In the days since the first presidential debate, a collective of legacy media and political establishment figures have been hit by a lightning bolt to their indoctrinated psyche in calling for President Biden to quit his reelection race. Almost as surprising is how these loyal soldiers are throwing blame for this budding catastrophe at popular leaders like Barack Obama and Jill Biden.
The no-confidence crisis could lead to a convention unifying behind the president or a sloppy contentious public or closed door fight to support an unvetted candidate who has little time to be introduced to the nation, as early voting begins weeks after the convention in some states.
Running a billion dollar campaign against Donald Trump on a parliamentary timeline could be the death knell to the DNC. But doubling down on a protested and weakened Biden could depress Democratic turnout, handing the far right total control.
Previously, Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss and the loss of more than 1,000 legislative seats during the Obama years sent Democrats into a tailspin, awakened voters, donors and elected DNC members to examine what happened. This led to the grueling two-year Unity Reform Commission — a tour across the country interviewing party leaders, consultants, activists, ethnic and minority groups, and policy leaders. We dug through the DNC’s spending, coordinated campaigns and consultant records. And most importantly, the party’s losses.
It wasn’t just examining a few minor mistakes, like Clinton not having a Wisconsin office. It was reporting on what party chairs had complained about — how for more than a decade that the DNC pulled monies from state parties — and moved it to the consultant class.
As states were starved of resources, conservatives like the Koch network were pumping resources into states to take over legislatures. Democratic Parties lacked the ability to fend off abortion bans and anti-LGBTQ legislation — but the DNC was raising more money than ever.
Presidential races are money makers and a big consultant industrial complex. As many of the honest, hardworking elected members of the DNC have cited, the fight — short and long term — against the far right requires continuous organizing. Every local campaign is a messaging opportunity. Every local party is a pathway to rebuild a bench of political talent that, as we see in this current crisis, is lacking.
While superdelegate reform got most of the attention, the reform commission issued a broader, comprehensive report. Our faction called to end conflicts of interests within the very committees that determine the DNC’s strategy and rules for primaries. This is basic good governance.
However, not only did the DNC leadership resist the reforms after members resoundingly voted to implement them, but the conflict-ridden rules committees and appointed leadership doubled down on — pushing out reformers and replacing them with high-paid conflicted lobbyists and consultants with ties to oil and gas and weapons manufacturers.
These are the same decision makers who changed the presidential primary rules for 2020 and 2024 — to clear out any potential opposition to their choice.
By pushing out and attacking any dissent within and outside of the DNC, and so openly closing off the party from transparency and a broader coalition, the Democratic Party has become an illusion. Big events, a platform with no teeth and performative committee meetings that are overruled by a few unelected consultants have led to the party losing state legislatures, bigger policy fights of the past and future and of course today’s existential crisis with Joe Biden’s viability.
Whether it be choosing President Biden or a brokered convention, if we want to truly win the presidency and defeat the far right, the next Democratic nominee needs to clean up the DNC’s dirty business. The Democratic Party owes these basic reforms to its members, donors and voters to practice the same principles of democracy that it campaigns on.
The nominee needs to immediately declare: “We hear you. We accept our mistakes and we need to address them. We will transform the party with you, the people.”
Konst was a member of the DNC Unity Reform Commission, which was tasked with reforming and opening up the Democratic Party in the wake of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss to Donald Trump.