Democratic (Party) Direction

Matt Bruenig bears the distinction of being the only guy I’m aware of whose wife acts as her own wife guy

democrats absolutely despise bernie sanders pt 128953

the bruenigs suck afaict

But I think about (a) what the position is (b) assuming they're evil, how well does the Cabinet or sub-Cabinet position absorb or mitigate that evil?

At this point, it's not about individuals - it's that Biden is so transparently open to the dregs of the Clinton and Obama years. He's waving a neon green arrow about the direction he's heading.

David Sirota did a little "please sir be better" dance in a blog post yesterday, but he's ultimately correct that you can staff without welcoming everyone who's been useless, venal or outright evil over the last 30 years. He's just wrong to have expected better of Biden.

Tradcath liberals have a burden of proof to meet wrt abortion and gays if they want to hang

how i feel about it

same

Liz failed that test on abortion already IIRC

neera tanden seems like an immature and petty person but good for her

I can't take Sirota seriously after pushing on Twitter as Warren and Sanders as Cabinet nominees given the political realities of their states. Will Charlie Baker be forced to appoint a Democratic replacement for her?

Sirota’s just like other liberal and progressive pundits trying to glean some hope and positivity after telling people that it was important to vote for Joe Biden to advance the ‘progressive agenda.’

You’re pathetic.

Why? Because I don’t think Joe Biden advances progressive causes.

I voted for him as a true lesser evil. No reason to delude myself that the previous 50 years of his life, he lived a lie.

More like keep NOPE alive amirite???

I voted for him as a true lesser evil.

True. That's how I regard Cabinet and sub-Cabinet positions too.

So far his economic cabinet looks to be more progressive than Obama's.

We all realize that these picks are probably not going to be confirmed, right?

that didn't seem to matter the last four years

We will see who gets confirmed but so far, the notion that Biden's intentions are to re-inforce austerity measures don't square with his nominations.

A pox on both their houses

but to a large extent we all live in their houses

you live in Matt Bruenig's house?

I bet it's a nice house, plenty of natural light.

Can I just say I made a rare visit the "have you quit the labour party yet?" and by contrast to the treatment Keir Starmer gets over there I now feel that milo & table are quite mild in his criticism of Diamond Joe and indeed by British standards are Democratic Party team players

*their criticism

The fact that Tanden has picked fights with leftists on Twitter has turned her into a cartoon villain within the Chapo Trap House Cinematic Universe, which perhaps overshadows whatever actual faults she might bring to the role of OMB director. Given her online presence, I get why leftists might see the nomination as a slap in the face. However, it's been interesting to see those reactions juxtaposed with praise from people who are committed to progressive economic policy but are less tuned into the flame wars.

I honestly didn’t know Neera Tanden did anything, I thought she just posted

For instance:

Biden appointing Cecilia Rouse to head CEA, along w Jared Bernstein @econjared, and Heather Boushey. Neera Tanden @neeratanden to OMB.

Excellent. All committed to full employment, boosting wages, reducing inequality.

W Janet Yellen at Treasury, most diverse economic team ever.

— Robert Reich (@RBReich) November 29, 2020

Considering even Warren is a Chapo Trap House villain, it doesn't mean much.

We’re getting to the “AOC said this nice thing about Joe Biden!!!” stage now.

Yes, people who have to or hope to work with the Biden Administration are complimentary. Otherwise good people praised tapping Cedric Richmond. He sucks.

None of us have public careers in Washington or tied to liberal think tanks. There’s no reason to LARP as a hardened realist political operative and moderate one’s distaste for war crimes or taking money from the UAE or championing welfare reform or support for the Iraq War or etc. etc. etc..

No one’s going to hire any of you to replace Neera at CAP.

So the only plausible reason one might be complimentary of Tanden is self-interest?

"Every Democratic operative is complicit in the abhorrent policy of the last 1-30 years" isn't a stunning defense of the incoming Administration, IMO.

