Politics

Bernie Team Angry That DNC Stacks Convention Committee With Podesta, Clinton Allies

REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado

Virginia Kruta Associate Editor
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The Democratic National Committee is under fire for appointing former Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Barney Frank and John Podesta — both allies of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton — to the convention committee.

Nina Turner, the national campaign co-chair for independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, called the move “a slap in the face,” adding, “If the DNC believes that it’s going to get away in 2020 with what it did in 2016, it has another thing coming.” (RELATED: Joe Biden Won’t Say Whether A Bernie Sanders Nomination Could Unify The Democratic Party)

Our Revolution board member James Zogby took direct aim at DNC Chairman Tom Perez saying, “At every step along the way, when given an opportunity to heal the wounds of the party, the chair has, instead, chosen to rub in salt. This is another example & it’s disappointing.”

Yasmine Taeb, a Virginia DNC member who was a Sanders delegate in 2016, also noted that the appointments did not appear to give Sanders equal representation. “There’s a very small number of appointments of allies to Sen. Sanders,” she told The Hill. “The appointments also include individuals that are outright hostile to Bernie Sanders and his supporters. It’s not the message the DNC should be sending to the grassroots right now when we’re all working aggressively to defeat the racist in the White House.”

DNC national press secretary Brandon Gassaway issued a statement on the appointments, saying that they only amounted to a “small fraction” of those who would ultimately make up the full committees.

“The remaining appointments will be made based on each state’s election results. 2016 presidential preference was not considered for this convention’s appointments. We are grateful for these appointees’ commitment to the party and look forward to an energized convention where we will nominate the next president of the United States,” he concluded.