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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBiden endorsement wakes up DNC chair race
He's no longer in office, but former Vice President Joe Biden still managed to put a jolt into the race for Democratic National Committee chair this week.
After a few static weeks, the race suddenly came alive again after Biden formally endorsed fellow Obama administration alumna and former Labor Secretary Tom Perez on Wednesday, publicly confirming the tacit support top Obama administration officials had given to Perez.
Biden's move, in turn, generated a burst of activity by Perez's rivals, designed to counter the impression that Perez was gaining momentum. Sen. Bernie Sanders, one of Rep. Keith Ellison's top backers in the DNC race, released a statement stressing the importance of supporting the Minnesota congressman. On Thursday, South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg rolled out a big name of his own: he unveiled the support of former DNC Chairman Steve Grossman. A day later, Ellison's team released their own former vice president endorsement: Walter Mondale.
"It certainly ratcheted up. Suddenly the emails started again. It ratcheted up the focus and I think the energy on both sides perhaps," said Maine Democratic Party Chairman Phil Bartlett, who is undecided in the DNC race.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/detroit-dnc-forum-234625
George Eliot
(701 posts)Can't say one stood out. I want someone honest. A fair campaign.
JI7
(89,262 posts)the only difference would be non political ones such as how they are as managers/administrators.
PoiBoy
(1,542 posts)...2018 is right around the corner and there's lots of work to be done...
BannonsLiver
(16,439 posts)Or if you're scoring at home, 110 days after the election. Will be close to 5 months by the time the new chair is fully up to speed. The timeframe is ludicrous. My guess is the date was picked before the election with the expectation that Hillary would win and there wouldn't need to be a rush.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)"For those keeping track," can you run the numbers on this one. It will end up being about a month different yet the same numbers you cited above as of today.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Dean
BannonsLiver
(16,439 posts)The timing is ludicrous, your snark aside. Have a lovely day.
NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)That's what it is. The manner in which you dismiss it is perfect. 👍
"Past isn't prologue."
Fuck history and reality!!!! It was Clinton this time!!!
Clinton had no input for this post.
BannonsLiver
(16,439 posts)"There's a Clinton around every corner."
My my someone is a wee sensitive about that. I don't care who gets it. Ellison. Perez. A ham sandwich. Just get on with it!
Sorry you were so offended. (For reasons I'm still trying to determine).
Cha
(297,522 posts)snip//
"The Democratic Party is at a crossroads, and it needs leaders with strong progressive voices as well as unique skills and experiences to lead the party forward. While there are a number of very good candidates in the DNC chair race, Tom Perez offers the party what it so desperately needs bold leadership and ideas, strong experience managiass-kisserng an organization at the state and federal level, and someone singularly focused on rebuilding the party across the country.
He understands the realities faced by hard-working families all across America who are desperate for a better life. Our members saw firsthand his passion and commitment to improving the lives of union workers as he joined with us to push for safer working conditions at poultry plants, and as he fiercely advocated in favor of the Overtime Rule. As Labor Secretary, he not only pushed for progressive reforms, he helped manage a multi-billion dollar agency with thousands of employees. In light of the challenges the party faces, Secretary Perez has the experience and vision for the changes the DNC must make, and is the right leader who can make these changes happen. We enthusiastically support his candidacy."
http://www.ufcw.org/2016/12/16/ufcw-endorses-tom-perez-for-dnc-chair/
More~ http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/12/19/1612780/-The-UFCW-the-UFW-and-the-Fire-fighters-union-endorse-Tom-Perez-for-DNC-chair
OK.. one more..
Today it became known that the International Association of Firefighters, the main union representing American firefighters, has broken with the AFL- CIO and endorsed Tom Perez too:
"In a statement, Schaitberger praised Perez as a "a tireless advocate for civil and human rights" who can transcend what the union president called "a narrow focus on identity and cultural politics that alienated" some longtime Democrats from the party.
"Tom Perez is the person who has the right mix of personal background, progressive values, experience and total commitment to all workers, in all regions and states across the country," Schaitberger said. "To have Tom Perez as the Chair of one of our nation's two major political parties would be a significant victory for workers across America."
http://services.prod.iaff.org/ContentFile/Get/30617
In the meantime Tom Perez is also getting important Latino support.
The Latino Victory Fund are supporting his bid for the DNC chair, and I would urge everyone to read an excellent article written by Victoria DeFrancesco Soto over at NBC Latino:
She argues that Tom Perez is exactly the man the DNC needs now, because he appeals to Latino voters and minority voters because of his past relentless fight for civil rights, but also because he has a great appeal/ connection to the white working class because of his work as Secretary of Labor.
For everyone not really familiar with Tom Perez accomplishments as Secretary of Labor, I would recommend this article describing who Tom Perez is, and what he did standing up for workers rights, the 15 dollar minimum wage and overtime protection:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/opinion-tom-perez-what-dnc-needs-now-n697746
#TeamPerez!
