Ryan Grim, the D.C. bureau chief of The Intercept, said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s blacklist shut out political newcomers.
Speaking on Hill TV’s “Rising,” Grim explained how the group made it clear in 2020 that people who worked for primary challengers could no longer work for the DCCC.
“Not only does that close off the ecosystem to newcomers, what it says is that if you want to build a consulting business, and you don’t have enough political work the only other way you can supplement that income is to work for corporate America,” he said. “And so, all of the pollsters that work for the DCCC and a significant number of strategists do half of their work, or less, for the Democratic Party and do the rest for corporations.”
Grim said such a set up creates a conflict of interest for pushing candidates in a more “economic populist” direction. He added that it is easier to make candidates more “liberal” on social issues.
“If you’re relying on this firms that also do all this corporate work, then it does set up these inherent conflicts of interest, although there are fewer conflicts nowadays on cultural issues with corporations,” Grim said. “So it sets up this incentive process where you can push candidates culturally in a more liberal direction but you can’t necessarily push them in a more economic populist direction.”
Watch part of the interview above
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