― onlyfans.com/hunterb (milo z), Sunday, November 29, 2020 3:50 PM (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

I mean, at least now I know that if I commit war crimes, you'll welcome be back into the fold because I'm good at euchre

No, people complimenting Tanden is simply irrelevant - in part because of the possibility of self-interest. On the one hand these compliments are trotted out to bludgeon leftists as not "committed to progressive economic policy," on the other they're (especially AOC) trotted out as examples of and praised for bridge building. Like gee, maybe those tweets are about bridge building rather than the swelling anyone has in their heart for a DC think tank zero?

Regardless - who cares if other people have nice things to say about her? Did anyone post some "Neera sux lol" tweets that I missed?

This is a separate version of cyclically feigned shock that some leftists have lines in the sand about killing innocent people and sponsoring coups or - like, how could that make you despise someone, they were just doing their job in the foreign policy blob?! Empire is the way things are and forever will be, taking an active role in managing the empire doesn't make them bad.

Ro Khanna sucks less than most and openly went to bat for some dipshit whose entire career has been spent working for Kevin McCarthy and Donald Trump. Going to Washington melts your brain at least a little.

Not on this thread, no, but I've seen a fair amount on Twitter. I thought the difference between those reactions and the ones I'd seen from people like Reich was interesting, though I don't expect you to actually care. I guess I do put some stock in what people who have actually worked in government think, because I'm not of the opinion that they're all hacks.

No, people complimenting Tanden is simply irrelevant - in part because of the possibility of self-interest.

One can be lightly cautious, or deeply suspicious, of the motives behind a compliment without dismissing it as entirely irrelevant.

Krugman and Reich spent the last decade railing against austerity measures, low minimum wage and low deficit hawks, which is something most progressives are aligned to, as far as I know, and so when Krugman and Reich praises a possible new team of economists and the reaction 'ah austerity hacks' by people on message boards and on leftist twitter, it's very hard to understand and perhaps indicated that nothing will ever be good enough.

It’s tactically irresponsible for anything to ever be good enough imo

the reaction 'ah austerity hacks' by people on message boards

p. sure you're the only person who's referenced anyone being an 'austerity hack' in this thread recently?

I just don't think attachment to idealism is a virtue. Results matter more. If you look at all the most progressive nations in the world, this is how they managed to get there.

p. sure you're the only person who's referenced anyone being an 'austerity hack' in this thread recently?

When you reference the dredge of the Clinton and Obama, I'm certain austerity measures and welfare cuts are a part of it.

Neera Tanden's the advocate for war crimes (see above - though that was partially in response to deficit spending) - not an austerity hack, just a hack. Also CAP under her watch has kowtowed to Mike Bloomberg after he cut a check, which hopefully anyone would look askance at - but as table put it, she's a good card player maybe so water under the bridge.

Others have the stink of austerity, still more have the stink of coups, drone strikes and extrajudicial assassinations, some have the stink of carrying water for climate destroying energy concerns or for life-destroying insurance and pharmaceutical companies.

as someone who lives in a pretty right wing country (albeit one that has had a left in living memory) it’s amazing how little noise you have to make to be considered some kind of progressive firebrand in the US, or how little more to be dismissed as an unpleasable crank

stuff like “even liz warren isn’t far left enough for these extremists”- referring to fans of a centre left podcast- is just surreal

one thing the US and UK do have in common is that if you question imperialism you’re some kind of pathetic child who doesn’t understand how politics works

Can you point to the stink of austerity in Cecilia Rouse?

Has anyone criticized Cecilia Rouse?

(Diamond Joe Biden is the primary party with the stink of austerity, btw. Kind of an important one too. That came up today from Alfred quoting a blog contrasting him to Obama - which is absurd because Joe was an "austerity hack" when Obama was a child.)

The attempts to rewrite Biden's history as a guy who was just following the crowd and not a leader is the super sized version of all the excuses made for Democratic operatives who've been involved in terrible policy of the last 30 years.

It deprives them all of agency - but as a defense. They didn't want to do coups or order drone strikes or defend CIA torture or try to ram through cuts to Medicare or Social Security - that was just the way of the world in the deep dark past of... 2012. Can't apply today's moral codes to historical figures and all.