Did DWS unintentionally do us a favor with the DNC platform commitee picks? [View all]
Sanders also picked Cornel West, a liberal author and racial justice activist who has been a Sanders surrogate. Sanders also named Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, among his most prominent elected backers, author and environmental activist Bill McKibben and Native American activist Deborah Parker.
The Clinton campaigns choices are Wendy Sherman, a former top State Department official and Clinton surrogate; Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress and longtime Clinton confidante; Rep. Luis Guttierez of Illinois; Carol Browner, a former former director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy; Ohio State Rep. Alicia Reece and Paul Booth of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union.
Wasserman Schultz also named former California Rep. Howard Berman; California Rep. Barbara Lee and author and executive Bonnie Schaefer.
Each campaign also has a non-voting representative at committee meetings.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/sanders-scores-platform-concessions-from-democratic-national-committee/2016/05/23/e9ee8330-20fc-11e6-aa84-42391ba52c91_story.html
So DWS picked Rep. Barbara Lee, who so far has never declared a preference amongst the candidates; but it's hard to conclude she is truly neutral, and certainly not on the issues and platform. In fact, I recall this bit from a Politico article from a few months back, detailing the first campaign meeting:
They were sitting around two years ago on couches and armchairs in liberal radio host Bill Presss rowhouse near Eastern Market in Washington, picking at dinner. Sanders, his wife Jane, and all of his top people were there, except for campaign manager Jeff Weaver, who wouldnt be hired for a year.
Sanders had asked Press to pull in a few others, too, including then-American Bridge president Brad Woodhouse, former Harry Reid chief of staff Susan McCue, Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.). They spitballed and listened as the Vermont senator laid out what he wanted to do, talked about what a race would really entail, how tough running against Hillary Clinton would be. Jane Sanders gave off the distinct impression she was collecting information she hoped to use to talk him out of it.
http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/03/bernie-sanders-2016-inside-213692
My question is: does DWS know this?
Either way, this is great news!