The Democratic National Committee rolled back the last of its restrictions prohibiting donations from lobbyists and political actions committees, a decision that could aid Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.
The regulations, which were instituted by Sen. Barack Obama in 2008, aimed to “keep money out of politics,” an idea that has been a rallying call of the Bernie Sanders campaign. Clinton has set up a joint-fundraising committee with the DNC, so the new rules likely will give her an advantage.
The change in regulations was reportedly introduced in the past months, but became official Friday. While the rollbacks are intended to help the party have the resources to support their eventual presidential nominee, they will undo Obama’s efforts to “change how Washington works” and further entwine the Democratic Party with special interest groups.
On the campaign trail, the Sanders campaign has accused the DNC of favoring Clinton by preventing the candidates from having more debates. The Vermont senator has based the success of his grassroots campaign on small dollar donations and avoiding corporate interests. He often says that Clinton relies too heavily on corporate interests and donations.
“The DNC has also opened the door to the political extortion of huge contributions from Washington lobbyists by those soliciting the contributions,” reform advocate Fred Werthheimer told the Washington Post. “President Obama should immediately instruct the DNC to re-impose the lobbyist contribution ban he had established.”
