truthout--2020-08-19--Trump Dropped Into Iowa — and Didn’t Even Try to Understand the Devastation

IOWA CITY , Iowa — Amid the rubble of uprooted trees and fallen power lines , my teenage son set up his climate strike protest last Friday for the 79th consecutive week , holding up a wobbly handmade sign : “ Wake up , Iowa .
Climate action plan now.
” We were still without electricity or internet on Friday morning , four days into riding out the aftermath of the hurricane-level “ derecho ” storm that devastated a 770-mile swath of the heartland from South Dakota to Ohio , and left a million residents without power , along with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ estimated 40 % of Iowa ’ s corn crop in ruins , flattening millions of acres and the state ’ s key economic generator in a matter of minutes .
We were the lucky ones .
In his 30-minute briefing at an Iowa airport on Tuesday , President Trump didn ’ t bother to tour the storm damage in Cedar Rapids , where tens of thousands of residents have remained without power , water and shelter , camping in tents along the streets as extreme weather refugees in an undeniable humanitarian crisis .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Cedar Rapids who have been displaced from their own countries as climate refugees .
Despite Trump ’ s Twitter claim that he has fully signed off on Iowa ’ s presidential disaster relief request for nearly $ 4 billion on Monday , the White House has omitted any individual assistance for homeowners , thousands of whom took damage to their homes , according to FEMA officials .
Only days away from starting school in one of only two states in the union without a mask requirement , the image of my son @ @ @ @ @ @ @ battered street was not only a reminder of the precariousness of our times beyond our current crisis .
Gov .
Kim Reynolds , a Trump-loving Republican , inexplicably waited an entire week after the derecho leveled mile after mile of the state to formally request presidential disaster relief .
That served as a stark reminder of the state ’ s and the nation ’ s blundering inaction on the dual crises of COVID-19 and climate change facing my son ’ s generation .
While Iowa continues to falter in its COVID response , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by an internal White House coronavirus task force report last month , the climate strikers have refused to attend school on Fridays for more than a year as a way to call out our state and nation ’ s failure to to declare a climate emergency .
Their motto , inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg : It ’ s time for leaders to act on science , and treat all crises as a crisis .
A term coined in the 1880s by a University of Iowa scientist , Danish immigrant Gustavus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the prairies , ” the derecho is also a devastating rejoinder to our nation ’ s business-as-usual policies — be it a flawed response to the COVID outbreak , or the stunning inaction to the unfolding climate crisis — that adapting to a failed system is not “ adaptation.
” It ’ s failure .
Instead of failing our children — or allowing the failure of policy-makers in Iowa and in Washington to place our children on the edge of becoming a lost generation — perhaps it ’ s time to hit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from school and focus full-time on climate solutions .
The derecho didn ’ t just level our state .
It leveled our confidence in statewide and federal leadership .
That may sound hyperbolic , but as teenagers in a family that has personally experienced the pandemic , as well as historic flooding , fires and catastrophic storms within their brief lifetimes , my kids recognize that they are living in age of potential environmental collapse — and it ’ s terrifying .
Their response , as climate strikers , is incorrigibly defiant : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cedar Rapids have been severely damaged .
Adults first need to deal with the COVID and climate crises .
“ We teenagers and children shouldn ’ t have to take the responsibility , ” Thunberg told our town last fall , when she joined my son ’ s climate strike in Iowa City .
“ But right now the world leaders keep acting like children and somebody needs to be the adult in the room.
” I ’ m not sure the adults in the room were listening .
In defiance of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continues to roll back environmental regulations , including recent methane leakage rules for gas and oil companies .
Here in Iowa , despite record production of wind energy , greenhouse gas emissions rose by 3.3 % last year as our state went through three historic floods and record heat waves and fires swept from the Arctic to Australia to the mega-droughts of the American Southwest .
Three months ago , our children watched in astonishment as Gov .
Reynolds was recognized at a special White House celebration for “ turning the corner ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week that a single slaughterhouse in nearby Waterloo , Iowa , recorded 1,300 coronavirus cases and several deaths among its workers , an outbreak that remains among thee nation ’ s worst .
In the state that has the highest per capita rate of COVID cases in the Midwest , with 50,000 cases and nearly 1,000 deaths among just 3 million residents , is it not failure to send our kids to school in the coming days ?
Their local school district should still be considered unsafe , according to a recent Times @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Harvard Global Health Institute , since it consistently records more than 25 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people .
Not according to Reynolds , whose “ Return to Learn ” mandate sets benchmarks for shifting to online learning at three times the rate of COVID positivity recommended by the World Health Organization .
Reynolds rebuked an AP reporter earlier this month for “ scare tactics that ’ s being laid out by the media , ” after he asked her about school board and teacher concerns over contracting the virus .
A few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a “ horrifying data glitch ” in COVID data collection in Iowa , finding that the “ Iowa Department of Public Health has inadvertently been reporting fewer new infections and a smaller percentage of daily positive tests.
” It gets worse , according to our kids .
The derecho was not the only climate phenomenon this past week : As Death Valley in California set a record at 130 degrees Fahrenheit — possibly the highest temperature ever recorded anywhere on the planet — the last fully intact ice shelf in Canada collapsed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ melting ice sheet has reached a point of no return .
Millions of people have been displaced by flooding in China , India and Yemen in the last month , just as a new report was released that our kids have lived through the hottest decade in human history .
“ We strike because 11,000 scientists warned of ‘ untold suffering ’ if we fail to act quickly on our climate crisis , ” my son wrote in the university newspaper last winter , citing a global “ Declaration of Climate Emergency ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ leaders .
When Wall Street consulting firms like Moody ’ s Analytics warn the nation that impending climate change could result in a loss of an unfathomable $ 69 trillion during my son ’ s lifetime , it ’ s time to act on such warnings in a new way .
We need climate schools , not COVID schools , that reflect the realities of 2020 — not the antiquated policies of the past .
Our kids need to learn where their electricity comes from , visit solar farms and wind turbines , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ renewable energy and a smart grid , instead of relying on 20th-century coal-fired power plants .
Instead of rushing our kids into knowingly unsafe schools for the first trimester ( seven weeks ) , we should work with youth in our heartland communities to replant trees , especially in towns like Cedar Rapids , which has now lost 50 % of its tree canopy .
In an agricultural state that still imports 90 % of its food , we need to visit farms and learn about regenerative agriculture initiatives to save our soil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ restore native prairies — 99 % of which have been destroyed in Iowa .
With the inevitable delay and suspension of classes in schools across the nation this fall , why not have our children and schools focus on a curriculum of climate change from the growing pools of resources from scientists , climate experts , journalists , storytellers and artists , and the experiences of those in frontline communities ?
Climate scientists are begging to be heard .
With the Big Ten football season canceled , perhaps we can finally listen to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as if a collapsing ice sheet were as important as watching grown men chase a pigskin in a stadium .
How much more outrageous is this proposal than sending our kids into incubators and chaotic hallways of the COVID virus ?
How more irrational is this proposal than sending our kids to school at all , as the climate crisis unfolds before their eyes ?
As celebrated theorist Buckminister Fuller concluded : “ You never change things by fighting against the existing reality .
To change something , build a new model that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as my son says on his street corner every week , climate strike sign in hand : Wake up , Iowa .

The climate crisis is hitting the heartland hard — but Republicans just want to force kids into COVID schools.
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Amid the rubble of uprooted trees and fallen power lines, my teenage son set up his climate strike protest last Friday for the 79th consecutive week, holding up a wobbly handmade sign: “Wake up, Iowa. Climate action plan now.”
We were still without electricity or internet on Friday morning, four days into riding out the aftermath of the hurricane-level “derecho” storm that devastated a 770-mile swath of the heartland from South Dakota to Ohio, and left a million residents without power, along with widespread damage.
It also left an estimated 40% of Iowa’s corn crop in ruins, flattening millions of acres and the state’s key economic generator in a matter of minutes.
We were the lucky ones. In his 30-minute briefing at an Iowa airport on Tuesday, President Trump didn’t bother to tour the storm damage in Cedar Rapids, where tens of thousands of residents have remained without power, water and shelter, camping in tents along the streets as extreme weather refugees in an undeniable humanitarian crisis.
