What’s a progressive to do now that their raison d’etre Donald Trump is packing his things at the White House?
Resist President-elect Joe Biden, of course.
They’re already taking potshots as Biden announces picks for his new Cabinet,.
First up, his choice of Bridget C.E. Dooling, a research professor at George Washington University, to oversee the transition at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. That agency reviews all executive branch regulations before they can be enacted.
According to The Hill, Dooling is being drubbed because her workplace, George Washington’s Regulatory Studies Center, has gotten funding from both the Charles Koch Foundation and ExxonMobil and is viewed as conservative-leaning.
Heaven forbid.
“It’s just kind of surprising to see a Democrat reach out to someone in charge of reviewing OIRA whose work in this space is funded by the Koch network, which is so opposed to the regulation of corporate America,” said Jeff Hauser, director of the Revolving Door Project, a progressive group.
Biden’s transition team stands by Dooling.
“Bridget Dooling has decades of experience, is well-respected in her field and, like all members of the transition, has values that align with President-elect Biden’s,” the transition team said in a statement.
Experience, respect, values that align with Biden — that matters for naught with the “my way or the highway” left.
Biden has shown a propensity for valuing experience in his Cabinet choices thus far — Antony Blinken for secretary of state, John Kerry as presidential envoy for climate change and Avril Haines for director of national intelligence.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Biden’s choice for United Nations ambassador, is a 35-year veteran of the foreign service who resigned under Trump.
The tried-and-true strategy telegraphs a return to “normalcy” in Washington — familiar faces to many, or at least people familiar in their roles.
And while some progressives are making conciliatory statements now — according to Politico, Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the choice of Janet Yellen for Treasury secretary would be “outstanding,” others are not sharing the kumbaya sentiments.
“I don’t want to exaggerate. John Kerry’s fine. (But) this need to pretend that these milquetoast nominees with mixed records are great progressive heroes is pretty pathetic,” said David Sirota, Bernie Sanders’ former speechwriter. “What I think we need right now are advocacy groups and activists and journalists to just be honest about who these nominees are.”
Of course, the squad stars are weighing in. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota have signed a petition asking Biden not to appoint Bruce Reed to the Office of Management and Budget after reports emerged suggesting Reed, who served under President Obama, was on Biden’s short-list. According to The Independent, the congresswomen dubbed Reed a “deficit hawk.”
We’ve seen the effects that party politics and infighting has had on running the country — it’s unhelpful at best, detrimental when opposing views are intransigent.
Nay-saying progressives need to heed Biden’s call to unity — if they can’t do it to ensure a steady transition, then at least they should consider the fate of the party going forward.
A recent poll from Seven Letter Insight found 66% of GOP voters said they would support Trump making another run for president in 2024 — 41% of independents and 26% of Democrats said the same.
