Many post-mortems have been written about the Kamala Harris campaign’s failure. Four weeks have passed since the election. Most of the post-mortems focused on the message and the medium. The amount spent was also scrutinized. This is the highest amount ever spent on a presidential campaign.
Lindy Li is a member of the DNC Finance Committee. She has expressed her dismay at the expenses, especially in light of the results. Li spoke to NewsNation Sunday night about the financial struggles the campaign (and Party) are facing.
DNC Finance Committee Member questions why so many consultants became millionaires off of donations to Kamala Harris’ campaign:
Lindy Li: “There’s a lot of conflict of interest here. And we need a careful accounting and probably more granular than the FEC report would offer.… pic.twitter.com/496dhpH64z— Eric Abbenante (@EricAbbenante) December 2, 2024
We don’t understand what Li said because the clip begins mid-answer. She starts by criticizing the nature and extent of the expenditures and demands a “granular” review of them.
Oprah, who could have paid the production costs and salaries of her staff in cash, or kind, was not asked why millions of dollars were spent on celebrity concerts. She chose to take the money.
We also learned Al Sharpton was paid $500,000 before he spoke with Kamala Harris.
Someone must explain to the public why they chose to spend $900,000. How will donors and voters ever trust the Democratic Party again if we don’t?
Li was asked whether Harris’ short campaign made it “nearly impossible” to finish and if there would have been criticism if the money raised had not been spent. Li’s response was interesting. They asked whether campaigns are often in debt. This seemed to be a slight towards Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton blamed her 2012 loss on the Obama debt because she was initially at a disadvantage.
“There is also no reason for consultants to become overnight millionaires from the campaign – there’s…no…justification…for that. These are hardworking Americans who gave just $10-15 and that’s all they could afford. They put their heart and soul into the campaign. These people deserve to know how these people became multi-millionaires.
Remember that all the advertising budget – hundreds of millions – went to just four well-connected companies. The money spent on this campaign was not meant to help friends. Instead, it was intended to go to battleground states to explain to Americans how she would reduce the inflation rate.
That’s an honest assessment. Will there be a full accounting as Li suggests?