After refusing to speak with The Young Turks and their new correspondent Nomiki Konst (who is covering all of the DNC chair forums), and allowing his campaign to spread rumors about both her and the network, Tom Perez, on the final day of the forums, grants Konst an eight minute interview where he says absolutely nothing of substance regarding his plans for the DNC…which says it all.
(In my opinion, Perez seems to be intentionally running out the clock with his admittedly moderately impressive resume, platitudes, and long winded responses.)
Konst: Does you think ad consultants who profit off an inefficient, bloated party, should be allowed on the board of the Unity Commission?
“I have a lot of confidence in the Unity Commission. It was a very good compromise between the Clinton and Sanders campaigns. I am looking forward to the results. There are a very inclusive set of folks going to be serving on that. And if I get the privilege of serving as DNC Chair, I will be appointing three really good folks.”
Wait, that wasn’t the question.
Konst: How do you change the party without banning these conflicts of interest who want to keep the party bloated?
“The people that I talk to want build a Democratic Party that works for everyone…. There is a groundswell of understanding that we need to transform the culture of the party. There are going to be a lot of different perspectives to be put to bear. That’s exactly what we want!”
Konst: Including consultants?
“We have a big tent. I have a pretty good track record taking organizations that haven’t been firing on all cylinders and moving forward…. I’ve never been afraid to make tough choices in all the jobs I’ve had.”
The Unity Commission’s decisions are non-binding. Their power is to “encourage” change. Yet Perez is still willing to give profit motivated consultants a “seat at the table” at this largely impotent agency. How easy it would be for Perez to use this to at least appear like he was making a genuine gesture towards progressives. This demonstrates how deep the corruption goes. Even the powerless things are up for sale.
Konst: You claim to be a unity candidate. Do any Sanders surrogates support your candidacy?
Perez first points to a former Sanders staffer off camera who now presumably works on his own campaign. “You’re really asking the wrong questions here. There are people who supported Bernie Sanders who will be voting for Tom Perez.”
Konst: Anybody notable?
“Do only celebrities count? There are a remarkable amount of folks who supported Bernie Sanders and supported Hillary Clinton and who support me.”
Konst: It’s an honest question to ask, as the future of the party is about bringing these sides together.
“I think the future of the party is about making sure that we are focused on what we have to do together to take on our existential threat, which is Donald Trump. When we take on that existential threat together, that’s how we move forward.”
No no no no no no no no no. The corruption and corporatism that Perez and Trump and so many politicians throughout all levels of government too often display and subscribe to, that…that is the existential threat to our democracy.
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