DNC Continues To Put Campaign Cash Over Principle

The Democratic National Committee preposterously poor handling of the Harvey Weinstein scandal means that they still find themselves in hot water. On Friday, the DNC announced that instead of donating the $296,290 in campaign contributions they’ve received from Weinstein to charity, they would give a scant 10% of the money instead to a trio of Democratic political groups. The DNC’s actions were swiftly condemned on Friday, and scenario have not improved since.

Appearing on CNN’s State of the Union, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) called out the DNC , saying that groups like the DNC were wrong for not giving away all of Weinstein’s hundreds of thousands in contributions:

“CNN’s Jake Tapper asked Murphy whether these political arms of the Democratic Party should return those donations. ‘I think that probably makes sense. This is a pretty bad guy who did some really awful things,’ Murphy responded.”

The DNC’s insufficient reaction to the growing Weinstein scandal was compounded again yesterday by the actions of The Weinstein Company. The leadership of the company, including Harvey Weinstein’s own brother, made it clear that his behavior mandated that they cut all ties with him and fired him:

“The Weinstein Company fired its co-founder Harvey Weinstein on Sunday, after a New York Times investigation uncovered allegations that he had engaged in rampant sexual harassment, dealing a stunning blow to a producer known for shaping American film and championing liberal causes.”

The fact that the DNC is not cutting ties completely with Weinstein, when his own brother did, underscores how poorly the DNC is handling this crisis. On Sunday, Senator Murphy also said that “if people need for that money to be returned in order to make it clear that the entities that received them want nothing with him and his behavior then that’s probably a smart move.” Right now, the DNC is showing that the only thing they care about is the one in which they get to keep this tainted campaign cash. The only acceptable move the DNC has left is to donate the remaining $266,290 of Weinstein’s money to charity.