State Parties Blast DNC Over Neglect

The Democratic Party has been engulfed in complete chaos since Election Day. No institution better encapsulates the dysfunction plaguing the Democratic Party at the moment than the Democratic National Committee. Now as the Associated Press reports this morning, the state Democratic parties are furious at the DNC for its abandonment of everyone not named Barack Obama:

“Democrats around the country are demanding change from a national committee they say has focused too heavily on the White House at the expense of governorships, legislatures and state party operations. ‘It’s got to be helping us organize in our states to be able to build that power at the state legislative level,’ Michigan Democratic Party Chair Brandon Dillon said of the Democratic National Committee, currently searching for a new leader. ‘We’ve lost governorships and state legislatures at a rate that is pretty astounding.”

The numbers speak for themselves. During President Obama’s two terms the Democratic Party has lost “1,042 state and federal Democratic posts.” The DNC’s neglect of the state parties has also been a catastrophe for Democratic infrastructure:

“State officials say it’s been hard to plan long term and recruit and train candidates in off-election years due to inconsistent funding from the DNC. Under Dean, the national party installed and paid several staff members in each state. But that program ended after Obama’s election.”

With the anger many feel at the state level toward President Obama, it can’t be fun for Tom Perez to run for DNC chair as President Obama’s handpicked challenger to extreme Congressman Keith Ellison.