Complaints about funding Sanders’ new organization with billionaire money led to key staffers quitting before the much anticipated launch this week
Early this morning, multiple mainstream media sources reported that digital director Kenneth Pennington and at least four others from a team of 15 had quit the new Our Revolution organization led by Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. The main reason given by an unnamed staffer was that Jeff Weaver, the top aid to the Sanders presidential campaign, was not heeding to the cries of the younger generation within the campaign to stay away from billionaire and corporate money. Weaver is said to have caused quite the dissent by younger staffers throughout the presidential campaign as well by acting dismissive and curt for months. Jane Sanders had reportedly asked Weaver to take on a greater role in Our Revolution last Friday, which began the turmoil the organization is now seeing.
The unnamed staffer told Politico that they had joined Our Revolution with a promise from Bernie and Jane Sanders, and executive director Shannon Jackson, that Jeff Weaver would not be in charge of the organization.
Staffer Claire Sandberg, who had been the digital organizing director of the campaign as well as being the organizing director of the Our Revolution organization, said her entire department of four left:
“A majority of the staff quit as a result of Jeff joining. It’s about both the fundraising and the spending: Jeff would like to take big money from rich people including billionaires and spend it on ads. That’s the opposite of what this campaign and this movement are supposed to be about and after being very firm and raising alarm the staff felt that we had no choice but to quit.”
The taking of billionaire and corporate money is arguably the worst move the organization could make due to the fact that Sanders’ entire presidential campaign was built on small donor contributions and condemning corporate contributions to Hillary’s campaign via super PACs with the help of the controversial Citizens United law.