SOLD! Democrats Reverse Ban On Donations From Fossil Fuel PACs

 

‘Absolute Failure’

By Jessica Corbett
Common Dreams (8/10/18)

Just two months after the Democratic National Committee (DNC) was celebrated by environmentalists for banning donations from fossil fuel companies, it voted 30-2 on Friday to adopt a resolution from Chair Tom Perez that critics said effectively reverses the ban and represents “an absolute failure by the DNC.”

The Huffington Post‘s Alexander Kaufman tweeted Friday:

@AlexCKaufman
UPDATE: resolution passed in a 30-to-2 vote.
from DNC epic: “After hearing concerns from Labor that this was an attack on workers, this resolution acknowledges the generous contributions of workers, including those in energy, who organize and donate to Democratic candidates.”
As climate reporter Kate Aronoff outlined in a series of tweets, Perez’s resolution (pdf) “is premised on the party’s support for unions,” but ultimately will enable fossil fuel executives to use their money to try to influence Democrats.
@KateAronoff
To put a fine point on it: This proposal isn’t to let union members keep donating to the DNC. It’s to let fossil fuel executives keep donating and selling influence among Democrats. Certain unions (incl some building trades) see their interests as aligned with those of executives
People for Bernie pointed to the four words of the resolution that caused anger and concern ahead of and following Friday’s vote—language that allows employees of oil and gas companies to donate through corporate political action committees (PACs).
The unanimously approved original resolution—which requires the DNC to reject “corporate PAC contributions from the fossil fuel industry”—was spearheaded by Christine Pelosi, the daughter of Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a member of the DNC’s executive committee.

Christine Pelosi tried Friday to pressure the committee to remove the language in Perez’s resolution which undermines the ban on corporate PAC donations, but her proposal was voted down 28-4:

@sfpelosi
To be clear —> @DNC staff and officers NEVER consulted me on language to reverse my resolution banning corporate fossil fuel PAC money and now said they have to keep the resolution as is because of all the work *we* did. 4 Yes votes; 28 No votes so my motion to ban PAC $ fails.

While a DNC spokesperson claimed to Kaufman that the resolution is “not a reversal,” adding that “any review of our current donations reflects” the party’s “commitment” to no longer taking donations from the industry, reactions among activists and party supporters ranged from worried to infuriated.

Jerald Lentini, deputy director of the Democratic fundraising group It Starts Today, pointed out in an interview with Kaufman that this resolution may only apply to Democratic campaigns, meaning the new measure may not fully annul the first resolution but would still “repudiate the spirit” of it.

Others were far more critical: [Follow link below.]

And, as 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben noted, “the issue goes beyond the donations,” because Perez’s resolution “also recommits the party to an ‘all of the above’ energy stance, which was taken out of the platform after a lot of hard work in 2016.”

Responding to McKibben, Bold Nebraska founder and Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Fleming Kleeb vowed that “many of us” will fight the resolution at a DNC meeting later this month.

(This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.)

Link to Story

(Commoner Call cartoon by Mark L. Taylor, 2018. Open source and free for non-derivative use with link to www.thecommonercall.org )

*****

Progressives ‘Furious’ After Report of DNC Proposal to Reverse Ban on Fossil Fuel Donations

“You better believe your constituents are watching. Honestly how dare you. This will haunt the Democratic party and we will make sure you never forget this choice.”

By Jake Johnson
Common Dreams (8/10/18)

After winning applause from environmentalists in June for unanimously voting to ban donations from fossil fuel companies, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) has reportedly proposed reversing the ban and is planning to vote on a resolution on Friday that would once more allow oil companies to pour money into DNC coffers.

“Couched in language of embracing the contributions of fossil fuel workers, the proposal, introduced by DNC Chair Tom Perez, states that the party will accept donations from ’employers’ political action committees,'” reports the Huffington Post, which obtained a copy of the new proposal(pdf).

The DNC’s reversal immediately sparked anger among progressives and activists who have been pushing the party to end its reliance on Big Oil money and begin confronting the climate crisis with the urgency and boldness it requires.

@NaomiAKlein

Honestly, these people are bound and determined to deflate and demobilize their base – and then blame the Russians when they lose.

“I am furious that the DNC would effectively undo a resolution passed just two months ago just as the movement to ban fossil fuel corporate PAC money is growing (and Democrats are winning),” Democratic Party activist R.L. Miller, a co-sponsor of the original resolution that banned fossil fuel PAC money, told the Huffington Post.

“There’s no reason the DNC should go back on their promises and accept corporate PAC money,” tweeted the advocacy group People for Bernie. “The rule being proposed by Tom Perez may allow the Koch Brothers to donate to the party. They could create an ’employer pac’ at Georgia Pacific, have a union member donate, then fill it with their own cash.”

“New DNC proposal would support an ‘all of the above’ energy policy which the last party platform explicitly rejects,” said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org. “This is a bad idea, on both scientific and political grounds.”

In a Twitter thread responding to the DNC’s apparent reversal, science journalist Erin Biba called the move “disgusting” and tweeted at Perez: “You better believe your constituents are watching. Honestly how dare you. This will haunt the Democratic party and we will make sure you never forget this choice.”

“This is just another example [of how] many Democrats are complicit in the utter failure of our government to fight climate change and instead line their pockets with fossil fuel money,” Biba added. “This is is why it’s essential to vote and let your congresspeople know you won’t tolerate this.”

(This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License.)

Link to Story and Twitter Links