The direction and future of the Democratic party will be decided on February 25th in Atlanta, Georgia.
After losing to literally the worst presidential candidate in history, Democrats are a very angry bunch. Hillary supporters blame “Bernie bros” for a tough primary while Bernie supporters blame Hillary supporters for their neoliberal policies that alienated the working class. Both are fighting for their place at the table.
On February 25th, the Democratic party will select the new chair that will reshape the party for the next 4 years.
The two favorites are Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Secretary Tom Perez.
As a Bernie State delegate, I am in support and fully endorse Rep. Ellison. Secretary Perez says the right things, but is clearly in the Establishment wing of the Democratic party that lost the presidency, house, senate, and over 1,000 seats in state legislatures across the nation.
Democrats want to win again, that is true. No one wants to be in a losing party. However, many Democrats want to win but still keep the same party structure that is clearly not working.
Ryan Cooper of The Week magazine laid out a clear case of why Tom Perez should not be the leader of the DNC. This excerpt truly shows why Tom Perez shouldn’t be the chair:
To rebuild, Democrats obviously need to start winning some elections, particularly the 2018 midterms, which could set the stage for a 2020 victory at the state level when redistricting happens again. The most reliably left-wing (and the most anti-Drumpf) demographic in the country at the moment is young people. But young people often don't vote in midterms, so the party must try to convince them to turn out. Sanders inspired tremendous enthusiasm among this group with his calls for universal Medicare, tuition-free college, repealing Citizens United, fighting police brutality, and so on.
It’s clear the anger is in the youth of this country. They are the ones that have to live with the mess of a Donald Trump presidency. Yet, the Democratic party always seems to want the young people vote but not the young people’s ideas.
Throughout the primaries, Hillary Clinton would not give into the Tuition-free college plan that Bernie Sanders proposed even saying “if somebody promises you something for free, read the fine print”. To be fair (I guess), Clinton “adopted” much of Sanders’s plan in an effort to entice young people to vote. But young people aren’t stupid, they want real change.
Tom Perez is the old guard. He will not bring enough momentum and change to the Democratic party that will ensure it’s survival in future elections. By then, people will start to listen to the Republicans more, going to them to resolve their issues, and the Democratic party will wither on the vine.
Democrats, if you are truly for progressive policies and want to win, it’s time to put up or shut up! Vote Keith Ellison as your leader, the fate of progressive policies and the Democratic party is in your hands!