In short, the corporate power structure of the Democratic Party, institutionalized in the DNC, has not given up on blocking efforts to reform the party and how it chooses a presidential nominee. One of the key battlegrounds will be over the compromise reform proposal to eliminate three-fifths of the superdelegates at the party's national convention; these were entrenched Democrats who lined up behind Hillary Clinton by the hundreds for the 2016 nomination before a single vote was cast by the masses in a primary or caucus.
Meanwhile, under Perez's uninspiring leadership, the DNC's fundraising has been second-rate. At latest report, the DNC had only $6.4 million in cash on hand, while the Republican National Committee had $39.8 million cash on hand. Last week, a Vice article quoted a "Democratic official who has worked with Perez" as saying: "Tom is just really miserable in the job, which is part of why it's not going well. He hates the fundraising and says no to so much of the fundraising even though they are obviously not in good shape financially."
You'd think that with so much at stake and such a big hole to dig out of, Perez would be concentrating all his labors on being DNC chair. But last year, in late summer, Brown University announced that Perez would be spending the full 2017-18 academic year as a "senior fellow" at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. "Throughout the year, Perez will engage with students, faculty, and visitors," the university said. He "will lead a study group in which students will engage in open-ended discussions and free-flow give and take with leading figures in American politics."
The university said that Perez would be meeting with the study group at Brown "for an hour and a half seven times this [fall] semester," and he "will hold informal lunches and office hours." A spokeswoman for Brown University confirmed to me this week that Perez is continuing this role through the spring.
That the Democratic National Committee tolerates its chair frequently shuttling to Rhode Island to teach a college course while the Democratic Party is supposed to be going all-out to defeat Republicans this year tells us a lot about the quality of the current DNC leadership.
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