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Report: The Squad's First Target - Chief of Staff Bruce Reed (1 Viewer)

Joe Bryant

Joe Bryant

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How President Biden will fit with the more progressive elements of the party was a topic this election season. This seems like the first test of this. 

From Axios:

The Squad is trying to block a former Biden chief of staff from serving in the Biden administration, reports Axios' Alexi McCammond.

Why it matters: Progressives don’t want a Biden-Harris administration to morph into a third Obama term.

First up: Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are boosting a petition against former Biden Chief of Staff Bruce Reed, calling him a "deficit hawk."

"Rejecting Reed will be a major test for the soul of the Biden presidency," reads a petition they signed.

Reed served as head of the Bowles-Simpson Commission under President Obama.

Omar told Axios she's "proud to join Justice Democrats and our progressive coalition in saying no to deficit hawks.”

"If the Biden administration is serious about protecting Medicare and Social Security, they must not appoint one of the biggest champions of cuts to lead their budget agency," she said in her statement.

The backdrop: Incoming Reps. Jamaal Bowman and Cori Bush attended a protest last week outside the Democratic National Committee urging Biden to keep his promise to pass a $2 trillion climate policy.

Separately, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee employed the help of actor Mark Ruffalo today to blast an email to their nearly 1 million members. It urged Biden to pick Rep. Deb Haaland — a progressive elected in the 2018 midterms — for secretary of the interior.

Between the lines: Progressive groups and the progressive wing of the Democratic Party have been in communication with staff on the Biden-Harris transition team, discussing personnel and policy.

Ocasio-Cortez was the co-chair of the Biden-Sanders Task Force on climate change leading up to the Democratic National Convention last summer.
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This is great news, isn't it?  Isn't this what the people voted for?

 
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I don't get how this is a "first test".  Most everything can be called a test from the Democratic platform in August, to the naming of Kamala Harris as VP nominee, and many other decisions.

 
Call me naive, but I don't think this is a battle "the squad" is going to win. Three freshmen reps don't get to pick the newly elected President's cabinet. 

 
Juxtatarot said:
I don't get how this is a "first test".  Most everything can be called a test from the Democratic platform in August, to the naming of Kamala Harris as VP nominee, and many other decisions.
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:shrug:   Seemed like the first test for President Biden.

 
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Everything I can find on him is that he advises Biden on tech. That shouldn't impact the defict or Medicare And I see nothing that he has any position. So, they're just  picking people they don't like with no idea what their role would be and trying a power play? Good luck with that. Their petition claiming this is a test, for me, does not make it one.

 
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Mystery Achiever said:
Everything I can find on him is that he advises Biden on tech. That shouldn't impact the defict or Medicare And I see nothing that he has any position. So, they're just  picking people they don't like with no idea what their role would be and trying a power play? Good luck with that. This, to me,  is not a test. 
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The petition says he’s a finalist for head of the OMB.

 
Juxtatarot said:
The petition says he’s a finalist for head of the OMB.
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Thanks for the additional info. I found the article, but seems like an odd publication to have the scoop. Don't see it reported elsewhere.
Also, after he says " I’ve since learned that Reed is being promoted to head the powerful Office of Management and Budget (OMB).", he goes on to list about eight other contenders.
https://prospect.org/cabinet-watch/will-biden-name-a-deficit-hawk-to-head-omb/

Still not a fan of the move.

 
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I agree that navigating the pressure from the evolving left wing of the party will be an ongoing challenge for Joe.

 
kwille said:
I agree that navigating the pressure from the evolving left wing of the party will be an ongoing challenge for Joe.
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Yes but think the navigation will be someone else to try and bridge that gap. Let Joe stay on big picture.

 
BladeRunner said:
In my opinion, you certainly did. This appears to be what you get when you sell your soul to the far left for votes.
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Wishcasting at best gross generalizations at worst...pretty sure Mile High isn't in any of their states...he didn't vote for any of them.  This is right up there with "if you vote for Trump you're a racist" stuff....as I said, two sides of the same coin thinking they have nothing in common.

 
On the Republican side, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have praised the picks, while Tom Cotton and some other conservatives are highly critical. 
So what we have here is no surprise: the extremists on either side are going to be unhappy with the Biden administration, because he’s a centrist. But I suspect I will be very happy and I hope the public is too. 

 
timschochet said:
On the Republican side, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have praised the picks, while Tom Cotton and some other conservatives are highly critical. 
So what we have here is no surprise: the extremists on either side are going to be unhappy with the Biden administration, because he’s a centrist. But I suspect I will be very happy and I hope the public is too. 
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If Tom Cotton is opposed, then I’m probably in favor.

