Obama Attempts to Privatize Activism, Raises $10.8 Million in Six Months
Photo by Alexander Scheuber/Getty
In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, Barack Obama created the National Democratic Redistricting Committee with the intention of helping Democrats compete in the upcoming redistricting fights. Six months later, the group has already brought in $10.8 million in donations, Politico reports.
Democrats hope the group will coordinate efforts between activists and interest groups during priority state legislative and governor’s races after the 2020 census when new redistricting begins. Additionally, the group hopes to be the home of legal challenges on the state level and at the Supreme Court. It’s a large undertaking, but the group’s chair, former Attorney General Eric Holder (a Wall Street double agent, per Matt Taibbi), is optimistic:
The NDRC’s significant fundraising in its first six months will allow us to take on gerrymandering and reform our electoral system. This will be done through our courts, at the ballot box, and through support of ballot initiatives that create non-partisan commissions and other electoral reforms.
Not everybody is excited about this group, however, and some would have preferred Obama and other Democrats focus on the already-existing Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee.
Obama ignored @TheDLCC, lost 1k seats. Now he pulls more $$ from DLCC for his privatize consultant-driven grp? SMH https://t.co/EYBvRotjLB
— Nomiki Konst (@NomikiKonst) July 31, 2017
It remains to be seen whether this privatized version of activism will be enough to tip the scales in the Democrats favor or whether the party would be better served supporting the DLCC.