If House Speaker Nancy Pelosi thought that Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) were her only intraparty headaches, think again. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, one of the players who aim to maintain the majority in 2020 is under attack by Black and Hispanic members of the party over concerns about diversity. In short, they think the DCCC has been tone-deaf on racial issues and overall has screwed over minorities and their interests. Funny, that’s exactly the sort of thing Democrats do to their base of supporters on a daily basis, but I digress. Politico explained the whole mess:
Senior Hispanic and black members of Congress have privately clashed with Rep. Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) over her personnel decisions, what they say are tone-deaf comments on race and whether she's lived up to the promises she made during the campaign to win the chairmanship of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
“There is not one person of color — black or brown, that I’m aware of — at any position of authority or decision making in the DCCC,” said Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. “It is shocking, it is shocking, and something needs to be done about it.”
Bustos sought a meeting with Fudge, and Fudge said no.
“Until they show me they are serious about diversity, there’s no reason for me to meet with them,” Fudge said.
And Fudge isn’t alone. Interviews with more than two dozen Democratic lawmakers, aides and strategists detailed months of frustration and unanswered questions about Bustos’ efforts to retain minority staffers in top positions, boost Latino voter outreach and hire firms run by people of color. They charged Bustos of being tactless when challenged by lawmakers of color.
“The overall plan for Latino outreach seems to be some 1980s playbook, which doesn't work anymore,” Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said.
The DCCC declined to make Bustos available for an interview but said that the “DCCC has continued to increase diversity amongst our staff.”
“Anyone seeking to divide our party and stoke infighting between Democrats at a time when Donald Trump is in the White House is undermining our ability to protect the majority,” said Jared Smith, communications director for the campaign arm.
A DCCC aide also said that “nearly 50 percent of the senior staff identifies as racially diverse” but they declined to name a senior staffer who is a person of color on the record.
Oh, that’s not good, especially when AOC and her crew are being looked at more and more as the faces of the Democratic Party, left-wing, proud, and totally insane. In swing House districts, the voters viewed these ladies very unfavorably and their agenda as trash. We’re not a socialist country a la Venezuela or Europe. This is why Pelosi was trying so hard for months to create a buffer zone between the rest of the caucus and these four ladies. That all changed when Trump attacked this crew on Twitter, forcing Pelosi to respond and defend AOC. This embrace is stunning. It could be what ends the Democratic House majority. I don’t care who wins that fight. I want the GOP to retake the House in 2020—and I think they can. With the far left slice making the Democrats look unpalatable to swing voters in key districts to lawmakers of color going after the DCCC, a lot of division is present here. Let’s hope it lasts until Election Day 2020.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member