Democracy for America on track to shut down

[Kire]

Democracy for America, a liberal group founded by former presidential candidate Howard Dean, is planning to shut down unless a last-minute savior comes through, according to three people familiar with the plans.

The political action committee notified remaining employees that their last day will be Thursday, the people said. A number of the 13 to 15 employees on the organization’s payroll in early November had already been laid off in recent weeks.

...


“DFA left it all on the field to stop the red wave and win critical elections up and down the ballot across the country,” he said. “Now as we head in the next cycle in this difficult fundraising environment, we’ve decided to close the PAC. We’re excited that the DFA Advocacy Fund will continue its work for the foreseeable future focused on election reforms like rank choice voting and national popular vote.”

More at Politico

[mahina]

1. I know that's really unfortunate because it takes a long time to build up networks and it's really

Easy to tear them down and hard to build, but I never heard a peep out of them since 2004. I don’t know what they did.

I miss the bat! That was a super motivating tool.

/hardcore Deaniac

[myohmy2]

2. sad...

...but I've always liked and trusted the Good Doctor...

...I wasn't too happy the way he was 'ushered' out of the DNC chair job after all he had done...

...the price we pay...

[Deuxcents]

3. Agree.

[MichMan]

4. Laying people off right before Christmas, damn....

Hopefully they are getting a decent severance package and continuation of benefits while they look for another job.

[Hortensis]

5. Generally speaking, too far left for the

more than 81 million people who voted for Biden. Maybe not far enough left for some on the populist, illiberal left?

The last time I thought well of what they were trying to accomplish was around 2015-2016 when they tried to get Elizabeth Warren to run for president. That I supported.

I parted company when she declined and they switched to Bernie Sanders, and the 2016 disaster. They supported him again against Biden in 2020.

So maybe this isn’t such a surprise, and not so sad. Donations for these last elections have been huge, just not to them.

The most basic thing they should have gotten right was to recognize that HRC and Biden, and most of the other Democrats we elect, ARE progressive. Not as much as they want, perhaps, but they needed to be honest enough to realize that they are representative of a large majority of mainstream progressive Democrats. Instead of paying for messaging claiming they weren’t, and even double teaming with Republican messaging, especially in 2016, both known to be heavily augmented by Russia.

IMO, this isn’t an ideology problem so much as failure of integrity and judgment due to radicalization. I’d blame this closing on the tragic influence of the extremism of this era, and both destructive populist movements.

A powerful majority of Americans across the spectrum wants good, progressive government. Including on the right.

In representative democracies, groups that oppose what a large majority wants set themselves up for failure.