There was no way that Donald Trump could shame John Lewis, no matter how much Lawrence O’Donnell of MSNBC tried to goad him to do. But leave it the Democratic Party. You’ve probably seen this appeal from democraticparty@democrats.org before:

Arthur —

Today, Donald Trump attacked me on Twitter. He said that I’m “all talk” and “no action.”

Arthur, I’ve been beaten bloody, tear-gassed, fighting for what’s right for America. I’ve marched at Selma with Dr. King. Sometimes that’s what it takes to move our country in the right direction.

We refuse to stop now. We’re not done fighting for progress. We’re ready for the next four years.

Are you with us? Join me and chip in whatever you can today to help Democrats stand up to injustice.

If you’ve saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately and be divided evenly between the DNC and John Lewis for Congress.

QUICK DONATE: $3

QUICK DONATE: $10

QUICK DONATE: $25

QUICK DONATE: $50

QUICK DONATE: $100

If John Lewis did not buy into the Groucho Marx aphorism, “I’d never belong to a group that would have me as a member,” he must now. Let no good deed go unpunished. That’s what the Democratic Party has done to John Lewis.

John Lewis was just being himself, honest and forthright as he spoke to Chuck Todd on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” He said that in his mind Donald Trump will not be a legitimate president:

(you’ll have to wade through a 15-second NBC commercial before seeing the one minute, 22-second clip)

The clip above was released several days before Meet the Press actually aired, and many Democrats cheered Lewis for standing up to Trump. But Democratic arty officials have most candidates on a leash when it comes to finances. They are all at the beck and call of the Party to shill for money.

I find it particularly disgraceful of the party to do this to an icon like John Lewis, but they’ve done it to Barack and Michelle Obama as well. Is there a time when the Party could just hold the commentary and let those few decent statespersons act in a dignified way to advance “the principles that Democrats hold dear?”

If the Democratic Party, or any other organization presumably associated with progressives, thinks that it’s all about money, then they will appear to be like every other expedient and unprincipled political organization. Shame on you, DNC.

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