Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Outstrips Sanders and O’Malley in Staff Diversity

[BainsBane]

In the aftermath of what turned out to be disastrous appearances by presidential hopefuls over the weekend, two campaigns are beginning to rethink how they connect with non-white audiences.

Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley made a litany of mistakes at a Netroots Nation town hall in Phoenix. Confronted by #BlackLivesMatter activists, neither had a good and immediate answer to questions presented by the protesters. While O’Malley made an almost immediate course correction, it took the Sanders camp a full 48 hours and a viral hashtag to realize the depth of the mess it was (and still is) in.


In the coming days, both teams will have to reckon with how to make meaningful connections with diverse constituencies — including African Americans, who make up to one-fourth to a full half of Democratic primary voters in major state contests. For instance, non-white voters account for 56 percent of Democratic primary voters in South Carolina, the third state in the process.

Ironically (and tellingly), as they fine-tune their messaging and platforms, there will be few (if any) black people in the room.

According to a new report out from Inclusv, a DC-based non-profit that helps identify campaign talent from diverse backgrounds, Sanders and O’Malley have retained few non-white staffers. A full 90 percent of the Sanders staff is white. The senator from Vermont, who touts 50 years in the civil rights movement and even marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, employs a team that is a mere 3 percent African American. O’Malley’s team in 91 percent white, with only 7 percent black staff. As of the June 30 reporting deadline, the Clinton camp was 68 percent white and 13 percent black.

http://bluenationreview.com/hillary-clintons-campaign-outstrips-sanders-and-omalley-in-staff-diversity/

Found this through #earnthisdamnvoteorlose

[ismnotwasm]

1. That's really good news

I hope she adds even more as her campaign progresses

[BainsBane]

2. I also think it's a function of being a life-long Democrat

who has been through a number of elections with diverse constituencies. We shall see if she is doing enough to earn the votes of African Americans and other people of color.

[KittyWampus]

4. I think it's a function of having a huge amount of money for a bankroll.

[BainsBane]

6. The staff size is. Not its diversity.

[KittyWampus]

7. Does this take into account volunteers? Campaigns with low budgets can't afford huge bankrolls.

And it's weird that the website the chart is from has a tab on top of its page "Hillary".

[BainsBane]

9. I think it says paid staff

not volunteers. But I have read previous articles that says Clinton is laying the foundation for recruiting volunteers throughout the country, whereas Sanders campaign has focused more on big events. It takes paid staff to recruit volunteers. You need campaign offices. Clinton definitely has more money, but she also understands that diversity is important. Sanders hasn't run a campaign for a diverse constituency in the past, and unfortunately now he has a whole lot of supporters insisting diversity isn't important (and worse). Clinton also learned the hard way in 2008 how important the ground game is, getting supporters to the polls. I don't think she plans on repeating mistakes from that campaign, which is why she is hiring people around the country.

[1StrongBlackMan]

26. Grass roots, dontchaknow? ...

But I have read previous articles that says Clinton is laying the foundation for recruiting volunteers throughout the country, whereas Sanders campaign has focused more on big events.

[BainsBane]

30. Yes, and the article referred to it as grassroots

I have just always thought of grassroots as meaning a movement from below, so I didn't use that term myself.

[BainsBane]

29. Which automatically equals diversity?

How exactly does that work? You have $10 million and you can only hire white folks, but the extra money is for people of color?

[artislife]

28. Interesting that Bernie does almost as well as H with Latino staff

So I have been reading here and participating for maybe a month..maybe less.

One of the arguments for H is that the Latinos love her. She is big in my community. But one thing I also know, is that when they didn't get their candidate on the ticket for the 2008 election, they voted for Obama. I was pro Obama pretty early on, not going with my people, I guess.

In 2008, Obama received 67% of the Latino vote. Latinos made up 9% of the electorate in 2008 with 19.5 million people eligible to vote. Today, there are nearly 24 million Hispanics eligible to vote. The number of registered Latinos has increased by 26% in the last four years to 12.2 million, according a report by the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/09/politics/latino-vote-key-election/

I was just wondering the stats of conversion to Obama in 2008 because I think it is relevent. So even if the Latino population on the whole is proHillary, I don't believe Bernie won't get the majority of them to vote for him in the general election if he is the name on the ticket.

Actually, especially after the 6 years of racism hurled easily against them, I think any democrat will easily get the Latino vote.

[KittyWampus]

3. I have to wonder about the ultimate veracity of this-

Sanders and O'Malley don't have huge budgets. O'Malley even way less than Bernie. So they may not have huge staffs on the payroll yet but might have regional volunteers working.

Hillary can afford to bankroll a huge staff.