This includes African and Southeast Asian immigrants in Cedar Rapids who have been displaced from their own countries as climate refugees.
Despite Trump’s Twitter claim that he has fully signed off on Iowa’s presidential disaster relief request for nearly $4 billion on Monday, the White House has omitted any individual assistance for homeowners, thousands of whom took damage to their homes, according to FEMA officials.
Only days away from starting school in one of only two states in the union without a mask requirement, the image of my son standing alone on the side of a battered street was not only a reminder of the precariousness of our times beyond our current crisis.
Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Trump-loving Republican, inexplicably waited an entire week after the derecho leveled mile after mile of the state to formally request presidential disaster relief. That served as a stark reminder of the state’s and the nation’s blundering inaction on the dual crises of COVID-19 and climate change facing my son’s generation.
While Iowa continues to falter in its COVID response, declared as a “red zone” by an internal White House coronavirus task force report last month, the climate strikers have refused to attend school on Fridays for more than a year as a way to call out our state and nation’s failure to to declare a climate emergency.
Their motto, inspired by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg: It’s time for leaders to act on science, and treat all crises as a crisis.
A term coined in the 1880s by a University of Iowa scientist, Danish immigrant Gustavus Hinrichs, as a “straight blow of the prairies,” the derecho is also a devastating rejoinder to our nation’s business-as-usual policies — be it a flawed response to the COVID outbreak, or the stunning inaction to the unfolding climate crisis — that adapting to a failed system is not “adaptation.” It’s failure.
Instead of failing our children — or allowing the failure of policy-makers in Iowa and in Washington to place our children on the edge of becoming a lost generation — perhaps it’s time to hit the pause button, pull our kids from school and focus full-time on climate solutions.
The derecho didn’t just level our state. It leveled our confidence in statewide and federal leadership.
That may sound hyperbolic, but as teenagers in a family that has personally experienced the pandemic, as well as historic flooding, fires and catastrophic storms within their brief lifetimes, my kids recognize that they are living in age of potential environmental collapse — and it’s terrifying.
Their response, as climate strikers, is incorrigibly defiant: School can wait — most schools in Cedar Rapids have been severely damaged. Adults first need to deal with the COVID and climate crises.
“We teenagers and children shouldn’t have to take the responsibility,” Thunberg told our town last fall, when she joined my son’s climate strike in Iowa City. “But right now the world leaders keep acting like children and somebody needs to be the adult in the room.”
I’m not sure the adults in the room were listening.
In defiance of the Paris climate agreement, the Trump administration continues to roll back environmental regulations, including recent methane leakage rules for gas and oil companies. Here in Iowa, despite record production of wind energy, greenhouse gas emissions rose by 3.3% last year as our state went through three historic floods and record heat waves and fires swept from the Arctic to Australia to the mega-droughts of the American Southwest.
Three months ago, our children watched in astonishment as Gov. Reynolds was recognized at a special White House celebration for “turning the corner” on COVID cases, in the same week that a single slaughterhouse in nearby Waterloo, Iowa, recorded 1,300 coronavirus cases and several deaths among its workers, an outbreak that remains among thee nation’s worst.
In the state that has the highest per capita rate of COVID cases in the Midwest, with 50,000 cases and nearly 1,000 deaths among just 3 million residents, is it not failure to send our kids to school in the coming days? Their local school district should still be considered unsafe, according to a recent Times Opinion analysis based on guidelines from the Harvard Global Health Institute, since it consistently records more than 25 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 people.
Not according to Reynolds, whose “Return to Learn” mandate sets benchmarks for shifting to online learning at three times the rate of COVID positivity recommended by the World Health Organization. Reynolds rebuked an AP reporter earlier this month for “scare tactics that’s being laid out by the media,” after he asked her about school board and teacher concerns over contracting the virus. A few days later, an AP report uncovered a “horrifying data glitch” in COVID data collection in Iowa, finding that the “Iowa Department of Public Health has inadvertently been reporting fewer new infections and a smaller percentage of daily positive tests.”
It gets worse, according to our kids.
The derecho was not the only climate phenomenon this past week: As Death Valley in California set a record at 130 degrees Fahrenheit — possibly the highest temperature ever recorded anywhere on the planet — the last fully intact ice shelf in Canada collapsed, and scientists declared that Greenland’s melting ice sheet has reached a point of no return. Millions of people have been displaced by flooding in China, India and Yemen in the last month, just as a new report was released that our kids have lived through the hottest decade in human history.
“We strike because 11,000 scientists warned of ‘untold suffering’ if we fail to act quickly on our climate crisis,” my son wrote in the university newspaper last winter, citing a global “Declaration of Climate Emergency” that was largely overlooked by our political leaders.
When Wall Street consulting firms like Moody’s Analytics warn the nation that impending climate change could result in a loss of an unfathomable $69 trillion during my son’s lifetime, it’s time to act on such warnings in a new way.
We need climate schools, not COVID schools, that reflect the realities of 2020 — not the antiquated policies of the past.
Our kids need to learn where their electricity comes from, visit solar farms and wind turbines, and see the importance of transitioning to renewable energy and a smart grid, instead of relying on 20th-century coal-fired power plants.
Instead of rushing our kids into knowingly unsafe schools for the first trimester (seven weeks), we should work with youth in our heartland communities to replant trees, especially in towns like Cedar Rapids, which has now lost 50% of its tree canopy.
In an agricultural state that still imports 90% of its food, we need to visit farms and learn about regenerative agriculture initiatives to save our soil and protect our quality, and even restore native prairies — 99% of which have been destroyed in Iowa.
With the inevitable delay and suspension of classes in schools across the nation this fall, why not have our children and schools focus on a curriculum of climate change from the growing pools of resources from scientists, climate experts, journalists, storytellers and artists, and the experiences of those in frontline communities?
Climate scientists are begging to be heard. With the Big Ten football season canceled, perhaps we can finally listen to them with the magnitude they deserve, as if a collapsing ice sheet were as important as watching grown men chase a pigskin in a stadium.
How much more outrageous is this proposal than sending our kids into incubators and chaotic hallways of the COVID virus?
How more irrational is this proposal than sending our kids to school at all, as the climate crisis unfolds before their eyes?
As celebrated theorist Buckminister Fuller concluded: “You never change things by fighting against the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.”
Or, as my son says on his street corner every week, climate strike sign in hand: Wake up, Iowa.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-08-19--DNC Drops Support for Ending Fossil Fuel Handouts From Platform

Environmentalists reacted with outrage late Tuesday to news that the Democratic National Committee this week quietly removed from the final party platform an amendment calling for an end to federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry , a longstanding demand of climate activists that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris supported during the primary .
HuffPost ’ s Alexander Kaufman reported Tuesday that “ on July 27 , officials added an amendment to the Manager ’ s Mark , a ledger of party demands voted on as one omnibus package , stating : ‘ Democrats support eliminating tax breaks and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fight to defend and extend tax incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy . '
” But the amendment does not appear in a final version of the Democratic platform that began circulating Monday , according to Kaufman .
In a statement to HuffPost , a DNC spokesperson said the amendment was “ incorrectly included in the Manager ’ s Mark ” and removed from the document “ after the error was discovered.
” Annie Leonard , executive director of Greenpeace USA , denounced the decision to remove support for eliminating fossil fuel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ immoral , criminal , inexcusable.
” “ We are nearing global tipping points on climate , fires and extreme weather are killing people and devastating the economy , and the DNC can ’ t even accept an end to public subsidies for making it worse ?
” Leonard tweeted .
Speaking to HuffPost , Oil Change U.S. campaigner Collin Rees called the DNC ’ s decision “ ridiculous.
” “ This is a commonsense position held by both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris , ” said Rees .
“ The DNC should immediately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ move represents a step back from the Democratic Party ’ s 2016 platform — which included language supporting an end to tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel companies — at a time when analysts say throwing taxpayer money at the flagging industry makes less sense than ever .
In her HEATED newsletter , Emily Atkin noted that “ taxpayers currently pay at least $ 20 billion a year to prop up the fossil fuel industry ; though depending on how you calculate it , it could be as high as $ 649 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Shaw reported Tuesday , the DNC ’ s reversal on fossil fuel subsidies comes after the body in August of 2018 “ approved a resolution from Chair Tom Perez that reversed a DNC policy prohibiting it from accepting contributions from fossil fuel PACs.