 
BladeRunner said:
In my opinion, you certainly did. This appears to be what you get when you sell your soul to the far left for votes.
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Can you explain exactly what you we are "getting" here?

I see political discourse and the challenge of diverse ideas being brought to the table.

The fact that AOC, Omar, and Tlaib are challenging the head of their own party on the viability of appointments, and the implications that has for future policy and action, is actually refreshing to see.

Not being willing to blindly follow your party leader's policy or questioning the validity of their appointments -- and sticking up for what you believe is best for your constituents -- seems like the way it's supposed to work.

 
Mile High said:
Is it. I didn't vote for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib.
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After Trump I really wish the so called 'Squad" would go away.  We voted for Biden, not a few rookies in congress.  So tired of their anger, doom and gloom politics.   Time for a fresh start.  Other Dems need to squash them.

 
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Stompin' Tom Connors said:
I see political discourse and the challenge of diverse ideas being brought to the table.

The fact that AOC, Omar, and Tlaib are challenging the head of their own party on the viability of appointments, and the implications that has for future policy and action, is actually refreshing to see.

Not being willing to blindly follow your party leader's policy or questioning the validity of their appointments -- and sticking up for what you believe is best for your constituents -- seems like the way it's supposed to work.
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Yes. Throwing a tantrum at the very idea of someone who believes balanced budgets make a modicum of common sense. How "refreshing."

 
Summer Wheat said:
After Trump I really wish the so called 'Squad" would go away.  We voted for Biden, not a few rookies in congress.  So tired of their anger, doom and gloom politics.   Time for a fresh start.  Other Dems need to squash them.
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Most rational people are simply ignoring them.  If you go to the 200+ page obsession thread for AOC you'll see it's a particular "side" giving her any sort of meaningful oxygen and then attempting to paint her as the "norm" for the party.  It's GOP tactics 101 and part of the reason I've pretty much bailed on them at a national level.  It's just dishonest nonsense.  I can't think of a single person comparable to her that the Dems have latched on to and attempted to paint as the entire party.  I think that's probably a big reason they struggle sadly enough.

 
The Commish said:
Most rational people are simply ignoring them.  If you go to the 200+ page obsession thread for AOC you'll see it's a particular "side" giving her any sort of meaningful oxygen and then attempting to paint her as the "norm" for the party.  It's GOP tactics 101 and part of the reason I've pretty much bailed on them at a national level.  It's just dishonest nonsense.  I can't think of a single person comparable to her that the Dems have latched on to and attempted to paint as the entire party.  I think that's probably a big reason they struggle sadly enough.
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As a conservative, the Squad makes it easy to vote R.  The camera finds AOC, so she takes on the role of the new face of the party.  I'm sure she is despised by many in her party, but they need her crowd.  

 
Jeez, Biden is not even in the White House yet, and these freshwomen are already pushing back on his moves. Not surprising, really. 

 
FairWarning said:
As a conservative, the Squad makes it easy to vote R.  The camera finds AOC, so she takes on the role of the new face of the party.  I'm sure she is despised by many in her party, but they need her crowd.  
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I can see that....this is primarily the problem for people who've been convinced that  the parties are a monolith.  They aren't.  The GOP isn't and neither are the Dems.  I will say there is a significant amount more diversity in the Dem party to date, but that doesn't make the GOP a monolith by default.  We wouldn't look at say a system's analyst in company X and their actions and project the entirety of their incompetence on the company.  I mean, we JUST had an election where an AOC type was actually running and the Dems chose a different person.  Even the people between her and Biden were passed over for the most moderate candidate they could choose.  But somehow SHE is the voice of the party because....well, I can't figure that one out, but I also can't figure out the AOC thread and all those obsessed with a low level rep either....none of it makes sense to me.

 
Joe Bryant said:
How President Biden will fit with the more progressive elements of the party was a topic this election season. This seems like the first test of this. 

From Axios:
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Come to think of it - I don't think this was the first. Any thoughts on BLM? I think they beat "the squad" to sending demands to Biden.

