The new chairman of the Democratic National Committee said his plan is to undo the centralization that took place since President Obama’s 2008 election and put more power back into state organizations.
Tom Perez said on MSNBC Tuesday that he wants to redefine the DNC’s mission. Instead of focusing so much on the presidency, the goal has to be electing people “up and down the ballot.”
He said there are a lot of very energized people at the grassroots level who need to be heard.
“One of our challenges — and really, I call it an opportunity — is to channel the energy (at the grassroots level) as a party,” Perez said.
In the coming weeks and months, Perez wants to consult Obama and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., to find out how to motivate people to support the party like they supported their campaigns.
He said they were extremely successful in getting passionate individual support that led to tangible movements. That’s something the DNC needs, he said.
“One of the things I really want to do is tap into that, and find out if we can translate the small-dollar passion for the individual into small-dollar passion for the party,” Perez said.
The Democrats were criticized for not appealing enough to white working class voters in the 2016 election, and Perez said it’s a problem of messaging. He called it a false choice that Democrats need to choose to appeal to white working class voters or minorities.
The message is enough, he said.
“When hope is on the ballot, we win,” he said. “When fear is on the ballot, we lose.”
Perez plans to engage both the establishment and progressive wings of the party immediately, he said. He plans to meet with Sanders and Rep. Keith Ellison, the Minnesota Democrat who was the choice of Sanders’ supporters in the DNC race and finished in second, later this week. He’ll also be meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., later this week as well.