” “ Shortly thereafter , donations from fossil fuel executives began flowing into DNC coffers , ” Shaw noted .
“ In August 2019 , Sludge reported that the DNC had received at least $ 60,750 from owners and executives of fossil fuel companies including Krumme Oil , Duke Energy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figure has almost certainly increased dramatically since.
” Stephanie Taylor , co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee , said “ it ’ s outrageous that the Dem establishment is caving to big money donors and moving backwards on fossil fuel subsidies.
” “ We are in a climate emergency , ” Taylor added , “ and it ’ s unimaginable that we would spend ( more ) billions of taxpayer dollars propping up an industry that is killing us .
”

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris both supported ending federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry during the primary.
Environmentalists reacted with outrage late Tuesday to news that the Democratic National Committee this week quietly removed from the final party platform an amendment calling for an end to federal subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, a longstanding demand of climate activists that both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris supported during the primary.
HuffPost’s Alexander Kaufman reported Tuesday that “on July 27, officials added an amendment to the Manager’s Mark, a ledger of party demands voted on as one omnibus package, stating: ‘Democrats support eliminating tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuels, and will fight to defend and extend tax incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy.'”
But the amendment does not appear in a final version of the Democratic platform that began circulating Monday, according to Kaufman. In a statement to HuffPost, a DNC spokesperson said the amendment was “incorrectly included in the Manager’s Mark” and removed from the document “after the error was discovered.”
Annie Leonard, executive director of Greenpeace USA, denounced the decision to remove support for eliminating fossil fuel subsidies from the party platform as “immoral, criminal, inexcusable.”
“We are nearing global tipping points on climate, fires and extreme weather are killing people and devastating the economy, and the DNC can’t even accept an end to public subsidies for making it worse?” Leonard tweeted.
Speaking to HuffPost, Oil Change U.S. campaigner Collin Rees called the DNC’s decision “ridiculous.”
“This is a commonsense position held by both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris,” said Rees. “The DNC should immediately include it in the platform.”
JFC, this is the *lowest common denominator* of climate change policy. It's one the few things almost everyone, across countries, supports. If you can't get behind THIS … https://t.co/PDtrlPB3Az — David Roberts (@drvox) August 18, 2020
The move represents a step back from the Democratic Party’s 2016 platform — which included language supporting an end to tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel companies — at a time when analysts say throwing taxpayer money at the flagging industry makes less sense than ever. In her HEATED newsletter, Emily Atkin noted that “taxpayers currently pay at least $20 billion a year to prop up the fossil fuel industry; though depending on how you calculate it, it could be as high as $649 billion.”
As Sludge’s Donald Shaw reported Tuesday, the DNC’s reversal on fossil fuel subsidies comes after the body in August of 2018 “approved a resolution from Chair Tom Perez that reversed a DNC policy prohibiting it from accepting contributions from fossil fuel PACs.”
“Shortly thereafter, donations from fossil fuel executives began flowing into DNC coffers,” Shaw noted. “In August 2019, Sludge reported that the DNC had received at least $60,750 from owners and executives of fossil fuel companies including Krumme Oil, Duke Energy, and Southern Petroleum Resources. That figure has almost certainly increased dramatically since.”
Stephanie Taylor, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee, said “it’s outrageous that the Dem establishment is caving to big money donors and moving backwards on fossil fuel subsidies.”
“We are in a climate emergency,” Taylor added, “and it’s unimaginable that we would spend (more) billions of taxpayer dollars propping up an industry that is killing us.”
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
This piece was reprinted by Truthout with permission or license. It may not be reproduced in any form without permission or license from the source.


truthout--2020-08-19--Nearly 7 in 10 Americans Are “Embarrassed” by Trump’s COVID Response

A new poll published this week demonstrates that Americans are increasingly pessimistic about how the U.S. has generally responded to the coronavirus pandemic , with a majority believing “ the worst is yet to come ” for the first time since the start of May .
A CNN/SSRS poll published on Wednesday and conducted from August 12 to 15 finds that only 40 percent of Americans believe the worst of COVID-19 is behind us , while 55 percent say things are going to be worse in the future .
Americans aren ’ t simply dissatisfied with how President Donald Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent saying they disapprove of how he ’ s led on the issue ) , but they ’ re also ashamed by how things have progressed .
Just 28 percent of Americans consider themselves “ proud ” of the United States ’ s response to coronavirus , while 68 percent say they ’ re “ embarrassed ” over how the country has tried ( and largely failed ) to prevent the spread of the disease .
Trump ’ s approval rating on coronavirus is the worst it ’ s been since CNN/SSRS started @ @ @ @ @ @ @ response to handling the disease .
The poll also found that 62 percent of respondents felt he could be doing more to fight the pandemic in the U.S .
Though most Americans say they are embarrassed by the U.S. ’ s response to coronavirus so far , Trump himself appears to have no such misgivings and has continued to make embarrassing statements about his performance in trying to combat the pandemic .
On Monday , for example , Trump tried to downplay the crisis in the U.S. by suggesting that New Zealand , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as an example of how to correctly respond to COVID-19 , was facing new difficulties in dealing with it .
That country , Trump said during a campaign event in Minnesota , was now seeing a “ big surge ” in new cases .
“ It ’ s terrible .
We don ’ t want that , ” Trump added .
Trump ’ s comment apparently referred to a report that New Zealand had discovered nine new cases of coronavirus after having eradicated the virus earlier this year .
For comparison , on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the “ big surge ” in New Zealand , the U.S. diagnosed more than 40,000 new cases of COVID-19 , and reported 542 new deaths .
On Tuesday , New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responded to Trump ’ s comments from Monday , pointing out that the number of new cases the president was alluding to as a “ big surge ” was incomparable to what was happening in the U.S. “ Anyone who is following will quite easily see that New Zealand ’ s nine cases in a day does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tens of thousands , ” she said , adding that Trump was “ patently wrong ” to make such a suggestion .

For the first time in months, most Americans believe that “the worst” of the coronavirus pandemic “is yet to come.”
A new poll published this week demonstrates that Americans are increasingly pessimistic about how the U.S. has generally responded to the coronavirus pandemic, with a majority believing “the worst is yet to come” for the first time since the start of May.
A CNN/SSRS poll published on Wednesday and conducted from August 12 to 15 finds that only 40 percent of Americans believe the worst of COVID-19 is behind us, while 55 percent say things are going to be worse in the future.
Americans aren’t simply dissatisfied with how President Donald Trump has handled the pandemic (with 58 percent saying they disapprove of how he’s led on the issue), but they’re also ashamed by how things have progressed. Just 28 percent of Americans consider themselves “proud” of the United States’s response to coronavirus, while 68 percent say they’re “embarrassed” over how the country has tried (and largely failed) to prevent the spread of the disease.
Trump’s approval rating on coronavirus is the worst it’s been since CNN/SSRS started asking Americans to grade him on his response to handling the disease. The poll also found that 62 percent of respondents felt he could be doing more to fight the pandemic in the U.S.
Though most Americans say they are embarrassed by the U.S.’s response to coronavirus so far, Trump himself appears to have no such misgivings and has continued to make embarrassing statements about his performance in trying to combat the pandemic. On Monday, for example, Trump tried to downplay the crisis in the U.S. by suggesting that New Zealand, which has been heralded across the globe as an example of how to correctly respond to COVID-19, was facing new difficulties in dealing with it.
That country, Trump said during a campaign event in Minnesota, was now seeing a “big surge” in new cases. “It’s terrible. We don’t want that,” Trump added.
Trump’s comment apparently referred to a report that New Zealand had discovered nine new cases of coronavirus after having eradicated the virus earlier this year. For comparison, on the very day Trump was drawing attention to the “big surge” in New Zealand, the U.S. diagnosed more than 40,000 new cases of COVID-19, and reported 542 new deaths.
On Tuesday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern responded to Trump’s comments from Monday, pointing out that the number of new cases the president was alluding to as a “big surge” was incomparable to what was happening in the U.S.
