"Undemocratic and regressive"
In April, the DCCC (the official House Democrats organization) released guidelines that ban political consultants and vendors from working with candidates like Agatha who are challenging Democratic incumbents. In general, voters aren't aware of this kind of blacklisting to discourage new political voices disrupting the status quo, so we're writing to update you about our experiences with the practice, and ask for your help!
Progressive leaders slammed the DCC blacklisting decision, saying it would financially deter and disadvantage young, diverse, new voices - voices like Agatha's - in the party. College democratic groups around the country also protested–at last count 68 chapters–signed a petition urging voters not to donate to the party’s congressional-campaign arm.
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Team Agatha agrees with the College Democrats when they pronounced this policy "undemocratic, regressive...and antithetical to our values of inclusion and diversity.”
The DCCC story faded from the headlines, but for our campaign, the blacklist is an ever-present reality we must struggle with, including:
- Meetings set up before the blacklist announcement were immediately cancelled with the reluctant explanation "we are not comfortable being adverse to party leadership".
- Our booth reservation for the CA state democratic convention was first lost, then denied due to being "oversold"...in the end, we were blocked from having a booth.
- Organizations that exist to support female and millennial candidates have been hesitant to talk with the Agatha For Congress campaign, fearing that working with a candidate primarying a democratic incumbent might be frowned upon.
- Recently, it was a technology firm saying "We wish you luck...with another vendor."
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Can you help?
Luckily for us, for every handful of vendors afraid of angering the party machine, there are "troublemakers" to be found, people and companies happy to lend their talents to the cause of a more representative democracy accountable to the people.
We're assembling a great team to help us reach our next fundraising goal - but we need your help! We''re fighting an uphill battle against powerful organizations like the DCCC, but with your grass roots support, we can design a democracy that works for the 100%.
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Do you know a troublemaker?
Know someone not afraid to stand up to machine politics, who says no to the status quo? Send them this link to sign up and help the Agatha For Congress campaign - there are many ways to help!
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