Can the Clintons and their surrogates please leave the room? You've had your chance and you failed. Why are you ruining it for everyone else? Or does CAP only get donations when the Repubs are in power?
36
Ms. Tanden needs to go. We need a neutral leader, and a democratically chosen candidate.
26
The Hillary Clinton sycophants, including Ms Tanden, gave us Donald Trump because they refused to give credence to poll after poll that said the People didn't want another Bush or Clinton; that the People wanted change. Tanden did this because Clinton made her and her loyalty was higher to her than to her country. Tanden knew Hillary wasn't a winner because she participated in rigging the nomination so Hillary could win which wouldn't have been needed if Hillary actually had appeal. Tanden had to know Hillary was so tainted as a result of her own bad choices that she would be stuck explaining her actions in the general election and the rest is history. So now she is doubling down and inserting herself into the process for what end? To prove her relevance or just to collect a paycheck. Please get out of the way so we can get Trump out of office. And please take Hillary with you and maybe you can convince Hillary to stay out of the public view until we have a new president
24
I don't know if it's all Bernie's fault but again we see the same embittered infighting that divided liberals in the last election. PLEASE stop it.
10
When Bill Clinton was elected in 92 I thought that the "Reagan Revolution" would be sidelined and that the aspirations of the 60's Dems would move forward once more. What started out with high hopes ended up with Bill and Hil becoming advocates for largely a Republican agenda from eliminating welfare, incarcerating blacks and hispanics, to helping banks create the debacle of 2008, The Clintons became part of the Republican establishment. They and their apparatchiks like Tanden need to go. No good will come of it if the stink they have left as a legacy is continued. Tanden needs to not pretend she is anything but a shill for the status quo.
27
The quotes from her mother are a bizarre addition....
51
What's new? People whose values include remaining loyal to patrons no matter what? It's as old as time.
America has changed in the last three years. We shall see how much more of this America is willing to take. One only need to look at the timelines of Neera Tanden and John Podesta to realize that the unseen hand has been hard at work for weeks, if it even stopped at all.
This is no longer Clinton v. Sanders.
The last three months of polling, consistently, tells us Democrats will vote for Sanders if he is the nominee and Sanders voters will vote for the nominee, if Sanders isn't the one.
It's time for Tanden and Podesta to uninsert themselves into this election, lest they're now working for Trump.
---
Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking [2019]
https://wp.me/p2KJ3H-3h2
14
Can you imagine devoting your life to ensuring the continued profits of private health insurance companies? Wowza
22
Hillary lost because she didn't choose Bernie as her VP.
In 80 Reagan faced the same issue. He chose his chief primary adversary (Bush Sr) so that his wing of the GOP had reason to show up on election day. Reagan's no genius. This is Poli Sci 101-expand your base.
Hillary picks Bernie & she easily gets the 100k votes she needs to win the rust belt. Instead she picked Kaine who brought no new constituency to the ticket: Political malpractice.
By not picking Bernie she was actually saying that she'd rather lose to Trump than give progressives a seat @ the table.
Even a near nothing seat: the VP is a minister w/out portfolio-except to break senate deadlocks.
No one's ever explained to me why she didn't pick Bernie.
To highlight the importance of progressives to the Dems, they lost to Trump, a deeply flawed person. If they can't beat Trump w/out progs then they can't beat anyone.
Here's the elephant in the room (scroll down to 2nd graph):
bit.ly/EPI-study
From 45 to 72 GNP went up 100% & median wage in lockstep w/ it.
Since 72 GNP went up another 150% but the median wage is flat. Since some workers pay went up (health/tech) millions have had 47+ years of declining expectations ie opioid crisis, proto-fascism & Trump.
The inflection point of 72 is a hard inflection point
That trend is unsustainable w/out complicity from elites in both parties which taints neolibs like Hillary.
No Dem will get elected w/out a credible stand on breaking the inflection point of 72. Period
14
@Tim Kane that's really not why Hillary lost.
3
I am 56 years old. Ms Tanden would have been the perfect person to lead a CAP-like organization 30 years ago, where the Democrats were trying to claw their way back to power. But today she is out of touch -- cottoning up to one percent in the hopes that their money and their influence (and Joe Biden???) can help unseat Trump. Perhaps. But only if she thinks the Democrats can regain the Senate and capture the White House with depressed African American turnout in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. The CAP needs to tack left, hire a leader who cares more about winning than coddling billionaires, and throwing the full support of the organization behind the candidate who is leading the pack come January 2020.
13
Please go away Bernie. You will condemn us to a 2nd Trump term. What the Bernie Bros seem unaware of is that there are lots of people in the country that are not Bernie fans, or fans of his politics.