“Anyone who is following will quite easily see that New Zealand’s nine cases in a day does not compare to the United States’ tens of thousands,” she said, adding that Trump was “patently wrong” to make such a suggestion.
Tired of reading the same old news from the same old sources? So are we! That’s why we’re on a mission to shake things up and bring you the stories and perspectives that often go untold in mainstream media. But being a radically, unapologetically independent news site isn’t easy (or cheap), and we rely on reader support to keep the lights on.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today. We’re not asking for a handout, we’re asking for an investment: Invest in a nonprofit news site that’s not afraid to ruffle a few feathers, not afraid to stand up for what’s right, and not afraid to tell it like it is.
Copyright © Truthout. May not be reprinted without permission.


truthout--2020-08-19--DNC Chair Put Lobbyists in Charge of Reviewing DNC Member Qualifications

For a political party whose platform calls for “ sustainable economic growth , which will create good-paying jobs and raise wages , ” the Democratic National Committee has appointed a lot of lobbyists for major corporations that oppose wage growth to its top committees .
Over one-third of the DNC ’ s Executive Committee and nearly two-thirds of the Rules and Bylaws Committee are registered as corporate lobbyists , work as corporate consultants , or have backgrounds in furthering corporate influence in politics , Sludge has found .
The share of corporate lobbyists is higher among at-large DNC members , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by the DNC chair and approved with a voice vote , than among the members who are elected individually by a state or caucus .
Out of 67 at-large DNC members reviewed by Sludge , at least 20 have worked in corporate influence , including several prominent corporate lobbyists who were nominated by DNC Chair Tom Perez in a 2017 “ purge ” of reformers and members who had supported his rival , then-Rep. Keith Ellison .
In addition , the majority of the 10-member Budget and Finance Committee are at-large members or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Resolutions Committee ’ s 28 members are at-large members , put in place by Perez .
Article One of the Democratic Party Charter states that public officials shall “ refrain from acting in their official capacities when their independence of judgement would be adversely affected by personal interest or duties.
” However , multiple current and former DNC members told Sludge that the party does not observe any internal process for evaluating and discussing potential conflicts of interests of members with corporate clients — such as those on the Platform Committee , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to endorse single-payer Medicare for All and the legalization of marijuana , among other progressive proposals .
One relatively higher-profile case considered by the Convention Credentials Committee , a larger body convened just ahead of the quadrennial national convention , came in 2016 .
In May of that year , then-chair James Roosevelt , a Massachusetts attorney and longtime DNC member , rejected a formal request by Sen. Bernie Sanders ( I-Vt. ) to remove former Rep. Barney Frank as chair of the Convention Rules Committee for being , with former Connecticut Governor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ aggressive attack surrogates for the Clinton campaign.
” Between conventions , judging the legality of state elections for DNC membership and hearing challenges against state parties is the responsibility of the DNC Credentials Committee , which according to the charter “ shall determine the validity of the credentials of those elected to the National Committee , and decide all challenges to the seating of such members.
” Just last month , Roosevelt chaired the virtual meeting of the Convention Rules Committee , which was met with complaints from Sanders delegates and DNC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ order were not followed .
An amendment introduced by Sanders delegate Brent Welder to ban corporate lobbyists from serving on the DNC was tabled without a vote , for example , and eventually voted down , 105 to 45 , at the conclusion of the Convention Rules Committee ’ s virtual meeting .
If the amendment would have passed and been approved by the delegates to the Democratic National Convention , the standing DNC Credentials Committee would likely first hear challenges on individual cases .
Sludge reviewed the Credentials Committee roster and found @ @ @ @ @ @ @ advancing corporate interests and that at least 10 of its 28 members are at-large DNC members , meaning they were appointed by Perez .
The DNC does not release the names of its committee members publicly , and over a dozen DNC officials and standing committee co-chairs have not responded to requests for comment for this reporting series ; Sludge obtained a list of the committee members as of September 2019 from a DNC member .
The Credentials Committee is co-chaired by one corporate lawyer and one former bank lobbyist , and includes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Citgo , and other major corporations who was appointed to the committee by Perez .
In addition , the committee contains an executive with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , a past big donor to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham , and the chair of the New York State Democratic Committee , whose delegation was key in throwing the closely-contested DNC chair election to Perez .
The Credentials Committee is co-chaired by the Hon .
Karen Carter Peterson , DNC vice chair for civic engagement and voter protection and an elected DNC member from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been counsel at corporate law firm Dentons , whose energy clients include oil majors and which also represents insurance , real estate , banking and finance companies .
Peterson is based in New Orleans , where Dentons ’ longtime role as primary legal adviser to the New Orleans City Council and its regulation of energy company Entergy Corporation was questioned last year , over the firm ’ s closeness to the state Democratic party .
The Credentials Committee ’ s other co-chair is John Currie , chair of the New Jersey State Democratic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dealerships , who in 1998 lobbied the federal government for bank First Chicago NBD Corp. regarding finance and bankruptcy issues .
Currie is a partner in multiple General Motors new car dealerships in northern New Jersey .
General Motors spent over $ 8.3 million in lobbying last year , contracting with a dozen outside firms according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics .
The top bill discussed in its lobbying in 2019 was S.1094 , which would expand the tax credit for new plug-in electric drive motor vehicles .
GM has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2018 , as President Obama ’ s major economic stimulus bill in 2009 set a cap of 200,000 cumulative electric vehicle sales before phasing down the tax credit , and GM reached that amount in April of last year .
Peterson and Currie did not respond to an email inquiry regarding how their committee addressed the potential conflicts of interests of some of its members , below , who lobby on issues like financial industry taxes and utility company regulation that could be significantly affected by the endorsements in the DNC platform .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ corporate lobbying and influence that have not been previously mentioned in Sludge ’ s DNC reporting series are as follows : Ortiz is an at-large DNC Member affiliated with Puerto Rico and the founder of lobbying firm VantageKnight , which last year took in over $ 2.5 million in fees for representing ten federal clients , including Citigroup and Raytheon , according to the Center for Responsive Politics .
From 2011 to 2016 , Ortiz was a lobbyist with the major firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck , where his 2016 clients included private @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McDonald ’ s , broadband trade association The Internet & Television Association ( NCTA ) , and T-Mobile .
VantageKnight ’ s website advertises Ortiz unabashedly : “ The New York Times has praised him as , ‘ Puerto Rico ’ s go to guy in Washington , ’ and CNN has touted him as , ‘ one of Washington ’ s Powerhouse Lobbyists.
’ ” Another headline , from a 2013 profile in Hispanic Executive magazine , touts Ortiz as “ K Street ’ s Go-To Guy.
” In 2016 with Brownstein @ @ @ @ @ @ @ AbbVie on the Trans-Pacific Partnership , which President Obama signed in February of that year and then President Trump withdrew from the following year .
From 2012 into 2016 , Ortiz lobbied for Comcast on issues including “ Net neutrality / Title II , FCC reauthorization ” and “ Internet governance.
” This start date was around the time of widespread protests against two internet censorship bills , the Stop Online Piracy Act ( SOPA ) and the PROTECT IP Act ( PIPA ) introduced in Congress in the last quarter of 2011 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Federal Communications Commission ( FCC ) repealed Title II net neutrality law in December 2017 .
With his own firm , Ortiz ’ s largest client in 2019 was Citgo , a subsidiary of PDVSA , the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company , bringing in over $ 1 million .
Lobbying for the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company , a government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico , brought in over $ 400,000 .
Ortiz also lobbied last year for CVS Health , regarding “ accessible affordable options for quality pharmaceutical products , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on “ legislation related to sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE , ” among other matters .
Lobbying for Citigroup , which brought in $ 120,000 last year , was disclosed as regarding “ global operations and competition issues.
” From 2016 into 2017 , VantageKnight lobbied for law firm Milbank , Tweed , Hadley & McCloy LLP on behalf of the Ambac Assurance Corporation on H.R .
5278 , the Puerto Rico Oversight , Management , and Economic Stability Act .
Ambac Assurance , a subsidiary of the Ambac Financial Group , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2017 to be “ aggressively pursuing ” loss mitigation strategies as a bond insurer of Puerto Rico .
