How the DNC and Other Democratic Party Institutions Dysfunction
By: Julie Hotard
Tags: DNC, Democratic Institutions, Philanthropy, Down Ballot Politics, Messaging

Here’s a Twitter thread from a newly elected DNC member telling us all how the DNC works — or doesn’t. Every Democratic voter should read this. We need to know the problems of the Democratic party and its subgroups.

It sounds like Atkins means well and wants to do well for the DNC. Even so, the situations he describes illustrate well how institutions such as the DNC are wasting tremendous amounts of liberals’ time, money and energy, while not getting much of the work done that needs to be done to save democracy.

Atkins’ description leads me to a different conclusion than he apparently draws from it. He seems to think there is hope of changing the DNC and other organizations within the Democratic party to become more functional. That doesn’t seem possible to me, because the party seems rigidly stuck in old habits and very attached to and trusting toward consultants who aren’t helping much with winning down ballot elections. New liberal institutions need to be developed because so many of the old ones are not functioning very effectively to stop the spread of fascism.

That’s why I have written an essay asking philanthropists to create new liberal institutions and/or for others to create such institutions and then to seek funding. We need to start over — with organizations that are focused on effectiveness in tasks Democrats must tackle. The party can’t keep wasting endless amounts of money, time, energy and commitment from voters, while being tone deaf to their needs. Instead of the needs of our base, the party has operated based on the ingrained habits of an in-group of politicians and consultants who have been around for decades and who keep the Democratic party firmly in their control . All the while, they keep losing one down ballot election after another.

Open Letter to Liberal Donors: Please Consider Donating to Create Missing Liberal Institutions

There are many outside groups and individuals that do various functions to help the Democratic party. For example a lot of pro-Biden anti-Trump messaging was done this year by the Lincoln Project, VoteVets, MeidasTouch and Don Winslow. I hope to see them continue to help with overall liberal messaging in the future. Democrats need a ton of help there, as the party is not good at messaging.

Moveon and Indivisible have been helping liberals for a long time and have contributed a lot to Democrats and to the nation.

These people and groups don’t ask the Democratic party for its approval. They just form their organization and begin doing the work. That’s good, because the DNC and the Democratic party don’t realize they need help, and would likely say no if asked. That is the best way to do it — just create a group or movement, set liberal goals and achieve them.

I hope to see many more groups doing this. My Open Letter essay above outlines all the kinds of liberal institutions I think we need and why. Atkins’ Twitter thread, at the beginning of this essay, points to a number of problems that need to be resolved — or just avoided from the outset — the new organizations. I hope to see a lot of these new organizations popping up, to help steer the nation away from lies and fascism and toward truth, justice and democracy.