It's also of note that BlueNationReview website has several topic tabs at the top of the page and one is "Hillary". Not "Democratic Primary". But "Hillary".

[BainsBane]

5. I suppose by contemporary standards, yes

And certainly true for O'Malley, but Sanders did pull in $15 million last quarter. I would think that would cover some staff.

[calimary]

8. Anyone against Hillary will be looking for holes to poke.

It's expected. The GOP would do so, too, but they have even less of a leg to stand on here.

[Wilms]

10. For what? To work on polls?

To serve as a prop? He knows he won't have a corporate war chest, so he's running a frugal campaign.

[BainsBane]

11. To run get out the vote efforts

To recruit volunteers. That is what local staff is for. Props? Jesus. If you have diverse supporters, you don't need "props." You think a campaign is all about big events and the media?

[Sancho]

12. Actions speak louder than words...

...campaigning (quietly) with Reverend Pinkney the day he was killed.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2015/06/18/unknown-current-pastor-state-sen-clementa-pinckney-inside-church-time-shooting/IwTt7v4DiNtlG9ve01TDyI/story.html

...putting your own efforts into helping others all over the world, and especially in minority and immigrant communities.
https://www.clintonfoundation.org

...personal involvement for Americorps, Children's Defense Fund, childcare, girls' education; too much to list going back to Arkansas
http://correctrecord.org/the-record/

Hillary has all that international and legislative experience and knowledge, but she's also been active in non-political programs that actually help people. Even if she never served in another government office, she has walked the walk. Criticisms over thoughtful consideration of trade agreements and economic policies is NOT a reason to claim that Hillary is "wrong" or "neocon". It simply means she resists making rash decisions for political points.

[Rockyj]

13. I grow tired of people trying to say Sanders hasn't reached out to minorities...

I am a minority (Native American) and he has long steadfast record of reaching out to not only minorities, but to the poor, veterans, women and the elderly!
GIVE it a rest!

[BainsBane]

14. This is about staff hiring

As the article clearly says. You don't like the news, don't read it.

[imthevicar]

15. And the point you are making is?

[BainsBane]

16. Hillary Clinton has a more diverse staff

That is the point. Was that somehow unclear?

[imthevicar]

31. SO WHAT!

I still don't get your Point. Does this make her Holier that anyone else. Even Hitler Had Jews on his military staff. and even a Jewish driver. SO,This means NOTHING.

[JustAnotherGen]

32. Jury results

On Sat Jul 25, 2015, 06:11 AM an alert was sent on the following post:

SO WHAT!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=473777

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Disruptive trolling

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Sat Jul 25, 2015, 06:20 AM, and the Jury voted 3-4 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Waste of time alert.
Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: This post is disruptive trolling.
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: justanothergen - not the place to compare Clinton to Hitler. Actually - don't do it anywhere.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Doesn't merit a hide.

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[imthevicar]

33. So, Even the truth

Last edited Mon Aug 10, 2015, 11:39 PM - Edit history (1)

Is subject to a Jury Decision!!!!!?????? What thin skin you must have!

[JustAnotherGen]

37. I'm completely confused by your response

Are you saying Clinton is getting ready to fire up the ovens and engage in the mass murder of Jewish citizens?

[imthevicar]

40. No that's silly,

I said it makes no difference as to the Make up of HRC's staff. My comparison to Hitler was to point that out, Even with Jews on Hitler's general and personal staff, it didn't help those on the street level, the Ovens still took their toll. Just because some folks paint themselves with pretty colors doesn't mean the rot does not exist in the heart. Stop trying to get me in trouble. I do well enough on My own.

[JustAnotherGen]

41. I'm not trying to get you in trouble

And note - I'm one of the few people at DU that will own up to a hide vote.

So - it's like when I say - that black friend you had in the second grade for five minutes doesn't make you an expert on black Americans? Yeah - I get in trouble for that.

[imthevicar]

43. Exactly!

[FSogol]

17. This is the 3rd time I've seen these bogus numbers posted here. Wasn't this totally debunked

in the previous threads?

[BainsBane]

18. I didn't see a previous thread

and I had no idea they were supposed to be bogus. It does seem strange, however, that someone from Baltimore would not have a more diverse staff. He was elected mayor, after all.

[FSogol]

20. He does have a more diverse staff. The problem is they counted #s from payroll not including Pacs

(not Superpac which are independent). Both O'Malley's and Sanders campaigns thoroughly rejected those numbers.

Posted by Bigtree yesterday:

Gabi Domenzain, director of public engagement for O'Malley, blasted Inclusv for releasing these numbers, which she said “they know to be false.”

