The fallout from Kamala Harris’ failed presidential campaign continues, with the “drunk” post-election video of her trying to cheer up dejected supporters falling flat and the campaign’s ongoing money woes now causing problems with the Democrat National Committee.
When we last left you on this issue, reports were swirling that her campaign was so broke that she could no longer afford to pay senior staffers.
“Internally, the apparent cash crunch is being blamed for the campaign’s decision to stop paying many senior staff as of Saturday, even those initially told they would be paid through the end of the year,” Politico reported earlier this month while noting the Democrat Party was “flooding Harris’ lucrative email donor list with near-daily appeals aimed at small-dollar donors” to help pay off her campaign debt after she blew threw the $1.5 billion raised during her short presidential run.
We also learned around that same time that some senior campaign officials called the daily email pleas to donors for money after the election “appalling” and “disgusting,” with another pointing to how they were getting inundated with angry messages from donors.
Apparently, things have only gotten tenser among Democrats on this issue, with some complaining that the veep’s fundraising emails, which sound increasingly desperate, are creating trust issues:
But the fundraising appeals have still continued, and some Democrats fear she may be compounding the party’s problems with the tone of some of her appeals — damaging relationships with online donors who have long powered the party.
[…]
“I understand that the Harris campaign is in a very difficult position with the debt that they have, and so sometimes you just have to make practical decisions,” said Mike Nellis, founder of the Democratic digital firm Authentic, whose clients include top Democratic House and Senate candidates. “But yeah, I think that stuff like that erodes trust.”
The DNC leadership race has heated up over the money issues as well, with some calling for a better accounting from candidates and their affiliated committees over how every dollar is spent:
But concerns about both the party’s approach to small-dollar fundraising and how it is spending that money are spilling into the race to lead the Democratic National Committee. Members of the party’s governing body are raising alarms about the Harris campaign’s spending choices after it burned through a staggering sum at a rapid clip. And some are calling for more oversight into the party’s disbursements as a result.[…]James Zogby, a longtime DNC member who is running to serve as the committee’s vice chair, said the sometimes “begging” tone of the party’s donation solicitations is not a “good look, I don’t think it sends a good message.”[…]Zogby is calling to create a financial oversight committee that would be elected by DNC members to give them more oversight of the party’s spending…[…]“I want to make sure we have a conversation about, where does the money go, and why don’t we know where it goes?” Zogby said.
I get that every presidential campaign has debt after the election is over, but having to beg upset donors for money after such an embarrassing loss and after you brought in record amounts and then spent it like water is like adding insult to injury to the whole situation.
I think it’s safe to say that Kamala Harris did not want to go out like this. Then again, she didn’t want to lose the presidential election, either, and yet here we are.
— Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter. —
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