Democrats choose same old, same old

Sam Smith - The Democratic National Committee has elected Tom Perez, an Obama-Clinton loyal lawyer and bureaucrat, as its chair, narrowly turning its back on the opportunity to rebuild the party. Another sign that positive change is going to have to come from the outside

Intercept - Haim Saban, the entertainment tycoon who is one of the Democratic Party’s largest donors, called Ellison both “anti-Israel” and antisemitic. The Anti-Defamation League called on Democrats to reject him.  On the eve of the vote, prominent Democrat Alan Dershowitz proclaimed that he would leave the party if Ellison was elected chair; Jack Rosen, who leads the American Jewish Congress, emailed DNC members the day before the vote decrying Ellison’s views on the Middle East, concluding that he threatened the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Common Dreams -  Ellison had the backing of lawmakers like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and groups including National Nurses United and the Communications Workers of America; Perez was backed by "many from former President Obama's political orbit," as ABC News writes, and "is viewed—with good reason—as a reliable functionary and trustworthy loyalist by those who have controlled the party and run it into the ground," journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote this week.

Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth Action, which supported Ellison, said the outcome showed "the DNC is out of touch with the American public and their needs. Democratic leaders were at a crossroads and today they chose to continue the failed Clinton strategy of prioritizing wealthy donors over the activist base."

"This incredibly disappointing result is another missed opportunity for a Democratic Party desperately trying to regain relevance and proves, once again, how out of touch party insiders are with the grassroots movement currently in the streets, on the phone, and at town halls nationwide," added Jim Dean, chair of Democracy for America.