Bernie Sanders' new political organization is reportedly falling apart before it's even launched

(Image credit: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

published 24 August 2016

On Wednesday night, the next chapter of Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) political revolution will begin, starting with the launch of an organization called Our Revolution. The group will be focused on tackling economic inequality, which was Sanders' flagship issue during his presidential campaign — but as The New York Times reported Wednesday, this new movement is already being weighed down by lingering problems from Sanders' primary run:

Several people familiar with the organization said eight core staff members have stepped down. The group's entire organizing department quit this week, along with people working in digital and data positions.After the resignations, Mr. Sanders spoke to some who had quit and asked them to reconsider, but the staff members refused.At the heart of the issue, according to several people who left, was deep distrust of and frustration with Mr. [Jeff] Weaver, whom they accused of wasting money on television advertising during Mr. Sanders' campaign; mismanaging campaign funds by failing to hire staff or effectively target voters; and creating a hostile work environment by threatening to criticize staff members if they quit. [The New York Times]

Of all those concerns, perhaps the biggest is the fear that Sanders' former campaign manager, Jeff Weaver, would be okay with using "dark money" — something Sanders has frequently railed against for its lack of transparency. Claire Sandberg, who worked on Sanders' presidential campaign and was formerly the organizing director of Our Revolution, told The New York Times that if the group did indeed use dark money, it would "betray its core purpose by accepting money from billionaires and not remaining grass-roots funded and plowing that billionaire cash into TV instead of investing it in building a genuine movement."