Another Scandal at the DNC

Because of other disasters afflicting the Democratic Party in recent days, this story, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, hasn’t gotten a lot of attention. But it fits with other recent instances of Democratic Party incompetence and worse: “Leaders of 2020 DNC Host Committee fired.”

The two leaders of Milwaukee’s host committee for the 2020 Democratic National Convention are out.

Late Tuesday, the board for the Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee terminated President Liz Gilbert and her chief of staff, Adam Alonso. The move comes just one day after the board suspended the pair and launched an investigation into “toxic workplace” allegations.

The Journal Sentinel reported Tuesday that a group of senior women staffers wrote an unsigned letter last week complaining of being “bullied and intimidated” by Alonso — something they said Gilbert did nothing to stop. They said Alonso’s actions fostered a “toxic and unstable” culture.

I would like to see the word “toxic” banned, unless it refers to a poisonous physical substance. This flap resembles the Elizabeth Warren fiasco that Paul wrote about earlier today, where a similarly “toxic” environment–whatever that means–was alleged.

What’s it all about? The Journal Sentinel doesn’t provide a lot of details, and the politicians have made all the expected, unhelpful noises. This is as close as we get to the facts:

Alonso and Gilbert had previously come under criticism for continuing to do work for New Jersey Democrats while leading the host committee full time.

The New Jersey Democratic Party connection does not inspire a lot of confidence.

In interviews, the two experienced political hands described the host committee as having a toxic culture rife with power struggles, backbiting and mismanagement.

They accused Gilbert and Alonso of giving contracts to their friends in New Jersey, calling meetings and then failing to attend them and being more focused on accumulating power than promoting Milwaukee.

That is easy to believe.

Sources said it appears that these current and former employees have been emboldened to speak out after Alonso was accused in his home state of New Jersey of shaking down campaign contributors for his own consulting firm, the Cratos Group.

Julie Roginsky, a former strategist for New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, said Murphy’s gubernatorial campaign operation was “toxic” and that she experienced “rank misogyny.”

She has also said lobbyists told her during the 2018 campaign that Alonso and the campaign manager were shaking them down for private business.

The Democratic Party is corrupt and often misogynistic. Importing self-interested operatives from New Jersey, and asking them to run the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee–who could have foreseen that it might end badly?

Happily, from the Democrats’ perspective, news outlets outside of Milwaukee are not likely to inform their readers or viewers of this story.

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