This abandonment of the Democratic Party by the Democratic Super
Delegates has me so mad that I told Cathy that I was going to quit the
Democratic Party...then she reminded me that I already had done that.
"Well then," I shouted, "I'm going to join again just so I can quit!"
...okay, I'm over it.
But this sellout of the Democratic Party by those who are supposed to
stand beside the membership, is unconscionable...and sleazy...and
slimy, too.
Maybe the GOP does know what they're talking about when they call it
the, Democrat Party. It's certainly not the Democratic Party that I
joined back in 1956, and campaigned for Adlai Stevenson.
Carl Jarvis, a man without a Party.
On 2/28/20, miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
DNC Superdelegate Promoting Brokered Convention Is a Significant GOP Donor,
Health Care Lobbyist
By Lee Fang, The Intercept
28 February 20
William Owen, a Tennessee-based Democratic National Committee member
backing
an effort to use so-called superdelegates to select the party's
presidential
nominee - potentially subverting the candidate with the most voter support
-
is a Republican donor and health care lobbyist.
Owen, who runs a lobbying firm called Asset & Equity Corporations, donated
to Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and gave
$8,500 to a joint fundraising committee designed to benefit Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky in 2019.
"I am a committed Democrat but as a lobbyist, there are times when I need
to
have access to both sides and the way to get access quite often is to make
campaign contributions," said Owen, in a brief interview with The
Intercept.
"I'm a registered lobbyist and I represent clients and they have interest
in
front of Congress and I attend the Senator's Classic, which is a Republican
event, each year," he added.
Owen noted that he understood how his GOP donations could open him up for
criticism but stressed that he also gives to Democrats. Federal Election
Commission records show Owen has donated to Democrats in previous years,
but
has not donated to his own party's congressional candidates this cycle.
Owen
has not given to any presidential candidates this cycle.
Owen, currently registered as lobbyist for Klox Technologies, a medical
product company, was quoted in the New York Times today as one of the party
insiders considering an effort to block Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders's path
to the nomination at the DNC convention in Milwaukee this July.
A former member of the Tennessee state legislature, Owen is currently an
executive member of the Tennessee Democratic Party and DNC, making him one
of the 771 unpledged delegates, also known as superdelegates, who could
play
a hand in selecting the presidential nomination. Owens is a supporter of
former Vice President Joe Biden's presidential campaign, and has pushed to
use superdelegates to make Biden the nominee.
The Tennessee Democrat worked in 2018 to block a Sanders-backed plan to
weaken the role of superdelegates in the nomination process. "If we don't
have a vote, then what good are we?" Owen told Politico at the time.
The push was ultimately defeated. Sanders's supporters won a key concession
from the DNC, changing the rules to only allow superdelegate participation
in the nominating process on the second ballot.
The Intercept previously reported on the potential for party insiders -
including corporate lobbyists and lawmakers funded by special interests -
to
cut a backroom deal to block a more populist candidate from the nomination.
Several superdelegates are consultants to health care clients lobbying
against Medicare for All. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase each
employ lobbyists who simultaneously serve as superdelegates.
Chris Dodd, a former Connecticut senator and one of the superdelegates
quoted by the Times today, is a lobbyist with the law firm Arnold & Porter,
which represents corporate interests such as the Pharmaceutical Research &
Manufacturers of America, Lloyd's of London, and AT&T. Dodd has endorsed
Biden for president.
Current polls suggest Sanders will have the most voter and delegate support
going into the nomination, but may fall short of the threshold for the
nomination on the first ballot.
In recent days, several candidates, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth
Warren and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, have embraced the
potential for a brokered convention, in which superdelegates could be used
to stop Sanders.
Bloomberg, notably, has discussed efforts to poach delegates from other
more
moderate candidates to bring together an anti-Sanders coalition. In
January,
his campaign hired Alexandra Rooker, a superdelegate from California, as an
adviser. Michael Nutter, the former Philadelphia mayor and DNC
superdelegate, is a co-chair of the Bloomberg campaign. FEC disclosures
show
Nutter has been paid at least $45,000 by the Bloomberg campaign.
Owen told the Times he has been in contact with multiple campaigns. Owen
floated the name of Michelle Obama as a potential running mate to bring the
party together. Other superdelegates, according to the Times, are floating
moderate lawmakers such as Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., or Sen. Chris Coons,
D-Del., as potential unity candidates to lead the ticket. Sen. Sherrod
Brown, D-Ohio, a popular progressive lawmaker, has also been floated as a
unity candidate.