Ortiz is one of ten members with corporate lobbying backgrounds appointed to the DNC by Perez following an Oct. 2017 “ purge ” of members who had supported then-Rep. Keith Ellison for chair or favored greater rules reforms and budget transparency .
In addition to Ortiz , Perez ’ s picks also included News Corp. lobbyist Joanne Dowdell and Clinton insider and corporate lobbyist Harold Ickes .
Ortiz did not return an email inquiry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ DNC voting responsibility given VantageKnight ’ s lobbying clients , or why he thinks he was put forward to be an at-large member by Perez .
Wade is and at-large DNC Member and the vice president of strategic alliances and outreach at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , the largest and most influential business lobbying group in the United States , helping to create new business partnerships and counseling the organization on policy issues .
Wade began his position at the chamber in January 2018 , while also serving since 2011 as the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , The Wade Group , based in Columbia , South Carolina .
Previously , Wade worked as president of the Harves Investment Group , which specializes in fostering US-China business relationships , and from January 2009 through June 2011 served as senior advisor and deputy chief of staff in the U.S. Department of Commerce .
In the years before President Obama ’ s 2008 election , Wade ’ s LinkedIn profile says that he advised the candidate and the Obama campaign on policy and political matters .
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last year , according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics , and has contributed nearly $ 437,000 to candidates this cycle through its employees and PAC .
Its board of directors includes executives from member companies such as American Airlines , Honeywell , coal company Peabody Energy , Pfizer , and U.S. Bank .
One of the chamber ’ s major avenues of influence has been in outside political spending , such as in 2009 and 2010 when it received more than $ 100 million in “ dark money ” from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obama ’ s health care reform initiative .
The resulting Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) passed into law in March 2010 without a public insurance option , which Senate Democrats dropped from legislative plans in late 2009 in the face of resistance from centrist lawmakers .
Killing the public option was one of the Chamber ’ s chief goals .
In March 2019 , the U.S. Chamber sent a coalition letter opposing the major ethics reform package , H.R .
1 , passed by House Democrats days later , which would establish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and expand voting rights , among other measures .
In July 2014 , investigative journalist Lee Fang wrote a history covering the Chamber ’ s confrontational defense of “ dark money ” tactics for its aims , such as spreading denial of the global climate crisis by calling for a “ Scopes Monkey Trial ” on climate science .
In April 2019 , Wade appeared at an Oakland Chamber of Commerce event sponsored by Comcast where attendees could hear his views on trade as a former Department of Commerce official and current VP @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In January , a Sludge review found that 94 % of Comcast executives ’ contributions to Democratic presidential candidates had gone to Biden , while his primary opponents Bernie Sanders had called for Comcast ’ s broadband internet monopolies to be broken up and Elizabeth Warren had called for aggressive antitrust action around tech companies .
Two more Credentials Committee members have been previously mentioned on Sludge in their roles as Executive Committee members .
Cheek is a DNC member from Tennessee and a partner at Waller Law , whose website advertises that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Government Relations team ” to draft state and local legislation .
Waller ’ s website showcases a large number of diversified client services in the areas of healthcare , financial services , private equity , and real estate .
For example , the firm served as counsel to private equity firm Accel-KKR , which has over $ 7.5 billion in capital commitments as a partnership between venture capital firm Accel Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts ( KKR ) , the third-biggest private equity firm in the world .
Waller Law represented @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of $ 300 million of Subordinated Notes and $ 150 million of Series A Preferred Stock , and assisted Tri Star Energy in its acquisition of the fuel and other businesses of Hollingsworth Oil .
Waller Law is registered in Tennessee to lobby for the Institute for Legal Reform , an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce , as well as professional services company Accenture — represented by a Waller Law government relations attorney , Catie Lane Bailey — and multinational drugmaker Novartis , among many others .
Leong-Hong is a DNC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CEO of Knowledge Advantage , a consulting firm with clients that have included GE Capital Financial , Lockheed Martin , the Department of Homeland Security , and multiple federal financial contractors .
Two years after Tom Perez ’ s narrow election as DNC chair on February 25 , 2017 , reports by journalist Ryan Grim in his 2019 book We ’ ve Got People revealed the instrumental role played by the New York delegation , then chaired by Byron Brown , a former state senator and current mayor of Buffalo .
On the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Perez received 213.5 votes — one vote shy of the 214.5 needed — to 200 for Ellison , who was backed by party leaders including Bernie Sanders , Chuck Schumer , Elizabeth Warren , and labor leader Randi Weingarten .
( Roll calls of the first and second ballots are available online , hosted by The Wall Street Journal . )
On the second ballot , Perez edged out Ellison by a final vote of 235 to 200 .
As first reported by Grim , Perez ’ s victory was sealed by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from Puerto Rico — in return for the DNC formally endorsing statehood for Puerto Rico , which is not typically a question for a political party ’ s chair to decide , the territory ’ s five delegates went to Perez .
Perez further secured his win with 18 of New York ’ s members on the second ballot , compared to six for Ellison , with one abstention .
Three New York members did not cast a vote for chair on the first ballot , but voted for Perez on the second @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who was later named by Perez to the DNC Rules Committee as an at-large member ; Carl Heastie , speaker of the New York State Assembly since 2015 ; and U.S. Rep. Grace Meng ( D-N.Y. ) , who has represented parts of Queens since the 2012 election .
In 2017 , the New York Observer reported that several other state delegations ’ DNC members switched their votes from Ellison to Perez on the second ballot , including Credentials Committee member Kat Hoang of Texas .
In June 2019 , Hoang , who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ joined Beto O ’ Rourke ’ s presidential campaign as chief financial officer .
Hoang did not respond to an email and LinkedIn inquiry from Sludge regarding whether she continued to serve on the DNC Credentials Committee while working for O ’ Rourke ’ s campaign , whether her position was raised to the committee ’ s co-chairs , or whether it was discussed in any process of ethics review .
Currently , the New York State Democratic Committee is chaired by Hon .
Jay S. Jacobs , a DNC member from New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ party chair from 2009 to 2012 and returned to the post in 2019 after being recommended by Cuomo .
Jacobs is also Nassau County Democratic chair and a close ally of Cuomo , who appointed him to an important election law commission last year that made changes to rules regarding third parties and ballot access .
Another Credentials Committee member , Celina Vasquez of Texas , supported Perez over Ellison in January 2017 in his bid for chair .
Vasquez is prominent in the Texas state party for founding Texas Latinas List , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Murat Guzel , a Turkish-American businessman based in Pennsylvania ’ s Lehigh Valley , was a Credentials Committee member and was co-chair of the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee as of the list Sludge obtained from September 2019 .
In November 2019 , Guzel was granted immunity to speak with the FBI about the case of a political donor , American venture capitalist Imaad Zuberi , who had pled guilty to charges of tax evasion , violating campaign finance laws , and failing to register as a foreign agent .
Federal prosecutors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in his case more than $ 6 million to not cooperate with authorities .
When he pled guilty in Los Angeles , Zuberi was to be charged with acting as an unregistered agent for Turkey and several other governments .
Investigators examined a $ 50,000 check Zuberi gave to Guzel earlier last year , but little is known about the incident because Guzel has not answered questions from reporters .
In 2016 , Guzel and employees of Nimeks Organics , his organic fruit company , donated $ 21,600 to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the congressional Democratic agenda .
Sen. Graham went on to block a Senate vote on a resolution in Nov. 2019 that would have officially recognized the 1915 massacre and explusion of Armenians carried out in what is today Turkey as a genocide .
Shortly after Graham ’ s move , the Armenian-American writer and activist Harut Sassounian published a column in the Armenian-American newspaper Asbarez drawing connections between campaign contributions to Graham by Turkish-Americans and lobbying by prominent firms such as Akin Gump on behalf of the Turkish government .
Guzel , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hundreds of donations to Democratic committees nationwide , had also been treasurer of the Turkish American National Steering Committee ( TASC ) .
Guzel was alleged by Sassounian to be providing updates on his U.S. political activities to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ’ s inner circle .
