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* Cheri Bustos was named the chair of the DCCC partly because she won reelection in a blue-collar district won by President Trump. But when you address one issue, others pop up…
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is in full-blown turmoil.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Cheri Bustos (D-Ill.) was set to make an unplanned trip to Washington from her district Monday amid an outcry from top black and Latino lawmakers over a lack of diversity in the campaign arm’s senior management ranks.
Bustos’ sudden return to D.C., just days after Congress left for a six-week-long August recess, comes as aides and lawmakers are calling for systematic changes to the DCCC, the party’s main election organ.
POLITICO reported last week that black and Hispanic lawmakers are furious with Bustos’ stewardship of the campaign arm. They say the upper echelon of the DCCC is bereft of diversity, and it is not doing enough to reach Latino voters and hire consultants of color. In addition, several of Bustos’ senior aides have left in the first six months of her tenure, including her chief of staff — a black woman — and her director of mail and polling director, both women.
In the most dramatic move so far, Texas Reps. Vicente Gonzalez and Filemon Vela told POLITICO Sunday that Bustos should fire her top aide, DCCC executive director Allison Jaslow.
* From its story last week…
Interviews with more than two dozen Democratic lawmakers, aides and strategists detailed months of frustration and unanswered questions about Bustos’ efforts to retain staffers of color in top positions, boost Latino voter outreach and hire firms run by people of color. They said Bustos was tactless when challenged by lawmakers of color.
“The overall plan for Latino outreach seems to be some 1980s playbook, which doesn’t work anymore,” Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) said.
The DCCC declined to make Bustos available for an interview but said the “DCCC has continued to increase diversity amongst our staff.”
“Anyone seeking to divide our party and stoke infighting between Democrats at a time when Donald Trump is in the White House is undermining our ability to protect the majority,” DCCC spokesman Jared Smith said.
Yeah, that’ll keep everyone calm.
More…
A DCCC aide also said “nearly 50 percent of the senior staff identifies as racially diverse” but they declined to name a senior staffer who is a person of color.
Sheesh.
*** UPDATE *** Politico…
The executive director of the House Democrats’ campaign arm is stepping down amid an outcry from Democratic lawmakers over the lack of diversity in the committee’s senior ranks.
Executive Director Allison Jaslow, a close confidante of Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chair Cheri Bustos, announced her resignation at an all-staff meeting Monday, according to multiple sources. Jaslow said her resignation is effective immediately.
“When I was in eighth grade, I decided that my life would be dedicated to serving my country. I did that first in uniform but since have tried to be a force of good in our politics,” Jaslow, an Iraq War veteran, said in a statement later. “And sometimes selfless service means having the courage to take a bow for the sake of the mission — especially when the stakes are so high.”
Jaslow’s sudden departure comes as Bustos tries to contain the fury from Democratic lawmakers and aides that she has done little to address the lack of diversity in the upper ranks of the campaign arm since winning the chairmanship late last year.
posted by Rich Miller
Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:20 pm
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It seems like the veneer is wearing off. That district isn’t nearly as tough as it used to be and she hasn’t had a real challenger in years.
Comment by Former Downstater Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:25 pm
Never sleep on Democrats and their ability to eat their own
Comment by Anon312 Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:29 pm
Note to Democrats: blue collar districts won by Donald Trump do not represent the base. When you choose representatives from there to recruit the future representatives of the base, this creates all sorts of headaches. The blacklisting scandal, the fundraiser with Lipinski, and now this have happened under Bustos. She should consider letting another member take over.
Comment by A Voter In 10 Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:30 pm
A female veteran. wow. the thirst for blood is too real with the folks on the left. Best of luck to Allison in her future endeavors.
Comment by Iggy Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:30 pm
Democrats attacking democrats….. makes perfect sense
Comment by gohawks123 Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:31 pm
for whatever reason, jaslow was the target. rich is spot on that this is a bunch of things aimed at a single target (who may not be responsible for any of them)…
Comment by bored now Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:46 pm
By all accounts Cheri and her organization are doing an excellent job raising money for the DCCC which is generally considered the point of fundraising–not the “hiring process”.
Comment by Responsa Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:51 pm
=Note to Democrats: blue collar districts won by Donald Trump do not represent the base. When you choose representatives from there to recruit the future representatives of the base, this creates all sorts of headaches.=
You don’t win/retain the majority in Congress by winning base districts alone.
Comment by Anon62704 Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:56 pm
Boy the true believers of the right and left cause both parties headaches
Comment by DuPage Saint Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:00 pm
isn’t this about the guy who wanted the job getting angry? because other prominent Hispanic members have defended her work.
Comment by Amalia Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:06 pm
Cheri is in a tough spot. The Dem base is so frustrated with House Dem leadership for wimping out on impeachment that I think it exacerbates internal food fights like this.
And where most members still don’t feel emboldened enough to publicly air their grievances against the House Dem gerontacracy of Pelosi, Hoyer Clyburn, 70+ year old committee chairs etc. they instead satisfy their bloodlust going after Cheri as a newbie.
I will be surprised if we do not see more stories like this even as we get more and more GOP reps announcing sudden retirement moves
Comment by hisgirlfriday Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:08 pm
Jaslow leaving is a real loss for the DCCC. It would have been better in the long run for Bustos to step down compaired to Jaslow leaving. A young veteran who has been a tireless advocate for Veterans and Democrats. Best of luck to her.
Comment by The Real Captain Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:20 pm
Truly the party of “Where’s Mine?” This puts Bustos in a tough spot, but she is the daughter of Gene Callahan, so I’m not all that worried. She learned from the best and will overcome this challenge.
Comment by Commonsense in Illinois Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:34 pm
Privileged male lawyers target and attack a female veteran. Nice look.
Comment by State of DenIL Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:35 pm
Dems are not having a good year
Comment by Pick a Name Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:52 pm
== comes as aides and lawmakers are calling for systematic changes to the DCCC, the party’s main election organ.==
You don’t see phrases like this turned every day.
Comment by A guy Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:58 pm
==You don’t win/retain the majority in Congress by winning base districts alone.==
You shouldn’t assume that a diverse staff wouldn’t win swing districts. However, creating a racial and gender quota system and running out military veterans from the DCCC is not a good plan to win swing districts either.
It would be interesting to get a glimpse of the educational and socio-economic backgrounds of DCCC staff and applicants. My bet is a lot of elite educational institutions and privileged backgrounds, irrespective of race. Therein lies the root cause of the Democratic Party’s real problem.
Comment by KX-8715 Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 4:26 pm
===Therein lies the root cause of the Democratic Party’s real problem===
In DC anyway.
Comment by Rich Miller Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 4:30 pm
When those caucuses say “jump”, you ask “how high?”
Comment by Illini fan Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 5:01 pm