Ahead of Final DNC Leadership Forum, Our Revolution Criticizes Party Leaders for Silencing Grassroots Demands to Reject Corporate Money

Later today, candidates competing to lead the Democratic National Committee will take the stage for the final forum before this weekend's party officer elections.

The event will unfold amid Donald Trump's increasingly dangerous efforts to consolidate corporate and state power, a trend that has become strikingly evident over the past week and a half. From his inauguration, surrounded by oil and tech oligarchs, to executive orders designed to deregulate industries controlled by his billionaire backers, and even the purging of civil servants deemed disloyal, Trump is steering the nation toward an economic and political system where strongmen and oligarchs wield power, all while maintaining the facade of democracy.

Ahead of the event, Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese issued the following statement, criticizing the DNC for silencing grassroots voices and disregarding the consensus within the Party base to reject corporate money and form a true opposition party to Trump:

"This moment demands a Democratic Party that provides more than just reactive opposition to an administration bent on rigging our economic and political systems in favor of the wealthiest and most powerful individuals on Earth. It demands leaders who put the party’s grassroots base ahead of the donor class and articulate a real vision that rejects Donald Trump’s corporate rule—starting with renouncing corporate money themselves.

"Unfortunately, Democratic leadership is failing disastrously to meet this urgent mandate. Ahead of tonight’s forum, the DNC is actively working to silence rank-and-file Democratic activists and base voters calling for a ban on dark money in primaries and the rejection of corporate funding. In a last-minute move, they shut the event off from the public and even deliberately shared the wrong address for where grassroots supporters are allowed to gather.

"Voters—and all Americans—deserve better than two corporate-controlled parties. The election of the next DNC Chair will shape the opposition to Trump’s second term, and we are already seeing glaring red flags from party leaders who are unwilling to part with the ways of the past that ushered in four more years of a would-be tyrant.”

In the weeks following Donald Trump’s November election win, Our Revolution announced the collection of more than 10,000 petition signatures from active grassroots Democratic volunteers, donors, and local and state party leaders demanding widespread reform of the Democratic National Committee. The petition, which was first reported by POLITICO Playbook, specifically calls for Democratic Party leaders to:

• Ban dark money in primaries and reject corporate money
• Invest in state parties and uplift grassroots organizing
• Make the DNC budget transparent and hold consultants accountable
• Commit to a progressive platform & small donor democracy

In the days following Donald Trump’s inauguration, Our Revolution surveyed more than 5,000 of its members nationwide to assess their confidence in the Democratic Party and their reactions to Trump’s actions during the first days of his presidency. Topline findings from the reveal that:

• Only 14% of respondents indicated that they are ‘very confident’ that the Democratic Party and its leaders in Congress, state houses, and city halls will work to block the worst of the Trump agenda.
• Following the inauguration, 43% of respondents said they are angry, and another 40% said they’re feeling worried, scared, or sad.
• 98% of respondents believe that the United States has entered an unprecedented political movement with Trump’s re-election.
• 88% told us they support efforts to transform the Democratic Party into a real opposition party and to get the party to reject corporate money and power. The remaining 12% told us not to bother because they’ve already given up on the Democratic Party (and these are likely voters who are active in politics and anti-Republican — and who have stuck with us as we’ve worked for 8 years to elect Democrats and transform the party).
• 41% want Our Revolution to focus on fighting Trump and the Oligarchs, 32% say we should focus on taking back the Democratic Party from the corporate class, and the remaining 27% say our focus should be on electing progressives who will fight for them.

Here are two of many comments we received sharing similar sentiments of despair and disgust with the Democratic Party:

• “The Democratic Party needs to stop playing nice and fight fire with fire. I’m sick and disgusted today. I am ashamed of our country and the fact that there is no real plan to overhaul the Democratic Party.”
• “I am not motivated to give Democrats money because I don't think they know how to fight effectively and I don't trust them to do what is necessary to effect real change.”

The respondents, a subset of Our Revolution’s grassroots network of approximately 8 million supporters in all 50 states, include rank-in-file Democratic Party activists and base voters, volunteers, and grassroots donors.

Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese is available to comment on the DNC Chair race and the future of progressive activism during Trump’s second term. To request an interview, please contact: media@ourrevolution.com