This is from a party insider, who wished to remain anonymous for obvious reasons. I trust the source, and it’s a source with high-level access, but feel free to take with the requisite grain of salt.
Now comes our intrepid Donna Brazile, with her love poemfor Howard Dean. She’s cookin’ with heat, that’s for sure. But as usual, Donna’s fry pan contains more sizzle than steak.
Remember that big controversy during 2003 about the firing of all those African American workers at the DNC? They weren’t fired, and they were not let go because of their race. Their jobs were non-essential during the down period after any election. (Parties have to scale back during the early part of the cycle to save resources for the late stages of the campaign, and that’s what we were trying to do.)
But Donna rallied to save their jobs, protesting publicly and embarrassing the Chairman. She won’t tell you that some untouchable staffers have so much time on their hands they are selling products for their home businesses from their desks. (Imagine if donors saw that shit happening inside the building they just paid for?) And before you even go there, this is not a black-white thing. It’s a can’t-afford-people-with-political-godmothers-to-sap-our-resources thing, whatever their race.
Donna is to the party what Jeese, her mentor, is to the business community. She knows she can exact whatever she wants. What do we get in exchange? Is she spending a lot of time doing micro-analyses of the turnout and performance of minority districts? Is she developing messages to communicate to the emerging black middle class, many of whom were born after the civil rights movement and are increasingly receptive to Republican messages? Aside from the chuckles she gets at public events from her practiced good-ole-girl adages, she’s not pushing forward the discussion, not offering solutions, not innovating. She’s not even that good at taking Bay Buchanan or Jonah Goldberg to the woodshed when she’s on CNN.
Speaking of Mr. Jackson, for years now he has repeated in his speeches that there are hundreds of thousands of African Americans who, if they turned out in states with large black populations, would make it impossible for Republicans to have a majority in Congress. (Or at least the Senate, where they can’t be gerrymandered.) He’s right. But ask yourself: Is Donna working to fix this problem? She’s the highest-ranking black campaign manager in American history, but frankly, she can’t deliver a pizza. She hurts the party and, therefore, isn’t doing much good for the black community she derives her political power from. She’s also one of the few Democrats who chats periodically with Karl Rove. Here’s an familiar aphorism for you, Donna: That dog won’t hunt.
Don’t be fooled by her love letters, Dr. Dean. This is Donna’s way of saying she plans to be on the payroll if you win, now that she can read the writing on the political wall (her one great skill). If you win, you should work hard to figure out ways to be inclusive, encourage black turnout, and continue some of the DNC’s ambitious efforts to raise money from younger, upscale African Americans. The party is guilty of turning to blacks only when it comes time to vote, and you can help end that practice.
But the first “reform” action you ought to take is to show Donna the door. Her ‘Sister Soulja’ moment is long overdue.
Boy… that mote in someone’s eye is getting bigger and bigger… this in now bordering on the delusional.
