Young Democrats are not happy with a recent move made by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC). And now Young Democrats at 31 colleges have announced they are boycotting the DCCC over its decision to cut off vendors working for primary challengers.
According to a letter released by the Harvard College Democrats, it is urging a national boycott of donations to the party’s House campaign arm. The letter suggests people instead contribute to individual candidates until the DCCC reverses the rule. The boycott call has been effective. So far 26 chapters of college Democrats from Spelman to Arizona State had signed the letter calling the DCCC policy “regressive” and “undemocratic.”
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The DCCC set new guidelines last month for vendors working the 2020 election cycle. And under the new rules, vendors have to agree not to work with any candidates challenging Democratic incumbents. Progressive leaders in the party met privately with DCCC Chair Cheri Bustos and opposed the new move. House Democrats such as Reps. Ted Lieu, former DCCC vice chair and current vice chair of House Democrats’ LGBT Equality caucus; Ayanna Pressley; Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez; Raul Grijalva; Joe Kennedy; Jahana Hayes have expressed their opposition.
“The rule would financially deter and greatly disadvantage vital new voices in our party, who are often younger and come from underrepresented and historically marginalized communities and identities,” the students’ letter reads. “Primary challengers are essential to ensure that the Democratic Party is continually held accountable to the needs of our constituents. This blacklist policy is undemocratic and antithetical to our values of inclusion and diversity.”
The Young Democrats also claim the new rules hurts minority vendors. They repeated Pressley, who said that Democrats “cannot credibly lay claim to prioritizing diversity and inclusion when institutions like the DCCC implement policies that threaten to silence new voices and historically marginalized communities,” the Intercept reported.
Bustos has been under fire for some time.
“Pramila Jayapal, Mark Pocan, and I met with Cheri Bustos to make it clear that we strongly oppose her new policy that stifles competition and blackballs any consultant who works for a challenger. We made the point to Cheri that Nancy Pelosi, and Ben Ray Luján never adopted such a heavy-handed policy,” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus told The Intercept in a statement. “Ben Ray Luján in particular had a much kinder and more inclusive approach.”
Is Cheri Bustos a chief enforcer of systemic white supremacy? Some say with these latest guidelines, it is looking like that.
