Newly elected Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez has kicked off what should be a major reorganization of the Democratic party following several years of mid-term defeats and a disastrous 2016 campaign. Perez has requested resignation letters from all current staffers by next month according to NBC News.
While marred by the cloud of Russian hacking, the DNC was also faced with a message that didn’t seem to resonate with voters across the country — particularly in the “rust belt” states that fell to Donald Trump during Election 2016. Several high-profile Democrats faced criticism over the campaign and revelations made via emails released by Wikileaks. This includes former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who stepped down and faced stiff criticism after leaked emails showed she may have shown favoritism towards Hillary Clinton over the Bernie Sanders campaign during the 2016 primary.
According to NBC, an incoming chair seeking to mold the party as they see fit isn’t anything new. But in the fallout of the party’s defeat in the 2016 election, it signals a desire to start making up for the sins of the past:
Party staffs typically sees major turnover with a new boss, but the mass resignation letters will give Perez a chance to completely remake the DNC’s headquarters from scratch after staffing had already reached unusual low following a round of layoffs in December. A committee advising Perez on his transition is now interviewing staff and others as part of a top-to-bottom review process to help decide not only who will stay and who will go, but how the party should be structured in the future.
With the GOP stumbling thanks to the failed healthcare bill and daily distractions from the Trump administration, it’s a dire time for the Democratic party to attempt something to find their mojo. 2018 will be the moment to test those waters and see if they can turn things around against a bolstered Republican party.
(Via NBC News)