Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) last week blasted the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) for implementing a new policy that would deter Democratic consultants from taking on primary challengers as clients. The goal is simple: to keep the progressive challengers at bay. The DCCC said they would no longer award contracts to those consultants or recommend them to House candidates, which is said to protect moderate incumbents.
AOC took to Twitter to encourage supporters to stop donating to the DCCC and instead, make a contribution to individual progressive challengers.
The @DCCC’s new rule to blacklist+boycott anyone who does business w/ primary challengers is extremely divisive & harmful to the party.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 30, 2019
My recommendation, if you’re a small-dollar donor: pause your donations to DCCC & give directly to swing candidates instead.
Some great ones:
She highlighted a few candidates she aligned with who she wanted supporters to support monetarily, like California's Mike Levin, Illinois' Lauren Underwood and Rep. Katie Porter.
Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) also took to Twitter to blast the DCC's decision, saying the DCC's decision negatively impacts women and people of color:
THREAD
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 30, 2019
My thoughts on the @dccc's decision that threatens to slam the door on those who work w/ challengers in Democratic primaries: (1/X)
This afternoon, I spoke at the Democratic Campaign Institute, sponsored by @massdems, which brought together current and future candidates, staffers, & activists from across MA. I was inspired to be w/ such a diverse group looking to engage further in our democracy. (2/x)
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 30, 2019
But, under the DCCC's new rule, too many of those in attendance would continue to be excluded from Democratic Party institutions. I am particularly concerned about the potential impact of this rule on diverse vendors (3/x)
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 30, 2019
The fact that I challenged an incumbent meant a lot of folks were told not to come anywhere near my campaign. But I was lucky to build a dynamic, innovative team of staff & consultants who understood the challenges our campaign faced, and who were willing to take a risk (4/x)
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 30, 2019
Without their willingness to go against the status quo - it’s very possible that I wouldn’t be in Congress. (5/x)
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 30, 2019
If the DCCC enacts this policy to blacklist vendors who work with challengers, we risk undermining an entire universe of potential candidates and vendors - especially women and people of color - whose ideas, energy, and innovation need a place in our party (6/x)
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 30, 2019
As a practice, I always want to engage my colleagues 1-on-1 when we disagree. Those conversations can be productive & meaningful. But I worry these concerns, while shared by many of my colleagues & supporters, haven’t been received by those calling the shots at the DCCC. (7/x)
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 30, 2019
So, let me be clear: I believe fiercely in the potential of our party, but we cannot credibly lay claim to prioritizing diversity & inclusion when institutions like the DCCC implement policies that threaten to silence new voices and historically marginalized communities (8/x)
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 30, 2019
The lesson of 2018 is that our party is made stronger by the inclusion of diverse, disruptive candidates and vendors who bring different perspectives and experiences (9/x)
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 30, 2019
Our diversity is our strength. When a candidate takes the risk to run, Democrats should not be in the practice of creating litmus tests or roadblocks that have a chilling effect on new candidates or those who would invest their sweat equity in support.
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) March 30, 2019
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What's ironic is Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears to heading to New York City to appear at a DCCC event. The event, more than likely, is a 2020 fundraiser.
A source tells me Speaker Pelosi is on a commercial flight from SF to NYC right now. She’s slated to appear at DCCC events in NYC. The same weekend @AOC encourages donors to pause their donations to the DCCC. https://t.co/0jojTmUz2N
— Yashar Ali ?? (@yashar) March 31, 2019
These exchanges are the perfect example that the Democratic Party is having their own internal fighting and growing paints. The Republican Party had a similar fight when the Tea Party came about. The party had to decide how far right they were going to go. They had to determine if they'd stay more moderate to attract independents or go further right to keep the base happy. Democrats are seeing that same issue with the progressive wing of their party. People like AOC, Rashia Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley want the party become more progressive but other Democrats, like Joe Manchin, think that's taking the party too far to the left.
Now it's conservatives' turn to sit back and watch.