According to a report last November by the London-based Investigative Journal , Wikileaks released an email in which Guzel wrote to Erdogan ’ s son-in-law , Berat Albayrak , that “ to stand behind Erdogan and do whatever we can do against the evil powers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but rather an ‘ Islamic obligation ’ upon all of us ” ( p. 45 ) .
Guzel did not respond to an email inquiry and LinkedIn message from Sludge as to whether he continued to serve on the DNC Credentials Committee or the ethnic council after he was granted immunity by the FBI last year , whether committee co-chairs or other DNC members were made aware of his talks with the FBI in the Zuberi investigation , or whether he is still a DNC member .
Guzel is still listed as chair @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pennsylvania Democratic Party website , and as a DNC member from Pennsylvania on Wikipedia ’ s list of automatic delegates .
Guzel deleted his Facebook account , which had featured numerous photos at fundraisers with Democratic leaders , after being contacted last year by the Associated Press , and a Twitter profile appearing to belong to Guzel seems to have been deactivated .
But a Murat G. profile on LinkedIn still exists , with a prominent photo of President Obama and a biography describing the page ’ s owner as “ the first @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” The page includes a link to a defunct personal website in Turkish , which was archived by the Wayback Machine in July 2017 .
As the DNC was exposed to have funneled over $ 82 million to the Clinton campaign during the 2016 presidential primary and then revealed to have hidden details of the arrangement , the DNC ’ s Unity Reform Commission of 2017 sought to increase democratic governance within the national party .
The Unity Reform Commission was made up of 21 members , with ten selected by Hillary Clinton @ @ @ @ @ @ @ three by Tom Perez .
But during meetings of the Unity Reform Commission in December 2017 , leading up to the adoption of the most-recent DNC Charter in August 2018 , the party ’ s rules committee rejected a stronger ethics proposal from Nomiki Konst and other Unity Reform Commission members that would have required DNC members to recuse themselves from votes in which they had a financial interest .
In July 2019 , HuffPost reported that the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee voted down a proposal by Unity Reform Commission member Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ review board .
The mid-2017 dismissal of a class-action lawsuit against the DNC , filed after the contested 2016 primary , reaffirmed that the DNC operates as a private corporation , with no enforceable claims to impartiality and no legal need to avoid conflicts of interest .
For comparison , the IRS guidance for nonprofits requires a conflict of interest policy , stating that “ A conflict of interest occurs where individuals ’ obligation to further the organization ’ s charitable purposes is at odds with their own financial interests.
” Conflict of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like the DNC typically define conflicts of interest and lay out procedures for them to be addressed .
Multiple DNC members have told Sludge that no such procedures are currently observed by the DNC .
Michael Kapp is a DNC member from California and chair of the DNC Youth Council who has staked out a position in favor of increasing transparency and promoting accountability among DNC members .
Kapp told Sludge , “ DNC meetings are not very transparent .
Meeting information — time , date , and location — should be on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Meetings of the Rules and Bylaws Committee , the Resolutions Committee , and the Credentials Committee should be live-streamed online .
“ I would hope that the DNC would do more to require , or at least encourage , DNC members to provide at least an email address to be publicly accessible , ” Kapp said .
“ DNC members do not even have complete contact information for many of our colleagues .
That makes it extraordinarily difficult to connect with one another outside of twice-a-year DNC meetings .
To encourage participation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and maintain internal listservs for each DNC council and caucus .
Right now , everything is maintained on an ad hoc basis by individual council and caucus chairs.
” Perez has said publicly he ’ ll serve through 2020 , and if presumptive Democratic nominee Biden wins the upcoming presidential election , then traditionally Perez ’ s successor as party chair would be chosen next year primarily by the Biden political operation .
In January , two top DNC finance officials , Daniel Halpern and Chris Korge , claimed responsibility for secretly approving @ @ @ @ @ @ @ two of his top deputies , though Perez denied foreknowledge of the arrangement .
Over the past seven months of Sludge ’ s DNC reporting series , none of the half-dozen DNC officials emailed and messaged have responded to a request for comment from Sludge , and none of the DNC committee co-chairs emailed have responded to questions about how their bodies “ adopts adequate policies and procedures with respect to … avoidance of conflicts of interest , ” as stated on page 18 of the DNC Charter .
“ Where does the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really lay ?
” said Kapp .
“ Is it controlled solely by the chair with no oversight or checks and balances , or does it reside in state parties and grassroots Democrats ?
We need a DNC that not only listens to our voters and our base of activists , but includes these voices .
”

This article was produced by Sludge , an independent, ad-free investigative news site covering money in politics. Click here to support Sludge.
For a political party whose platform calls for “sustainable economic growth, which will create good-paying jobs and raise wages,” the Democratic National Committee has appointed a lot of lobbyists for major corporations that oppose wage growth to its top committees.
Over one-third of the DNC’s Executive Committee and nearly two-thirds of the Rules and Bylaws Committee are registered as corporate lobbyists, work as corporate consultants, or have backgrounds in furthering corporate influence in politics, Sludge has found.
The share of corporate lobbyists is higher among at-large DNC members, who are put forward as a slate by the DNC chair and approved with a voice vote, than among the members who are elected individually by a state or caucus. Out of 67 at-large DNC members reviewed by Sludge, at least 20 have worked in corporate influence, including several prominent corporate lobbyists who were nominated by DNC Chair Tom Perez in a 2017 “purge” of reformers and members who had supported his rival, then-Rep. Keith Ellison. In addition, the majority of the 10-member Budget and Finance Committee are at-large members or party officers, and almost half of the Resolutions Committee’s 28 members are at-large members, put in place by Perez.
Article One of the Democratic Party Charter states that public officials shall “refrain from acting in their official capacities when their independence of judgement would be adversely affected by personal interest or duties.” However, multiple current and former DNC members told Sludge that the party does not observe any internal process for evaluating and discussing potential conflicts of interests of members with corporate clients — such as those on the Platform Committee, which on July 27 voted down amendments to endorse single-payer Medicare for All and the legalization of marijuana, among other progressive proposals.
One relatively higher-profile case considered by the Convention Credentials Committee, a larger body convened just ahead of the quadrennial national convention, came in 2016. In May of that year, then-chair James Roosevelt, a Massachusetts attorney and longtime DNC member, rejected a formal request by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to remove former Rep. Barney Frank as chair of the Convention Rules Committee for being, with former Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, what Sanders described as “aggressive attack surrogates for the Clinton campaign.”
Between conventions, judging the legality of state elections for DNC membership and hearing challenges against state parties is the responsibility of the DNC Credentials Committee, which according to the charter “shall determine the validity of the credentials of those elected to the National Committee, and decide all challenges to the seating of such members.”
Just last month, Roosevelt chaired the virtual meeting of the Convention Rules Committee, which was met with complaints from Sanders delegates and DNC members who said the promised rules of order were not followed. An amendment introduced by Sanders delegate Brent Welder to ban corporate lobbyists from serving on the DNC was tabled without a vote, for example, and eventually voted down, 105 to 45, at the conclusion of the Convention Rules Committee’s virtual meeting. If the amendment would have passed and been approved by the delegates to the Democratic National Convention, the standing DNC Credentials Committee would likely first hear challenges on individual cases.
Sludge reviewed the Credentials Committee roster and found it contains several figures with backgrounds in advancing corporate interests and that at least 10 of its 28 members are at-large DNC members, meaning they were appointed by Perez. The DNC does not release the names of its committee members publicly, and over a dozen DNC officials and standing committee co-chairs have not responded to requests for comment for this reporting series; Sludge obtained a list of the committee members as of September 2019 from a DNC member.
The Credentials Committee is co-chaired by one corporate lawyer and one former bank lobbyist, and includes one prominent corporate lobbyist for Citigroup, Citgo, and other major corporations who was appointed to the committee by Perez. In addition, the committee contains an executive with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a past big donor to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, and the chair of the New York State Democratic Committee, whose delegation was key in throwing the closely-contested DNC chair election to Perez.
The People Who Oversee State DNC Elections
The Credentials Committee is co-chaired by the Hon. Karen Carter Peterson, DNC vice chair for civic engagement and voter protection and an elected DNC member from Louisiana. Since 2014, Peterson has been counsel at corporate law firm Dentons, whose energy clients include oil majors and which also represents insurance, real estate, banking and finance companies. Peterson is based in New Orleans, where Dentons’ longtime role as primary legal adviser to the New Orleans City Council and its regulation of energy company Entergy Corporation was questioned last year, over the firm’s closeness to the state Democratic party.
