The DNC Just Declared War on Bernie Sanders’ Political Revolution
Jacqueline Pine | February 12,

The Democratic National Committee, headed by the massively unpopular Debbie Wasserman Schultz, has just lifted the last restrictions preventing the DNC from receiving direct contributions from Wall Street and special interest lobbyists.

Under the new rules, political action committees (PACs) and other corporate lobbyists and special interests are now free to donate unlimited sums to the DNC itself. The previous restrictions were put in place by President Barack Obama after his own election, which he marked by saying, “We are going to change how Washington works.”

He continued by affirming that corporate PACs “will not fund my party. They will not run our White House. And they will not drown out the voice of the American people when I’m president of the United States of America.”

These changes in the campaign finance and fundraising system of the DNC (and of the election process in general) are a cornerstone of the campaign of Bernie Sanders, who in his victory speech in New Hampshire referenced corruption in the campaign financing system no less than five times. He has also touted the fact that he has no super PACs funding his campaign and that the average contribution he receives is just $27.

However, some have speculated that these new rules will provide a boost to Hillary Clinton’s fundraising efforts, as Clinton has set up a joint fundraising committee with the DNC, the Hillary Victory Fund. Sanders created his own to match Clinton’s, but it has raised only $1,000 compared to the $26.9 million raised through the Hillary Victory Fund.

This change in policy was preceded by a decision to allow PACs to donate to the annual nominating conventions, after Congress cancelled the $20 million it previously provided in federal funding to both parties’ conventions.

Robert Reich, who was Bill Clinton’s Secretary of Labor and is a harsh critic of Wall Street and vocal supporter of Bernie Sanders, was aghast at the DNC’s decision, posting a scathing Facebook post in which he accuses the DNC of being a “siphon for more corruption.”

According to today’s Washington Post, the Democratic National Committee has quietly reversed restrictions banning…

Posted by Robert Reich on Friday, February 12, 2016

Likewise, the campaign finance reform and transparency activist Fred Wertheimer expressed his profound disagreement with the DNC. “It is a major step in the wrong direction, and it is completely out of touch with the clear public rejection of the role of political money in Washington.”