John, Democrats have work to do to rebuild our party around a bold, populist, working class agenda. And our next DNC chair must be ready to lead that all-hands-on-deck effort.
That’s why today, I’m proud to stand alongside my colleagues Reps. Greg Casar, Maxwell Frost, and Chris Deluzio in outlining four core principles for the next DNC chair.
This is going to be a longer email, but I hope you’ll take the time to read it. And if you agree the next DNC chair should reflect these principles, add your name to our petition today.
We believe the next DNC Chair must:
1. Reform, restructure, and rebrand the party.
- Rebuild our party from the ground up, committing to a 50-state strategy that builds power through the state parties, is year-round rather than transactional, and that respects all voters within our big tent.
- Create an authentic Democratic brand that offers a clear alternative and inclusive vision for how we will make life better for the 90% who are struggling in this economy, take on the biggest corporations and wealthiest individuals who have rigged the system, expose Trump’s corporate favoritism and create a clear contrast with Republicans.
- Undertake an immediate assessment of the effectiveness of Democratic political consulting practices and businesses, and terminate those who have been ineffective and detrimental to the success of our candidates and party. Expand the diversity of DNC consulting partners, focusing on bringing in more consultants to have a demonstrated understanding of populist policies that benefit poor and working class people of every race and geography.
- Undertake a deep analysis of the communications ecosystem to understand where voters get their information, and build an up-to-date operation that targets voters in new ways that will reach, persuade and move them.
- Bring in new leaders and encourage more voices to join party leadership by dedicating seats for leaders of major allied organizations and other key partners.
2. Embrace grassroots donors and reject special interest and dark money.
- Restructure and reform the DNC’s fundraising approach and apparatus to ensure we prioritize fundraising from the 7 million+ grassroots donors who contributed to our campaigns this year, rather than Big Money and dark money donors who do not share our values. The Chair should identify structural reforms to prevent their undue influence and appoint a committee to outline options for state committees to limit or eliminate dark money in primaries.
- Reinstate the 2008 DNC ban on corporate PAC donations and specifically push to ban SuperPAC spending in Democratic primaries.
- Make significant financial reforms that bring transparency to the DNC budget.
3. Rebuild our multiracial working-class base.
- Address the fundamental danger to Democrats receiving a shrinking share of the vote of poor and working-class Americans of all races in every presidential race since 2012.
- Make rebuilding our multiracial poor and working-class base the top priority by launching new efforts to engage with multiracial low-income and working-class voters in all 50 states.
- Prioritize a ten-year plan to invest in reaching and turning out young people, including on college campuses with appropriate tactics, strategy and communications infrastructure.
- Expand efforts to recruit working-class candidates which will further the goal of rebuilding our multiracial, low-income, and working-class base.
- Invest in showing our commitment to real populism versus Trump’s faux populism through lifting up working-class voices and issue-based campaigns that take on corporate concentration and monopoly power at the expense of working people.
4. Show recent, demonstrated experience of turning around organizations, building large coalitions and winning elections.
- Demonstrate clear recent victories and experience in winning elections and building powerful organizations with a shared, coalition party that wins through addition not exclusion.
- Embrace economic populism, multiracial coalition building and grassroots organizing, and be able to articulate how they are connected to building political power and winning elections for Democrats.
- Present a clear strategy to help win upcoming statewide elections in New Jersey, Ohio, and Virginia, as well as local elections across the country.
- Invest in and coordinate with rank-and-file Democrats and grassroots organizations who lead party-building efforts and campaigns in communities across the United States.
These principles will be critical to revitalizing our party and building a working class coalition that can win in the long term. It’s not going to be easy, but together our people-powered movement can get it done.
John, if you’re with me in this fight, please sign on to our petition calling on the next DNC chair to do what’s needed to rebuild our party for the working class.
Add your name
In solidarity,
Pramila Jayapal