26
FIrst of all. I belong to the aging boomer generation. I will be 70 when I cast a vote in the 2020 general election. I have always supported Democrats except for certain local contests where party affiliation is irrelevant to the office, such as sheriff etc. I was an active supporter of George McGovern in the first election where I was eligible to vote. We can’t allow the party to be split as it was in 1972, or for that matter, 1968. This Can’t be about millenniums vs boomers or Xers or any other generational group. Whatever faction, there must be a general agreement that without the Democrats controlling both houses of Congress and the Presidency, no agenda supported by the left, can be advanced at all. So boomers must listen to the younger generations . Someone will emerge from the primaries. My preference is that that person be younger than me. We must entertain the new ideas as well as use the experience of past elections. We can’t be split so that the result is another Trump victory, we should not just be anti-trump. We must clearly run on an established vision of how we will run the country.
14
The sign in Ms. Tanden's office reads "Give something back."
She and the so-called Center for American Progress can start by helping Senator Sanders get the 2020 nomination he so richly deserved in 2016.
25
@Ed
Your commons part of the reason for the ongoing division. Bernie must go.
Ms. Tenden's candidate did not succeed in inspiring enough Millennials and Afro-Americans to vote while motivating 250 counties who voted Obama twice to flip and vote Donald Trump. I disagree with some of the views, tactics and strategy of Millennials, including the ease with which they label former Obama voters, "racist." I will not sink into their same mistake by labeling them, "agitators." I was at the '68 convention working the delegates (Coalition for an Open Convention) when I was taught the value for an open party while experiencing the tragedy of failing to unify after a bitter and equally tragic primary. Whether you are in the Tanden or Shakir camp, we would be wise to fight each other in a way and with a rhetoric that allows us to work together to defeat the Republican candidate after the convention. My generation failed to do so in '68 with Richard Nixon and four more years of Vietnam the result.
3
@MidwesternReader
Clinton did not succeed in inspiring millennials because Bernie successfully dampened their enthusiasm. Anybody but Bernie.
9
It is looking increasingly clear that the Democratic Party establishment is back to its old antics. As a potential front-runner, Bernie is going to have to do battle this time around with two right-wing partys: one called Democratic and the other Republican.
18
@Jaime Bernie isn't part of the Democratic party.
6
My comments are ditto that of the comment directly below me. I'm a 60 year old woman who hails originally from an elite Westchester suburb, NOT a millenial, and Bernie has my vote as he did last election. I also support Elizabeth Warren, and think AOC is the future of the party. Hillary Clinton has a brilliant mind but she's thoroughly jaded and lost my vote last election all on her own for proactively flouting "her good friend Henry Kissinger" on two occasions during debates. Just as Joe Biden just lost credibility by calling Mike Pence "a decent man," which Pence IS NOT. Obama has had the wisdom this time around to state he's letting the public decide who we want our next candidate to be, and Mera Tandem would be wise to get over her dangerous arrogance and do the same.
23
@Nina
Interesting how the well off don’t feel sad about shunning Hillary when asylum seekers and other not-so-well-off have suffered under Trump.
2
Because of the Clintons and their friends, the Democratic Party is becoming an appendix of the Republican Party -- an anti-Trump appendix, but Republican all the same.
15
Tanden and her colleagues were not too happy about missing out on their dream jobs in the White House after Clinton lost. They want another shot at it, and only way that can happen is if another person in the establishment to whom they have connections gets elected. It’s unfortunate that this is more about personal ambition for them.
20
Ms. Tanden can thank herself for the 4th donation I made to Senator Sanders campaign today. I don't even know if he will be who I support but I refuse to watch this horrible woman to destroy the progress made because she feels this election is about getting revenge. This election is not about avenging her fallen queen either. Read a map next time Neera. Find Michigan and every other Rust Belt state. Book a flight and get your candidate to go there.
23
What's new? People whose values include remaining loyal to patrons no matter what? It's as old as time.
America has changed in the last three years. We shall see how much more of this America is willing to take. One only need to look at the timelines of Neera Tanden and John Podesta to realize that the unseen hand has been hard at work for weeks, if it even stopped at all.
This is no longer Clinton v. Sanders.
The last three months of polling, consistently, tells us Democrats will vote for Sanders if he is the nominee and Sanders voters will vote for the nominee, if Sanders isn't the one.
It's time for Tanden and Podesta to uninsert themselves into this election, lest they're now working for Trump.
---
Things Trump Did While You Weren’t Looking [2019]
https://wp.me/p2KJ3H-3h2
17
And they say Republicans are the members of the party of Rich People.
9
This article is so unbelievably gender biased, how many other articles are based on a phone call with a mom (and it seems that Neera's mom was called out of the blue). Low blow NYT.
29
Bernie Sanders is NOT a Democrat.
Why do we keep discussing Senator Sanders in the context of a being the Democratic nominee for *anything*?