The Credentials Committee’s other co-chair is John Currie, chair of the New Jersey State Democratic Committee and a longtime partner in car dealerships, who in 1998 lobbied the federal government for bank First Chicago NBD Corp. regarding finance and bankruptcy issues. Currie is a partner in multiple General Motors new car dealerships in northern New Jersey. General Motors spent over $8.3 million in lobbying last year, contracting with a dozen outside firms according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. The top bill discussed in its lobbying in 2019 was S.1094, which would expand the tax credit for new plug-in electric drive motor vehicles. GM has been lobbying to extend the credit since 2018, as President Obama’s major economic stimulus bill in 2009 set a cap of 200,000 cumulative electric vehicle sales before phasing down the tax credit, and GM reached that amount in April of last year.
Peterson and Currie did not respond to an email inquiry regarding how their committee addressed the potential conflicts of interests of some of its members, below, who lobby on issues like financial industry taxes and utility company regulation that could be significantly affected by the endorsements in the DNC platform.
Two Credentials Committee members who work in corporate lobbying and influence that have not been previously mentioned in Sludge’s DNC reporting series are as follows:
Manuel Ortiz
Ortiz is an at-large DNC Member affiliated with Puerto Rico and the founder of lobbying firm VantageKnight, which last year took in over $2.5 million in fees for representing ten federal clients, including Citigroup and Raytheon, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. From 2011 to 2016, Ortiz was a lobbyist with the major firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where his 2016 clients included private equity giant Apollo Management, Citgo, McDonald’s, broadband trade association The Internet & Television Association (NCTA), and T-Mobile. VantageKnight’s website advertises Ortiz unabashedly: “The New York Times has praised him as, ‘Puerto Rico’s go to guy in Washington,’ and CNN has touted him as, ‘one of Washington’s Powerhouse Lobbyists.’” Another headline, from a 2013 profile in Hispanic Executive magazine, touts Ortiz as “K Street’s Go-To Guy.”
In 2016 with Brownstein Hyatt, Ortiz lobbied for pharmaceutical company AbbVie on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which President Obama signed in February of that year and then President Trump withdrew from the following year. From 2012 into 2016, Ortiz lobbied for Comcast on issues including “Net neutrality / Title II, FCC reauthorization” and “Internet governance.” This start date was around the time of widespread protests against two internet censorship bills, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA) introduced in Congress in the last quarter of 2011. Under the Trump administration, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) repealed Title II net neutrality law in December 2017.
With his own firm, Ortiz’s largest client in 2019 was Citgo, a subsidiary of PDVSA, the Venezuelan state-owned oil and natural gas company, bringing in over $1 million. Lobbying for the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company, a government-owned corporation of Puerto Rico, brought in over $400,000. Ortiz also lobbied last year for CVS Health, regarding “accessible affordable options for quality pharmaceutical products,” and for military contractor Raytheon, on “legislation related to sales to Saudi Arabia and UAE,” among other matters. Lobbying for Citigroup, which brought in $120,000 last year, was disclosed as regarding “global operations and competition issues.”
From 2016 into 2017, VantageKnight lobbied for law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP on behalf of the Ambac Assurance Corporation on H.R. 5278, the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act. Ambac Assurance, a subsidiary of the Ambac Financial Group, provides financial guarantee insurance and was reported in 2017 to be “aggressively pursuing” loss mitigation strategies as a bond insurer of Puerto Rico.
Ortiz is one of ten members with corporate lobbying backgrounds appointed to the DNC by Perez following an Oct. 2017 “purge” of members who had supported then-Rep. Keith Ellison for chair or favored greater rules reforms and budget transparency. In addition to Ortiz, Perez’s picks also included News Corp. lobbyist Joanne Dowdell and Clinton insider and corporate lobbyist Harold Ickes.
Ortiz did not return an email inquiry for comment on how he views his DNC voting responsibility given VantageKnight’s lobbying clients, or why he thinks he was put forward to be an at-large member by Perez.
Rick C. Wade
Wade is and at-large DNC Member and the vice president of strategic alliances and outreach at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the largest and most influential business lobbying group in the United States, helping to create new business partnerships and counseling the organization on policy issues. Wade began his position at the chamber in January 2018, while also serving since 2011 as the principal of a global business consulting firm, The Wade Group, based in Columbia, South Carolina. Previously, Wade worked as president of the Harves Investment Group, which specializes in fostering US-China business relationships, and from January 2009 through June 2011 served as senior advisor and deputy chief of staff in the U.S. Department of Commerce. In the years before President Obama’s 2008 election, Wade’s LinkedIn profile says that he advised the candidate and the Obama campaign on policy and political matters.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce spent over $77 million in federal lobbying last year, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, and has contributed nearly $437,000 to candidates this cycle through its employees and PAC. Its board of directors includes executives from member companies such as American Airlines, Honeywell, coal company Peabody Energy, Pfizer, and U.S. Bank.
One of the chamber’s major avenues of influence has been in outside political spending, such as in 2009 and 2010 when it received more than $100 million in “dark money” from the health insurance industry to undermine President Obama’s health care reform initiative. The resulting Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed into law in March 2010 without a public insurance option, which Senate Democrats dropped from legislative plans in late 2009 in the face of resistance from centrist lawmakers. Killing the public option was one of the Chamber’s chief goals.
In March 2019, the U.S. Chamber sent a coalition letter opposing the major ethics reform package, H.R. 1, passed by House Democrats days later, which would establish a public financing option for congressional campaigns and expand voting rights, among other measures. In July 2014, investigative journalist Lee Fang wrote a history covering the Chamber’s confrontational defense of “dark money” tactics for its aims, such as spreading denial of the global climate crisis by calling for a “Scopes Monkey Trial” on climate science.
In April 2019, Wade appeared at an Oakland Chamber of Commerce event sponsored by Comcast where attendees could hear his views on trade as a former Department of Commerce official and current VP of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. In January, a Sludge review found that 94% of Comcast executives’ contributions to Democratic presidential candidates had gone to Biden, while his primary opponents Bernie Sanders had called for Comcast’s broadband internet monopolies to be broken up and Elizabeth Warren had called for aggressive antitrust action around tech companies.
Two more Credentials Committee members have been previously mentioned on Sludge in their roles as Executive Committee members.
Will T. Cheek
Cheek is a DNC member from Tennessee and a partner at Waller Law, whose website advertises that he “works in concert with Waller’s Government Relations team” to draft state and local legislation. Waller’s website showcases a large number of diversified client services in the areas of healthcare, financial services, private equity, and real estate. For example, the firm served as counsel to private equity firm Accel-KKR, which has over $7.5 billion in capital commitments as a partnership between venture capital firm Accel Partners and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), the third-biggest private equity firm in the world. Waller Law represented bank holding company BancorpSouth in public offerings of $300 million of Subordinated Notes and $150 million of Series A Preferred Stock, and assisted Tri Star Energy in its acquisition of the fuel and other businesses of Hollingsworth Oil.
Waller Law is registered in Tennessee to lobby for the Institute for Legal Reform, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, as well as professional services company Accenture — represented by a Waller Law government relations attorney, Catie Lane Bailey — and multinational drugmaker Novartis, among many others.
Belkis (Bel) W. Leong-Hong
Leong-Hong is a DNC member from Maryland and the founder and CEO of Knowledge Advantage, a consulting firm with clients that have included GE Capital Financial, Lockheed Martin, the Department of Homeland Security, and multiple federal financial contractors.
New York’s Crucial Backing of Tom Perez
Two years after Tom Perez’s narrow election as DNC chair on February 25, 2017, reports by journalist Ryan Grim in his 2019 book We’ve Got People revealed the instrumental role played by the New York delegation, then chaired by Byron Brown, a former state senator and current mayor of Buffalo.
On the first ballot of the February 2017 election, Perez received 213.5 votes — one vote shy of the 214.5 needed — to 200 for Ellison, who was backed by party leaders including Bernie Sanders, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren, and labor leader Randi Weingarten. (Roll calls of the first and second ballots are available online, hosted by The Wall Street Journal.)
