(The Guardian) DNC summer meeting begins as party faces fundraising and voter registration struggles
Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin exhorted his party to “fight like hell” against Donald Trump – and the “weak, spineless Republican rubber stamps who aid and abet him.” “This is not politics as usual, my friends,” Martin said, in a fiery speech that adopted the party’s more confrontational turn of late. “This is authoritarianism. It’s fascism dressed in a red tie.”
DNC officials gathered in Martin’s home town of Minneapolis for a three-day summer meeting as Democrats search for a new direction, and the chair, just six months into the job, faces questions about his ability to steer the party to victory ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
In his opening remarks on Monday, Martin nodded to some of the internal disagreements roiling the party: “No one should confuse unity with unanimity.”
He chastised Democratic officials for being too content “winning arguments” rather than elections. “We need to fight harder, we need to organise smarter, and we need to make sure that people everywhere, no matter where they live, understand that the Democratic Party is their party,” he said.
The session was poignant for Martin. He spoke emotionally about his late friend, the former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who prosecutors say was assassinated by a man posing as a police officer, alongside her husband, at their home in June. Martin acknowledged state senator John Hoffman who was seriously wounded, alongside his wife, by the alleged gunman. Hoffman was in attendance, Martin said.
“If I can leave you with one thing this morning, let it be something that Melissa knew,” he said. “Power is fleeting. We never know when we’ll have it again. So use your power. Use your power when you have it to make the biggest difference you can for as many people as you can.”
Democratic National Committee (DNC) chair Ken Martin exhorted his party to “fight like hell” against Donald Trump – and the “weak, spineless Republican rubber stamps who aid and abet him.” “This is not politics as usual, my friends,” Martin said, in a fiery speech that adopted the party’s more confrontational turn of late. “This is authoritarianism. It’s fascism dressed in a red tie.”
DNC officials gathered in Martin’s home town of Minneapolis for a three-day summer meeting as Democrats search for a new direction, and the chair, just six months into the job, faces questions about his ability to steer the party to victory ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
In his opening remarks on Monday, Martin nodded to some of the internal disagreements roiling the party: “No one should confuse unity with unanimity.”
He chastised Democratic officials for being too content “winning arguments” rather than elections. “We need to fight harder, we need to organise smarter, and we need to make sure that people everywhere, no matter where they live, understand that the Democratic Party is their party,” he said.
The session was poignant for Martin. He spoke emotionally about his late friend, the former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who prosecutors say was assassinated by a man posing as a police officer, alongside her husband, at their home in June. Martin acknowledged state senator John Hoffman who was seriously wounded, alongside his wife, by the alleged gunman. Hoffman was in attendance, Martin said.
“If I can leave you with one thing this morning, let it be something that Melissa knew,” he said. “Power is fleeting. We never know when we’ll have it again. So use your power. Use your power when you have it to make the biggest difference you can for as many people as you can.”
