Millennials Tell Tom Perez: There’s Still a Fight within the Democratic Party
We are disappointed in the outcomes of the DNC Winter Meeting this morning. From failing to reinstate the ban on corporate lobbyist donations to electing Tom Perez as DNC Chair, the party has failed to hear our concerns. This morning the Democratic Party faced a choice — to reassure the establishment and their corporate donors, or to engage and empower the people they’ve alienated — and they made their choice clear.
At the DNC Winter Meeting, the Democratic Party establishment rejected the opportunity to stand with the grassroots and follow the leadership of the millions of voters joining the resistance to Trump. Our message is simple: The Democratic Party cannot continue to choose the entrenched views of the establishment over the demands of the grassroots and expect the base to simply fall in line with an agenda designed by consultants and billionaire donors.
The Democratic Party is severely divided. But the divide is not simply left versus right — it’s top versus bottom. The Democratic Party establishment continues to side with billionaire donors and consultants, rather than with working-class people and the grassroots. The Party leadership continues to side with the usual suspects who failed to stop Trump, instead of the millennials leading our movements today. We will continue our fight both inside and outside the Democratic Party for the fundamental rights and dignities that all people of this country need and deserve.
The offer of the Deputy Chair position to Keith Ellison is a clear sign that the Party’s establishment sees the millennial-led progressive insurgency as a growing threat. But it does nothing to change the fact that today’s outcome means Democrats are still unwilling to break with corporate donors and be the unapologetically progressive Party of the People that America needs.
We are the people organizing, marching, canvassing, and phone-banking to create a democracy for all. We believe our support should be earned. That’s why we will continue to demand a Democratic Party that can actually be a vehicle for resisting Donald Trump and solving the crises in our country today. We renew our demand for new leadership in the Democratic Party from the local to national level. While the Democratic Party establishment continues to waver and equivocate on how to firmly oppose Trump, we will keep fighting for our country, our communities, and for working-class people whose lives are on the line.
Sincerely,
Erika Andiola, Political Director, Our Revolution; Dreamer
Nelini Stamp, Working Families Party
Waleed Shahid, #AllofUs
Caleb-Michael Files, Millennials for Revolution; former Digital Director, NextGen Climate North Carolina
Collin Rees, SustainUS & #AllofUs
Maria Langholz, Climate Activist
Yong Jung Cho, #AllofUs
Moumita Ahmed, Co-Founder, Millennials for Revolution; The People for Bernie Sanders
Kai Newkirk, Co-Founder / Mission Director, Democracy Spring
Sean Estelle, Power Shift Network
Charlie Jiang, #AllofUs & 350 DC
Amirah Sequeira, Legislative Advocate, National Nurses United
Dante Barry, Executive Director, Million Hoodies Movement for Justice
Claire Sandberg, former Bernie 2016 Digital Organizing Director; former MoveOn Member Mobilization Director
Sam Ghazey, Knock Every Door; former Bernie 2016 National Organizer; former NextGen Climate
Carli Stevenson, former DNC Platform Committee Member, Indiana
Alison Redford, Member, Democratic Party
Laura Bandara, Volunteer, Action Utah / Salt Lake Indivisible
Ghazal Rahmanpanah, Co-Founder, Now We Rise
Anthony Torres, #AllofUs & SustainUS
Rosie O’Brien, #AllofUs & Real Food Challenge
Kyle Amsler, Interim National Coordinating Committee Member, Democracy Spring
Andrea Perez, Board Member, People’s Progressive Caucus of Miami Dade; Democracy Spring Regional Coordinator
Desiree Kane, National Engagement Director, The People for Bernie Sanders; The Indian Problem
Candice Fortin, Board Member, The Kite Project at Rikers; Democracy Spring &#VoteProChoice
Matthew Creasey, Member, Democratic Party
Ian Schiffer, National Director, Young Progressives Demanding Action
David Robin, Co-Founder, Millennials for Revolution
Rebecca Krasky, Core Member, Fossil Free Macalester
Bob Bland, Co-Chair, Women’s March on Washington
Joe Dinkin, National Communications Director, Working Families Party
Kyle Machado, Director of Organizing, Our Revolution; former Bernie 2016
Sam Miller McDonald, Managing Editor, ActivistLab.org; University of Oxford
Eli Shepherd, Divest Grinnell Organizer, Grinnell College Student Action
Morgan A. Johnson, Co-Founder, Young Progressives Demanding Action
Zachary Jones, Vice President, 350 Stevens Point
Ethan Fox, Digital Organizer, Millennials for Revolution
Justin Jacoby Smith, Digital Organizer, Democracy
Nikhil Goyal, Author & Public Education Activist
My-Linh Vo, Millennials for Revolution
Adam Hasz, Cambridge Advocacy Coordinator, Fossil Free MIT; MIT Democrats
Zackary Reinhardt, Leadership Council, Michigan for Revolution; Millennials for Revolution
Sara Anderson, Independent
Nick Guthman, former President, American University College Democrats
Halee Kirkwood, Volunteer, Boneshaker Books
Elana Levin, Co-Founder, Organizing 2.0; Jewish People of the 17th New York State Senate District against Trump
Jon Mermelstein, Binghamton Progressives
Avery Raines, SustainUS & #AllofUs
Jake Soiffer, California Trade Justice Coalition
Courtney Jines, Organizer, The Future Is Feminist; Filmmaker
Adam Wilkes, Volunteer, Citizen Action of New York – Southern Tier
Pamela Linares, Volunteer, Alianzas
Hayden Higgins, DC Divest
Rosalie Yelen, Volunteer Organizer, Long Island Activists; MoveOn & Action Together Long Island
Kenneth Shelton Jr., Community Organizer, Black Lives Matter of Greater New York
Aurora Adachi-Winter, Organizer & Activist
Kevin Chavus, Executive Board Member, SEIU Local 26; Our Revolution — Twin Cities
Jody Lee, Volunteer, NYPVAN; Working Families Party
Charlie Furman, People’s Climate Movement
Mark Olivares, Organizer & Activist
Natalie Hoidal, Asylum Center Garden Coordinator, Red Cross
Maxwell Love, former President, U.S. Student Association; Our Wisconsin Revolution
Skeeter Ezell, Member, Democratic Party
Ricardo Williams, Lead Organizer, Orlando for Revolution; Orange County Democratic Party
Ray Uyeda, former Field Organizer, Hillary For America
Quinn Dunlea, Teaching Assistant, American University Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department; AU Resist
Bailey Grebbin, Board Member, Vermont Student Power Network
Aurin Chowdhury, Co-Founder & Event Coordinator, Women for Political Change
Yaz Najeebi, Executive Director, Vermont Student Power Network; Power Shift Network
Sarah Fadem, Energy Independence Campaign Director, Vermont Student Power Network; Our Climate & Energy Independent Vermont
Trey Bowman, Operations Director, Vermont Student Power Network
Zack Mezera, Executive Director, Providence Student Union
Kaitlyn Lafferty, Green Party
Allison Bohr, Independent
Alina Tomeh, Organizer & Activist
Kyle de Beausset, Citizen Orange
Lindsay Meiman, U.S. Communications Coordinator, 350.org & 350 Action
Elana Sulakshana, Columbia Divest for Climate Justice
Jean Thomas, Executive Board Member, Washington State Progressive Caucus
Ben Goloff, SustainUS
Aaron Johnson-Ortiz, Centro de Trabajadores Unidos en Lucha; Artist
*organizations listed for identification purposes only
