Since a controversial and very highly ranked diary here on DKos, that completely misrepresented the facts, has been allowed to remain standing, I think it is important to look at the other side of the controversy. You know, the truth. What really happened.
One of Sanders’ five proposed nominees for the Platform Drafting Committee was National Nurses United Executive Director Rose Ann DeMoro, . Her nomination was rejected and Sanders nominated someone else. The reason given for her rejection was that she represented labor.
From U.S. Uncut:
DeMoro, who was one of the earliest backers of Sen. Sanders’ candidacy, was initially chosen for the committee to advocate for Sanders’ Medicare-for-All proposal to be included in the Democratic platform. But in a Wednesday press conference in California, the Vermont senator told reporters he was discouraged from choosing labor leaders for the committee.
“What we heard from the DNC was that they did not want representatives of labor unions on the platform-drafting committee,” Sanders said.
The DNC’s defense is that labor is already adequately represented in Clinton campaign appointee Paul Booth, an executive assistant at the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees — a labor union backing Clinton. DNC spokeswoman Dana Vickers Shelley told the Washington Post that Booth’s appointment meant “no union leadership would be represented on the platform drafting committee.”
Sanders: DNC Stacked Platform Committee with Lobbyists While Rejecting Labor Leaders
From the Washington Post:
In an interview Wednesday, DNC platform committee spokeswoman Dana Vickers Shelley confirmed that the DNC had not wanted labor leaders on the platform drafting committee, limiting labor's presence to Paul Booth of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees union.
“Because union leadership was represented on the full platform committee, a decision was made no union leadership would be represented on the platform drafting committee,” said Vickers Shelley. “That was communicated to the campaigns, and they understood our rationale.”
That was cold comfort to DeMoro. "The most insidious thing, frankly, is that only one of 15 people on this drafting committee is for labor," she said. "It shows you how insidious the DNC has become. Labor built this party. Labor built this country. One person is enough to represent all of that? If you look at the composition of who they chose, besides Bernie’s choices, K Street’s far better represented than the labor movement."
Sanders: DNC vetoed union leader pick for platform committee
DeMoro is correct. Drafting Committee Members:
While this is actually, on balance, a pretty progressive group, I would personally rather see less (none?) of the highly paid lobbyists on the committee. But, them’s the times we live in. And, to reject membership on a Democratic (big D) convention committee because they represent labor shows just how far our party has fallen.
Workers of the world buzz off.