 
The Commish said:
I can see that....this is primarily the problem for people who've been convinced that  the parties are a monolith.  They aren't.  The GOP isn't and neither are the Dems.  I will say there is a significant amount more diversity in the Dem party to date, but that doesn't make the GOP a monolith by default.  We wouldn't look at say a system's analyst in company X and their actions and project the entirety of their incompetence on the company.  I mean, we JUST had an election where an AOC type was actually running and the Dems chose a different person.  Even the people between her and Biden were passed over for the most moderate candidate they could choose.  But somehow SHE is the voice of the party because....well, I can't figure that one out, but I also can't figure out the AOC thread and all those obsessed with a low level rep either....none of it makes sense to me.
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What doesn't help her is being labeled the Face of the Democratic Party by Rolling Stone.   Lets face it, the far left and far right is basically trash and are both the tails wagging the dog right now.  I certainly don't want OAN to define my political views.

 
FairWarning said:
What doesn't help her is being labeled the Face of the Democratic Party by Rolling Stone.   Lets face it, the far left and far right is basically trash and are both the tails wagging the dog right now.  I certainly don't want OAN to define my political views.
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What about the biden nomination leads you to say this about the dems?

 
Stoneworker said:
Yes. Throwing a tantrum at the very idea of someone who believes balanced budgets make a modicum of common sense. How "refreshing."
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We have much different definitions of tantrums. And balanced budgets isn't what this is about.

I think the language they used (test of the soul) is purposefully bombastic, but can see the concern if your constituency is counting on the new administration to work on expanding social services and medical care, and the guy put in charge of that was literally the face of the Democrats' largest austerity campaigns that got busy cutting programs and services to tune of the Bowles-Simpson Commission plan of $2.9 trillion.

These three women sure do seem to attract a lot of outsized hate -- esp. AOC. I imagine some of that is because of her persistent social platform -- and like her or hate her, she's damned good at it.

I personally think she still needs to prove herself politically -- the Green New Deal seemed unrealistically aggressive and costly, her marginal tax proposal was a little too top stilted, and her best work IMO is in social rights and immigration. Same with Ilhan, Tlaib, and Pressley. 

But AOC and all of these women really do have a chance to galvanize the political force of the Democratic party. I don't think grumpy old white men (the sole demographic of this site for sure, including myself) fully appreciate the potential progressiveness of the Millennial-and-younger voters. These women represent a really large number of US voters much more than the dusty decrepit octogenarians do on both sides of the aisle right now.

 
FairWarning said:
What doesn't help her is being labeled the Face of the Democratic Party by Rolling Stone.   
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It helps her but I think the fascinating part of that is does it help the party.

What I find interesting is I have Liberal AND Conservative friends who very much want the Squad to be the face of the party. The Conservative friends think the masses won't go along with the Squad and the Liberal friends are convinced the Squad will deliver the masses.

In the same way, I have Liberal AND Conservative friends how are fearful of Biden. The Conservative friends are worried Biden will be appealing to moderate Republicans and the LIberal friends are worried Biden will be Republican Lite. 

I really don't know who's right. It's fascinating. 

 
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The Commish said:
Most rational people are simply ignoring them.  If you go to the 200+ page obsession thread for AOC you'll see it's a particular "side" giving her any sort of meaningful oxygen and then attempting to paint her as the "norm" for the party.  It's GOP tactics 101 and part of the reason I've pretty much bailed on them at a national level.  It's just dishonest nonsense.  I can't think of a single person comparable to her that the Dems have latched on to and attempted to paint as the entire party.  I think that's probably a big reason they struggle sadly enough.
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You obviously have never been in the AOC thread. 

I have officially tabulated the posts. 

It is 35 pages of jon talking about amazon.

10 pages of ben shapiro talk.

25 pages of sexual innuendo

90 pages of white knighting.

20 pages of AOC quotes and tweets

9 pages of off topic

10 pages of criticism of AOC. 

1 page of me pointing all of this out.

 
FairWarning said:
It’s not the Biden part of it that represents the far left.  The far left did vote for Biden only to get Trump out, as it was basically yes or no vs Trump.
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Not sure i follow.....i asked what part of his nomination (as their rep to go against trump) would support that narrative given the left wing was an option and they didnt go for it. Not only did they reject it, they went with the most moderate of the group

 
parasaurolophus said:
You obviously have never been in the AOC thread. 

I have officially tabulated the posts. 

It is 35 pages of jon talking about amazon.

10 pages of ben shapiro talk.

25 pages of sexual innuendo

90 pages of white knighting.

20 pages of AOC quotes and tweets

9 pages of off topic

10 pages of criticism of AOC. 

1 page of me pointing all of this out.
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:lol: i notice there are no pages of dems pimping her as the face of their party. That cant be right

 
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