Link to tweet
Cha
(297,522 posts)snip//
For Democrats, the latest affront came a day earlier, when Trump signed an executive order halting, for now, a U.S. refugee program and indefinitely suspending Syrian refugee admission. Buttigieg noted that as the candidates were speaking, "people who have looked to America as a beacon are trapped in a Tom Hanks movie at JFK airport," while former Labor Secretary Tom Perez called the move an attack on a program that already works.
After the forum, both Buttigieg and Perez said they were heading to George Bush Intercontinental Airport to join a protest against the order.
"We've got refugees who are vetted more than the Trump Cabinet was," said Perez, who throughout the forum advocated for a confrontational approach to Trump.
"That is bullshit! Plain and simple. Bullshit!" Perez said of Trump's claims of voter fraud in the presidential election. When it comes to combatting Trump, he added: "We cant come to a knife fight with a spoon, folks. Weve got to come with a bazooka."
More..
https://www.texastribune.org/2017/01/28/houston-dnc-chair-candidates-talk-fighting-trump-b/
Tarheel
Cha
(297,522 posts)This is from January 6th.. he's only gotten stronger..
By David Corn
snip//
Progressive Democrats gazing upon the fight for the leadership of their party ought to be delighted. The two leading candidates for chair of the Democratic National CommitteeRep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Labor Secretary Tom Perezare each battle-hardened and experienced progressives with much to offer their partisan comrades. Yet the contest for the DNC's top post has widely been cast as a clash between wings of the party, with Ellison as the champion of the insurgent left and Perez as the candidate of the establishment. That depiction misrepresents the face-off and fixates on the wrong question: who has better progressive street cred? With the Democrats deep in the holea minority in both houses of Congress, out of the White House, holding only 16 governor slots and merely 31 of 99 state legislative chambers, and lacking a deep bench or a flock of rising starsthe tussle for DNC chief ought to focus on who can best do the nuts-and-bolts job of rebuilding the party from the ground level.
snip//
Then Perez joined the race. He was not a last-minute contestant shoved into the contest by Democratic establishmentarians looking to thwart Ellison, the first Muslim elected to the Housethough some Obama loyalists within the party were clearly not keen on Ellison. Perez, who has been busy finishing up at the Labor Department before handing over the keys to Trumpsters, merely needed more time to make his decision, according to his camp. Yet when Perez, who had endorsed Clinton in the 2016 race, announced his bid, several unions, including the AFL-CIO, which have worked closely with him, were already on the Ellison Express. (Perez has since been backed by the United Food and Commercial Workers, the United Farm Workers, and the International Association of Fire Fighters, and the Democratic governors of Colorado, Louisiana, Rhode Island, and Virginia.) And with Perez's entrance, some Sanders folks started claiming that the Evil Empirethat is, the poohbahs of the partywas once again seeking to crush a progressive insurgency. (Ellison backers have been ticked off that his Democratic opponents have pointed to a handful of Ellison's remarks and his associations with radical black Muslims in the 1990s to undermine his bid.)
This wing-versus-wing dustup is unfortunate for the party. The vote for DNC chairthe person who will be stuck with a mountain of mundane but important tasks and responsibilitiesprobably should not be predicated on symbolism. Nor should it necessarily be a contest over competing issue platformsunless the issue divide truly defines the future course of the party. And that's not what is at stake here. Certainly, Perez, while serving in President Barack Obama's Cabinet, did not oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which was backed by the president, and Ellison was a critic of the trade pact. But there's truly not much ideological distance between the two. They are both grassroots-minded progressives. Ellison, before being elected to the House, was a community activist and operated a civil rights, employment, and criminal defense law practice in Minneapolis. Perez, the Buffalo, New York-raised son of two parents exiled from the Dominican Republic, was once the head of CASA de Maryland, an organization advocating for and providing services to immigrants.
#TeamPerez
aikoaiko
(34,183 posts)I assume this was some kind of autocorrect/typo, amIrite?
[IMG][/IMG]
MoonRiver
(36,926 posts)Cha
(297,522 posts)Exultant Democracy
(6,594 posts)Is how to win.
Denzil_DC
(7,254 posts)His back story seems engaging - young (just turned 35), a reservist who's served in Afghanistan, self-identifies as a millennial and is championing issues he says they care about, openly gay twice-elected blue mayor from a red state (Pence's Indiana) who's been strong on social programs, an effective public speaker, wants to adopt a 50-state strategy, and he's turned out enthusiastically to recent demonstrations, so he's got that comfortable shoes thing going for him.
Gothmog
(145,489 posts)NCTraveler
(30,481 posts)Many from all side wanted Biden to run for President. He holds a lot of respect across the board.