While Inclusv's report said no Latinos work for the former governor's campaign, Domenzain, a Latina, joined O’Malley’s campaign prior to his announcement. Her name was not listed under payroll disbursements in the July quarterly filing, but HuffPost observed that O’Malley’s campaign reported paying Dominion Payroll Services for “payroll expense." (Persons paid through payroll services and volunteers aren’t included in Inclusv's analysis.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-has-the-most-diverse-campaign-staff-report-finds_55aecd9be4b0a9b94852e873

Gabriela Domenzain ?@GabiDomenzain
@aurabogado Actually, I'm senior staff and a proud Latina ! The numbers used are not up to date. http://www.buzzfeed.com/adriancarrasquillo/omalley-hires-former-obama-hispanic-media-director-for-senio#.dlkWN50jq1 …

Other threads, but I think there are more:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251469794
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251466850

[BainsBane]

21. I see the point about payroll services

As opposed to direct staffing, but how significant is that number? We see one high-ranking staff member left off but not evidence of more significant omissions. And I don't see why omitting PACs is a problem. They are separate entities, not the candidate's staff. Sorry, I don't have time to read through those threads right now, but I did read the articles.

[JaneyVee]

19. Its almost like Clinton campaign made a concerted effort to...

Create a diverse coalition.

[whatchamacallit]

22. Or the illusion of one n/t

[BainsBane]

24. Yes, all those paid staffers

just illusionary, not real people. How can they be real if they don't support Sanders?
The advantage of being a long-term Democrat is that she knows who votes for Democrats.

[JaneyVee]

25. Are you saying they don't exist?

Or just that you don't know what "illusion" means?

[iandhr]

23. Here comes an alert from a Sanders supporter in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

[frylock]

27. Duplicate, and incorrect..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251469794#post1

[bigtree]

34. O'Malley is on a shoestring budget

...this survey doesn't cover volunteers, who make up most of his campaign.

The unfairness of this comparison has been made clear many times. Hillary (and Sanders, to a lesser extent) can well afford to pay as many staffers as she wishes and have those show up on a survey which relies on expense reports. The report is simply not credible.

[BainsBane]

35. Money affects the numbers of staff

certainly, but not proportional diversity. It's not like the first couple million goes to white folks and then the spare money to people of color, or it shouldn't anyway. Though I know there was criticism from omitting one high-profile O'Malley staffer.

[bigtree]

42. this report doesn't count volunteers

...which make up a majority of the O'Malley campaign, certainly a wider margin than the Clinton campaign.

This report is inaccurate and not a true measure of the diversity of my candidate's campaign. That should be easy enough to understand, but keep pushing it. I'd be fine if you highlighted your own candidate's, but it's an unfair comparison biased by the amount of money available to pay for staff. It's dishonest to claim zero Latinos, for instance and not just because one paid staffer was omitted.

[ericson00]

36. Oh Malley, could be worse.

this I think says it best:

[askew]

38. O'Malley's isn't accurate.

He has a very small senior staff and they didn't include Gabriela Domenzian in their count. She is a senior staffer on O'Malley's team and a proud Latina. She was pissed that this was published because they knew it was incorrect when they published it.

[ljm2002]

39. Yes, Bernie's weekend was just DISASTROUS...

...15,000 people went to see him at his rally in Seattle, then 28,000 people went to see him at his rally in Portland.

Let's see now, that would be... 43,000 people saw him live this weekend.

Another 5,000 people saw BLM / OutsideAgitators206 flame out at the Social Security / Medicare / Medicaid rally where Bernie was the keynote speaker. They got to see Bernie too but they did not get to hear him speak. However, he did go into the crowd and shook a lot of hands and spoke with people as best he could before leaving to get to his own campaign rally.

So that's 48,000 people who saw Bernie live this weekend. Yep, "disastrous" is the word I'd use... not.

If you go to the Facebook page of BLM Seattle, you will see how much support they garnered with their silly antics:

https://www.facebook.com/BLMSeattle/posts/716844418437393

I think this may have been more disastrous for them that it was for Bernie. I hope the damage is limited to BLM Seattle because the Black Lives Matter movement is an important one.

Anyway, counting campaign stats is interesting but does not tell the whole story. How many staff does each campaign have? I found some interesting information here:

http://www.p2016.org/clinton/clintonorg.html

http://www.p2016.org/sanders/sandersorg.html

http://www.p2016.org/omalley/omalleyorg.html

At first blush, it would appear that Clinton's staff numbers dwarf those of the other two candidates she is being compared with. If one were to compare say, the top 20 staffers in each campaign, that might be a fairer comparison. I'd be interested to see how the numbers break down in that comparison. As Mark Twain said, "There are lies, damned lies, and statistics".