in a rush and you have your reading glasses on and scroll down to find and read the fine print at the bottom of the email or the box at the bottom of the web page, you'll see that this was "not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee". But the DNC is clearly counting on the fact that many people will be so thrilled that Bernie is running, that they will quickly send off a contribution without bothering to consider the fine print. We're all so used to the boilerplate that it's very easy to ignore it.
This is especially disgusting, given that one of Bernie's passions and major goals in running for the presidency is to work to get the money out of politics. (Notice that the DNC chose not to include this goal in the list of his priorities in the email.)
This comes across as a cynical attempt by the DNC to use Bernie. It only reinforces my longstanding decision to never send the DNC a penny. If DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz approved this, she should resign.
11:22 AM PT: I appreciate the comments pointing out that the DNC has sent out other emails that include both Bernie and Hillary together. In fact, I just found an email from the DNC that is much more high level, and includes this text:
Breaking 2016 news, Steven: Senator Bernie Sanders just announced that he is running for president.
We're more than a year away from the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia -- when we'll actually choose our Democratic nominee and the 45th President of the United States. But we know one thing for sure: Having a wide range of progressive views in this race is good for the dialogue of our party and for our country.
And Bernie Sanders is a progressive champion. He's represented the people of Vermont for years in the Senate after 16 years in the House of Representatives. Throughout his career, he's been a fierce advocate for working families and has a strong record of supporting equal pay for women, working to raise the minimum wage, taking action on climate change, and fighting for an economy that works for the middle class. We couldn't be more excited to hear him to say he's in.
So can you take a second to show you're in for 2016 as well?
I am absolutely fine with that. In fact, I applaud it. But the email pitch above that includes only Bernie crosses the line, because it uses money to raise money for the party, not for the candidate it's using to fundraise. We have no way of knowing if any of that money will be used in the primaries, or will all go to the general campaign. Or more likely, will be used mainly for even more fundraising. Those uses are legitimate and important, but they should be transparent.
In my opinion, any money that is raised using only Bernie's name should go to Bernie, not to the DNC, especially if it is not made very obvious and very clear that this is fundraising for the party, not for Bernie.
If the DNC wants to support both candidates now, that's also just fine. Links to both of their campaign websites should be included when they do that.
But I still believe that the email included above is highly misleading. Maybe my condemnation is a bit hyperbolic, given the other emails. But the DNC needs to hear that they are turning people off with this approach.
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