On the second ballot, Perez edged out Ellison by a final vote of 235 to 200. As first reported by Grim, Perez’s victory was sealed by a “coup” from the delegation from Puerto Rico — in return for the DNC formally endorsing statehood for Puerto Rico, which is not typically a question for a political party’s chair to decide, the territory’s five delegates went to Perez.
Perez further secured his win with 18 of New York’s members on the second ballot, compared to six for Ellison, with one abstention. Three New York members did not cast a vote for chair on the first ballot, but voted for Perez on the second ballot: Rev. Leah Daughtry, who was later named by Perez to the DNC Rules Committee as an at-large member; Carl Heastie, speaker of the New York State Assembly since 2015; and U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.), who has represented parts of Queens since the 2012 election.
In 2017, the New York Observer reported that several other state delegations’ DNC members switched their votes from Ellison to Perez on the second ballot, including Credentials Committee member Kat Hoang of Texas. In June 2019, Hoang, who is based in Austin, Texas, joined Beto O’Rourke’s presidential campaign as chief financial officer. Hoang did not respond to an email and LinkedIn inquiry from Sludge regarding whether she continued to serve on the DNC Credentials Committee while working for O’Rourke’s campaign, whether her position was raised to the committee’s co-chairs, or whether it was discussed in any process of ethics review.
Currently, the New York State Democratic Committee is chaired by Hon. Jay S. Jacobs, a DNC member from New York, who had been the state party chair from 2009 to 2012 and returned to the post in 2019 after being recommended by Cuomo. Jacobs is also Nassau County Democratic chair and a close ally of Cuomo, who appointed him to an important election law commission last year that made changes to rules regarding third parties and ballot access.
Another Credentials Committee member, Celina Vasquez of Texas, supported Perez over Ellison in January 2017 in his bid for chair. Vasquez is prominent in the Texas state party for founding Texas Latinas List, which describes itself as a progressive PAC.
A Committee Member Entangled With the FBI
Murat Guzel, a Turkish-American businessman based in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley, was a Credentials Committee member and was co-chair of the National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee as of the list Sludge obtained from September 2019.
In November 2019, Guzel was granted immunity to speak with the FBI about the case of a political donor, American venture capitalist Imaad Zuberi, who had pled guilty to charges of tax evasion, violating campaign finance laws, and failing to register as a foreign agent. Federal prosecutors also alleged that Zuberi offered six witnesses in his case more than $6 million to not cooperate with authorities. When he pled guilty in Los Angeles, Zuberi was to be charged with acting as an unregistered agent for Turkey and several other governments. Investigators examined a $50,000 check Zuberi gave to Guzel earlier last year, but little is known about the incident because Guzel has not answered questions from reporters.
In 2016, Guzel and employees of Nimeks Organics, his organic fruit company, donated $21,600 to Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), an outspoken opponent of the congressional Democratic agenda. Sen. Graham went on to block a Senate vote on a resolution in Nov. 2019 that would have officially recognized the 1915 massacre and explusion of Armenians carried out in what is today Turkey as a genocide.
Shortly after Graham’s move, the Armenian-American writer and activist Harut Sassounian published a column in the Armenian-American newspaper Asbarez drawing connections between campaign contributions to Graham by Turkish-Americans and lobbying by prominent firms such as Akin Gump on behalf of the Turkish government.
Guzel, a frequent large donor who has made hundreds of donations to Democratic committees nationwide, had also been treasurer of the Turkish American National Steering Committee (TASC). Guzel was alleged by Sassounian to be providing updates on his U.S. political activities to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s inner circle. According to a report last November by the London-based Investigative Journal, Wikileaks released an email in which Guzel wrote to Erdogan’s son-in-law, Berat Albayrak, that “to stand behind Erdogan and do whatever we can do against the evil powers is not just an act of compassion but rather an ‘Islamic obligation’ upon all of us” (p. 45).
Guzel did not respond to an email inquiry and LinkedIn message from Sludge as to whether he continued to serve on the DNC Credentials Committee or the ethnic council after he was granted immunity by the FBI last year, whether committee co-chairs or other DNC members were made aware of his talks with the FBI in the Zuberi investigation, or whether he is still a DNC member. Guzel is still listed as chair of the New Americans Caucus on the Pennsylvania Democratic Party website, and as a DNC member from Pennsylvania on Wikipedia’s list of automatic delegates.
Guzel deleted his Facebook account, which had featured numerous photos at fundraisers with Democratic leaders, after being contacted last year by the Associated Press, and a Twitter profile appearing to belong to Guzel seems to have been deactivated. But a Murat G. profile on LinkedIn still exists, with a prominent photo of President Obama and a biography describing the page’s owner as “the first Turkish-American to be a Democratic Party delegate.” The page includes a link to a defunct personal website in Turkish, which was archived by the Wayback Machine in July 2017.
The State of DNC Reform
As the DNC was exposed to have funneled over $82 million to the Clinton campaign during the 2016 presidential primary and then revealed to have hidden details of the arrangement, the DNC’s Unity Reform Commission of 2017 sought to increase democratic governance within the national party. The Unity Reform Commission was made up of 21 members, with ten selected by Hillary Clinton, eight by Bernie Sanders, and three by Tom Perez.
But during meetings of the Unity Reform Commission in December 2017, leading up to the adoption of the most-recent DNC Charter in August 2018, the party’s rules committee rejected a stronger ethics proposal from Nomiki Konst and other Unity Reform Commission members that would have required DNC members to recuse themselves from votes in which they had a financial interest. In July 2019, HuffPost reported that the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee voted down a proposal by Unity Reform Commission member Dr. James Zogby to form an independently-elected financial review board.
The mid-2017 dismissal of a class-action lawsuit against the DNC, filed after the contested 2016 primary, reaffirmed that the DNC operates as a private corporation, with no enforceable claims to impartiality and no legal need to avoid conflicts of interest. For comparison, the IRS guidance for nonprofits requires a conflict of interest policy, stating that “A conflict of interest occurs where individuals’ obligation to further the organization’s charitable purposes is at odds with their own financial interests.” Conflict of interest policies for executives at for-profit companies like the DNC typically define conflicts of interest and lay out procedures for them to be addressed. Multiple DNC members have told Sludge that no such procedures are currently observed by the DNC.
Michael Kapp is a DNC member from California and chair of the DNC Youth Council who has staked out a position in favor of increasing transparency and promoting accountability among DNC members. Kapp told Sludge, “DNC meetings are not very transparent. Meeting information — time, date, and location — should be on an easily-discoverable webpage on the DNC website. Meetings of the Rules and Bylaws Committee, the Resolutions Committee, and the Credentials Committee should be live-streamed online.
“I would hope that the DNC would do more to require, or at least encourage, DNC members to provide at least an email address to be publicly accessible,” Kapp said. “DNC members do not even have complete contact information for many of our colleagues. That makes it extraordinarily difficult to connect with one another outside of twice-a-year DNC meetings. To encourage participation and collaboration, the DNC should create and maintain internal listservs for each DNC council and caucus. Right now, everything is maintained on an ad hoc basis by individual council and caucus chairs.”
Perez has said publicly he’ll serve through 2020, and if presumptive Democratic nominee Biden wins the upcoming presidential election, then traditionally Perez’s successor as party chair would be chosen next year primarily by the Biden political operation. In January, two top DNC finance officials, Daniel Halpern and Chris Korge, claimed responsibility for secretly approving a generous exit package for Perez and two of his top deputies, though Perez denied foreknowledge of the arrangement.
Over the past seven months of Sludge’s DNC reporting series, none of the half-dozen DNC officials emailed and messaged have responded to a request for comment from Sludge, and none of the DNC committee co-chairs emailed have responded to questions about how their bodies “adopts adequate policies and procedures with respect to … avoidance of conflicts of interest,” as stated on page 18 of the DNC Charter.
“Where does the power and the authority at the DNC really lay?” said Kapp. “Is it controlled solely by the chair with no oversight or checks and balances, or does it reside in state parties and grassroots Democrats? We need a DNC that not only listens to our voters and our base of activists, but includes these voices.”
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