(Disclaimer: We are not arguing for or against the DNC. This is simply a report on politics.)
A few weeks ago the Democratic National Committee chairmanship election of 2017 was held. This has huge implications for the party, Democrats, and liberals, and other left-leaning people are certainly voicing their opinion. A strong divide has been created in the party ever since the 2016 presidential campaign, and chairmanship election only accentuates this.
The controversial DNC email leak in the 2016 presidential election indicated a clear favor of Hillary Clinton, and some would go as far to say conspiring, against Bernie Sanders. Debbie Wasserman Schultz was promptly forced to resign as chairman, and Donna Brazile served as an interim without intent to run for a full term. The leak certainly caused a great divide in the party as it showed a clear ignoring of the large constituency that favored a liberal socialist agenda against a more establishment “progressive,” center-left agenda. The DNC was accused of divisive tactics and a clear disregard of a major portion of a party, that would eventually help lead to the loss of the 2016 presidential election to their Republican opponents.
With the resignation, the direction of the Democratic party was up for grabs.
On February 25, 2017 at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, the first contested DNC chair election since 1985 was held. Tom Perez and Keith Ellison became the favored candidates by the majority of DNC members after the first round of voting. Tom Perez won the election after two rounds, gaining 235 votes out of 435 members.
But what exactly does this mean for the Democratic Party? Many are calling out Tom Perez’s election as a victory for the “establishment,” as Bernie supporters favored Ellison. Despite Perez’s mentioning of Ellison for the Deputy Chairman of the DNC, and his appointment to the post, the far-left is not happy. Liberal talk shows such as the “Young Turks” claim that appointment of Perez will result in a loss for the Democratic Party in future elections as it continues to ignore the desires of a large portion of their constituency and that the current “business as usual,” establishment politics are obsolete. Moreover, the far left claims that establishment is employing a clever ruse of identity politics as facade to push an establishment, non-progressive agenda by using Perez’s Hispanic ethnicity.
However, Perez’s supporters such as Alan Dershowitz accuse Ellison for antisemitism for his affiliation with the Nation of Islam and support of anti-Zionist policies. Ellison, however, claims that such criticism is libelous and denies antisemitic views – Ellison did in fact endorse Bernie Sanders to become the first Jewish president in the 2016 presidential election.
There is no doubt that there is a deep divide being created in the Democratic party, which they must address fast before problems become more severe. The Democratic Party is losing seats in the House, the Senate, and has lost the presidency.
Unconventional Media 