In a piece posted on the New York Daily News website, writer, entrepreneur, preacher and civil rights activist Shaun King outlined why he plans on leaving the Democratic Party following the conclusion of the 2016 presidential election.
Here’s a snippet from King’s piece, which is worth a read in its entirety.
On April 18, the Sanders campaign wrote an open letter declaring that Clinton’s campaign was violating campaign finance laws through an unethical joint arrangement with the DNC. The Clinton campaign’s response was that she was actually raising money for down-ticket Democrats. Two weeks later, though, Politico released an amazing investigative report which found that out of the $61 million the Clinton campaign was raising for state parties, the parties were only allowed to keep 1% of it. You read that correctly. I’ll spell it out so that you know a digit wasn’t missing. They got to keep one percent of the funds she claimed she raised for them.
It appears to be a money laundering scheme. Do you remember when George Clooney said that Bernie Sanders and his supporters were right to be disgusted by the fact that some seats at the fundraiser cost $353,400 per couple, but that he could live with it because the money was mainly going to help smaller candidates win local elections?
He was wrong.
According to Politico, “The victory fund has transferred $3.8 million to the state parties, but almost all of that cash ($3.3 million, or 88%) was quickly transferred (back) to the DNC, usually within a day or two, by the Clinton staffer who controls the committee, POLITICO’s analysis of the FEC records found.”
Who really got the money? The Clinton campaign pocketed almost all of it and state parties were left with one penny on the dollar.The Politico report continued: “By contrast, the victory fund has transferred $15.4 million to Clinton’s campaign and $5.7 million to the DNC, which will work closely with Clinton’s campaign if and when she becomes the party’s nominee. And most of the $23.3 million spent directly by the victory fund has gone toward expenses that appear to have directly benefited Clinton’s campaign, including $2.8 million for ‘salary and overhead’ and $8.6 million for web advertising that mostly looks indistinguishable from Clinton campaign ads and that has helped Clinton build a network of small donors who will be critical in a general election expected to cost each side well in excess of $1 billion.”
Of course, none of this is happenstance or coincidence. All of this is a well orchestrated plan. The American people are just now beginning to understand this ugliness. It’s one of the primary reasons why 10 million people have voted for Bernie Sanders and why he has won 21 contests without even a smidgeon of support from the Democratic Party.
The thing is, though, the Democratic Party isn’t really very democratic. It’s sincerely just a machine for Hillary Clinton.
The influence of money in our political system has corrupted and perverted our system of representative government into nothing more than pay to play, and both Republicans and Democrats alike are equally guilty at feeding at the trough of money like pigs.
Frankly, I’m disgusted at the options I’m facing in November, and I refuse to continue to vote for the “lesser of two evils.” If the Democratic Party – both nationally and here in Wisconsin – is unwilling to curb the insidious influence of big money from lobbyists, special interests, and the very richest among us, then I’m unwilling to continue to support the Democratic Party.
While many who decry what the Democratic Party has become have preached a philosophy of “change from within,” I’ve seen what’s that’s gotten us – a Democratic Party that’s as corrupted by money as its ever been, and quite frankly I’m fed up. While I doubt my lack of support for the Democratic Party will be missed by anyone of consequence (after all, I am just one random person), perhaps more people taking a similar stand and refusing to support the status quo will start to effect real change.
On the other hand, maybe nothing will change, but no matter what I’m done with the Democratic Party until it shows me it’s a party worth supporting.
Wow.
I left the Democratic Party during the aftermath of the 2013 shutdown, and I thought about joining the Greens, but I don’t think they’re serious yet about getting into “the game.” They have an excellent platform for domestic issues, especially their call for proportional representation, but Jill Stein (or maybe her advisors) seems clueless when it comes to international relations and US foreign policy. I’m not sure I can vote for a candidate who doesn’t know the difference between signing a treaty and ratifying one, or who uses Russia Today (a propaganda tool of the Kremlin) to spread her message. Is it time for a new party on the left of the political spectrum?
Jason, I think it’s gonna take folks throwing up their hands, saying “enough is enough” and refusing to support/give money to the Democratic Party before anything will change within the party.
While I’d love to see another party to represent progressives, since the DNC nationally seems to have become nothing more than a very close to center party, getting a new party organized on a national level is a huge undertaking.
“Unpaid hotel bill awaits Democrats at Green Bay convention”
http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/noquarter/unpaid-hotel-bill-awaits-democrats-at-green-bay-convention-b99729430z1-380443511.html
Yeah, I posted that as a separate blog post.
Want to leave the DPW? Fine. I have plenty of frustrations with the party as well.
But are the same people who talk about leaving now or after the election going to post, “The Democrats should do this, they should do that…why aren’t the Dems recruiting more local candidates?” blog posts and Facebook posts?
You really can’t change the party from the outside, as an observer. Plenty of people have tried and failed.
“For the love of Money is the root of all evil.”
I’m shocked! Not! It didn’t take me until now to realize MY party, or I should say ITS LEADERS were imperfect, especially in the exercise of greed to combat the exercise of greed by the Republican party.
Let’s not be naive, folks. Crying “foul” and leaving when my candidate is losing is nothing new, But the best way to expose and correct the wrongs or evils of any organization is to work from within.
I am a proud member of the Democratic Party with its shortcomings and human failings and imperfections and will continue to be so. But at the same time, I will cry out giving voice to its weaknesses or sins if you will.
I am not a socialist formally, but believe their goals are best achieved through the “Party of the People;” that is, the Democratic Party.
Respectfully, IMO.
And I would argue that their actions listed above indicate that they are less the Party of the People, and more the Party of the Democratic Party.
We agree, but that is irrelevant. More importantly, how do we fight the unfairness of “Citizens United” with which our leaders must cope?