Ahead of the first major test for the Democratic presidential field next week in Iowa, Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez has selected his nominees for the 2020 Democratic National Convention committees. These nominees, confirmed by the DNC’s executive committee, will serve as the overseers for July’s convention in Milwaukee. Their mandate will include managing the convention’s rulemaking procedures, resolving disputes over delegate credentialing, and codifying the Democratic Party platform. Taken as a whole, these handlers wield tremendous power in shaping both the official party line and the logistics of selecting the Democratic presidential nominee, to say nothing of the way they will influence the course charted by a potential Democratic president.

Thus far, the Democratic presidential primary has been defined by Joe Biden’s bid to appeal to the center and his deep ties to the DNC’s core; the progressive push by the Warren/Sanders contingent, who are viewed as party outsiders; and the smattering of lesser lights jockeying for a position somewhere in between. Perez’s appointments, however, suggest that he would prefer to resolve this ongoing tumult by leaving little room for actualizing the leftward pull that the progressive left flank of the party has coaxed out of its colleagues through concessions—such as the cautious exploration, among moderates, of health care policies that are billed as effective alternatives to Medicare for All.



If the party’s blue-collar and middle-class base—demographics whom candidates routinely address during their debate-stage polemics—are truly the engine of the Democratic machine, it’s hard to see how their interests are represented by the 70-odd delegates, who derive their own socioeconomic standing from their careers at America’s top financial firms and K Street influence shops. In a country where ordinary people are left sagging under the weight of medical debt, student loans, ramped-up housing costs, and climate change inaction, these committee selections offer little comfort. To many, it’s something of a slap in the face.



This particular convention roster is stacked with a uniquely egregious assortment of corporate lobbyists and vocal opponents to progressive policies.

It comes as no surprise that Perez has chosen to appoint centrist candidates from deep within the Democratic Party establishment. Many in this cohort, after all, delivered him the DNC chairmanship in 2016. But this particular convention roster is stacked with a uniquely egregious assortment of corporate lobbyists and vocal opponents to progressive policies. One featured player is centrist darling and top-dollar buckraker John Podesta, famously quoted in a leaked email as being “not opposed” to “grinding [Bernie] Sanders to a pulp.” “Where would you stick the knife in?” he asked, temporarily abandoning the “ground pulp” metaphor.



Podesta’s appointment signals a certain commitment to the Democratic Party’s old guard of fundraising hounds and comfortable power brokers. But this fealty is deeply embedded throughout Perez’s roster, which ensconces purebred party insiders at the top of the three most important committees.

