The Anger is Real.

We are not immune to the pushback surrounding the Democratic Party and the results of the 2024 Presidential election. People are angry—more specifically, Democrats are angry. We are receiving hundreds of messages weekly, and the sentiment is consistent: How could you do this to us? By us, they are referring to America.

In order to move forward, we must take accountability, including us at No Dem Left Behind. We saw the warning signs early, even before the Gaza genocide, but that event became the tipping point. People watched the harrowing images on television and then turned to the Democratically-controlled White House and State Department briefings, utterly shocked by what they were hearing.

Just yesterday, the White House honored the Israeli Defense Minister—the very man responsible for the genocide on the ground, who has an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC). That was the man honored with a White House visit. And now, people are paying attention. How could they do this? What universe are they living in? Don't they care how history will judge them? What about those innocent children? Where is humanity?

We hear these questions. We echo them. We are flabbergasted. Young people and people of color have abandoned the Democratic Party—and frankly, we get it.

We did speak up privately—to the Biden campaign, to the Harris campaign, and to our U.S. Senate candidates, both those who won and those who lost. We urged them to change course, but it fell on deaf ears. Now, we must ask ourselves over and over: Would it have made a difference if we had spoken out publicly?

We can't change the past, but we can learn from our mistakes. You will never hear us use the phrase Vote Blue No Matter Who ever again. Yes, we want you to vote for Democrats. Yes, we want to support Democratic candidates. But simply checking a box and assuming that qualifies someone to represent the Democratic Party is no longer enough.

Democrats are the party of working people—not corporations exploiting them. Washington, D.C. consultants and lobbyists are not all evil, but the system in which they operate is as corrupt as can be. Everyone knows it, yet those who benefit from it remain silent. We will not stay silent.

A document is circulating among our peers, outlining what the Democratic Party must embrace. We want the next chair, whoever they may be, to sign on.

 

Principles for the Next DNC Chair

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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.

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.

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.

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.

 

In solidarity,

-Hassan Martini

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