Democratic Party Having Serious Problems Raising Money After 2016 Loss

The Democratic Party continues to struggle to raise money after its string of losses, as they continue to alienate liberals and progressives, including  the DNC’s recent purge. Politico reports:

The Democratic National Committee is reeling, facing a turnaround that’s proving a much bigger lift than anyone expected as it struggles to raise enough money to cover its basic promises.

Many donors are refusing to write checks. And on-the-ground operatives worry they won’t have the resources to build the infrastructure they need to compete effectively in next year’s midterms and in the run-up to 2020…

“Donors, small and large, are so over the party,” said Nebraska party chair Jane Kleeb, summing up the problem facing DNC chairman Tom Perez and his counterparts in the states. Kleeb, who is working on grass-roots fundraising efforts for the committee, said she believes the money will come eventually.

“Everybody thinks that some magic three-page document and some magic tagline is going to turn everything around for us,” she added. “But this is very typical work.”

…So with 2018’s midterms presenting a clear opportunity for Democrats to leap forward, the worry is that they simply may not be prepared in time. While the House and Senate Democratic campaign arms — and individual candidates — are having no problem raising funds, the comparatively anemic cash flow at the central committee and state branches could affect organizing efforts on the ground across the country.

The Hill described how bleak the picture is:

The Republican National Committee (RNC) outraised the Democratic National Committee (DNC) by more than $6 million last month, according to federal filings.

Recently released numbers show the DNC raised around $4 million during the month of September, while the RNC raised about $10 million.

The data also showed that the RNC has roughly $44 million in cash on hand, while the DNC has roughly $7 million.

The Democrats have been failing for the past decade with their strategy of moving right to be just slightly less crazy than the Republicans. This has alienated voters on the left while failing to attract voters on the right, who will vote for the true Republican Party rather than the Republican-lite Democratic Party.

Even when Bernie Sanders did show the Democrats that he could both bring in new voters and raise money the DNC chose to essentially hand the nomination to someone as unfit to be president as Hillary Clinton. This cost the Democrats both the White House and an excellent chance at winning the Senate, as many people voted for Republicans down ticket in response to the conventional wisdom that Clinton would be the next president.

The Democratic Party needs to open themselves up to liberal and progressive principles and bring in new leadership. It does not help matters when they make Donna Brazile a member of the rules committee after she cheated in the 2016 primary battle by slipping debate questions to Hillary Clinton, or when Nancy Pelosi says she should remain Speaker of the House because of her gender.

Update: While the party is having fund raising problems, Politico subsequently reported that some Democratic candidates are raising large amounts of money, fueled by opposition to Donald Trump.

3 Comments

  1. 1
    Life long democrat says:

    Until the party does away with super delegates (so the chosen candidate actualy represents the wishes of the voters) you won't get another dime from me.  Or anyone that I know that is thinking about it.  I have told everyone I know about why Bernie didn't get the nomination even though his crowds were masive. You all need to know our young people are moving left, way left, and you better move with them or lose them!

  2. 2
    Ron Chusid says:

    It is not only the superdelegates. There is the front loading of southern states to promote more conservative candidates. Plus there are all the ways that the DNC intervened in 2016 to change the rules to help Clinton, including limiting debates the debates and the fund raising rules.

  3. 3
    Marc Plante says:

    Why should the DNC survive?

    1) They committed multiple acts of election fraud throughout the entirety of their 2016 "primary,"

    2) they admitted openly in a Florida Federal court that their by-laws do not have to be followed (these are their rules that they publicly state so that "investors" know how a corporation operates),

    3) they deceived the American public by manipulating the media, and then lying through it,

    4) they unenrolled their own members…. Why not help them a long? And,

    5) they are not here to win for you (Sanders for the people); they are here to win for their elitist and corporate donors (Clinton Corporate Cash).

    Is this a political party for progressives?  They are worse than Republicans…..  they have to use the "two-faced" politics that their Hil-liar-y Clinton spoke of… all good and fine, but only if they are aligned along the same path…  They are aligned opposite. 

    #DemExit and #DitchTheDems is working well… their fundraising is drying up and eventually, the problem will resolve itself:  the DNC will either become another irrelevant Third Party or merge into the GOP.  A new party, perhaps the Green Party,  that legitimately represents the peoples' interests will replace it.  Their platform matches Sanders' and with the DNC gone, their message will be heard (they are more than just an environmental party).

    Regarding the story update:  funding and voting for Democrats, because of the likes of Trump, is what got us here:  voting for the lesser of two evils gives us evil and a progression of evil (such as we saw in the 2016 General Election).  Vote for Berniecrats flying D, I, or G flags.  Don't just vote for a Democrat:  most of them are corporate pigs.  

     

     

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