The Democratic National Committee (DNC) voted against a ban of corporate lobbyist funds to Democratic campaigns Saturday morning in Atlanta.
Democratic candidates for president, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, previously condemned what they called a cozy relationship with Wall Street, asserting the Democrat Party was the only one that could stand up to Wall Street and represent “Main Street.”
Voting members of the DNC apparently disagreed, deciding to permanently vote down the ban, clearing the way for lobbyist involvement in the 2017 and 2018 mid-term elections.
Former President Barack Obama initially put the ban in place in 2008, and the decision severely limited funds from federal lobbyists and political action committees to the DNC’s war chest.
Former DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz previously rolled back the ban, citing a concern Republicans would be able to easily outspend Democrats during the 2016 race.
Clinton raised and spent nearly $1.3 billion over the course of the race — President Donald Trump spent $600 million.
“It is a major step in the wrong direction,” Democratic activist Fred Wertheimer told the Washington Post. “And it is completely out of touch with the clear public rejection of the role of political money in Washington,”
“The DNC’s recent change in guidelines will ensure that we continue to have the resources and infrastructure in place to best support whoever emerges as our eventual nominee,” DNC Deputy Communications Director Mark Paustenbach told WaPo.
“Electing a Democrat to the White House is vital to building on the progress we’ve made over the last seven years, which has resulted in a record 71 straight months of private-sector job growth and nearly 14 million new jobs.”
Rep. Keith Ellison walked back his original support of the ban in January, indicating that there was limited support for it, even within the progressive arm of the Democratic party.
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