Bernie Sanders is NOT a Democrat. Once he registers as one and STAYS THAT WAY, he'll have some skin in the game and some say at the table.
Until then . . . let's focus on some ACTUAL Democratic candidates . . . .
22
@Embroiderista
I'm not a Democrat either. Neither is 70% of the electorate. Guess we shouldn't be voting Democratic in November of 2020. Good luck winning with your 30% of the electorate.
15
@rtj: Groan. There is a decided difference between an individual running for office and demanding the support of a political party to do so, and an individual voting for the person of their choice. Your snark doesn't make sense. Start over.
6
@Embroiderista
If Neera Tanden & CAP are the Democratic party, thank god Sanders isn't one.
13
Since when is it wrong to disagree or attack someone because they don't agree with you? Surely it appears that Tanden remains loyal to Hillary. But Bernie is also vehemently loyal to his policy 'ideals' of which he has failed to describe how he would implement and pay. For the record, neither did Hillary when she ran. But he also talks about free college for all, that needs some real explanation as most HS graduates are actually not ready for college. He ignores that fact, as well as how that would be paid for.
However, the big question is how can Bernie be so wealthy and, as part of his platform, attack those that are wealthy? While he claims to have made good investments, how is it he became a millionaire in Congress? (Many in Congress engage in insider trading, etc. and cannot be charged). I'm not saying it's evil or necessarily suspect to be rich, but when you attack the rich continuously when you're rich you are a bit of a hypocrite.
7
@Ma
It's not wrong to attack someone's ideas if you disagree with them. It is dishonest to attack someone in a primary about them making money by writing a book when you have no opposition to people making money through books but are actually motivated by your disagreement with their ideas.
Bernie does not attack the wealthy. He proposes that we tax them more(including himself). He also suggests that we should not allow the wealthy to buy our elections using superpacs. He is not donating to any superpacs. There is no hypocrisy there.
Bernie Sanders did not make his money through insider trading and would probably support more regulations against it. He just released ten years of his tax returns. You should be able to see that almost all of Bernie's money was made through a rise in sales of his books following the 2016 race.
12
Bernie just calls for the wealthy to pay their fair share of taxes...he isn't against the wealthy, just the unfair system, which allows corporations and the super- wealthy to avoid paying taxes...
12
I know 'progressive democrats' love Bernie, even though he is an old, white, privileged male. I also know that if the DNC doesn't stop talking open borders, free college for all, identity politics where if you're not a woman or a member of LGBT or a minority of some type, you'd better just shut up as your opinion is biased my your privilege... then Trump will be re-elected. Not because people like Trump, but because people are afraid of and sick of pie in the sky, everything free to those the government decides deserves free, and the daily shame inflicted on you if you are rich, white, or have any conservative views on any policy that relates to government's influence on society.
12
@Ma
First, no Democrat is proposing open borders. That is a right wing myth meant to scare voters. Second, no one is giving anything away for free. We are simply prioritizing where our money is spent.
We prefer to spend on helping our kids pay for college, not sending them to fight trillion dollar wars. We prefer to spend on healthcare, not re-building what we destroyed in the Middle East. We don’t want people to go bankrupt paying medical bills when the rest of the first world wouldn’t dream of living that way.
Most of the American people are supportive of progessive policies. When Democrats FIGHT for those policies we WIN. It’s when we worry about how we will be perceived that we lose. And that is precisely why odious, Trump style figures win.
18
@Ma We do love him because of his consistent message and long history in fighting for human rights. You know who else loves him: Cornel West."
9
I wonder if the authors of this article are big Trump fans. Here's Paul Krugman: "The smearing of CAP and @neeratanden is really something to behold, because it suggests that some people in both the media and political life have learned nothing. For the first time in a couple of years I'm starting to feel that Trump might get reelected." Well said Paul, well said.
27
Can the writers please learn that liberals are centrist capitalists and being more liberal doesn't place you further left? Europe understands this, why don't most Americans?
We are not "the liberal wing" of the party —"Democratic socialist wing," "leftist wing," sure, but I'm not a liberal, I view that word as an insult. This pathetic Center for American "Progress," are the liberals. They're capitalists beholden to corporations and Wall St. They want to maintain the status quo, likely because it worked for them in their privileged lives but they ignore the plight of the shrinking middle class and drowning working class. Please stop lumping me in with capitalists.
7
@Phil Robles
Just out of curiosity: what is your definition of "liberal"? (I suspect there are as many definitions as individuals using the word.)
What this piece fails to report is the Sanders campaign is fundraising off this. The day the first piece appeared in the NY Times " Bernie Sanders Accuses Liberal Think Tank of Smearing Progressive Candidates", I received a solicitation email from the campaign with the subject heading : Re: We are under attack and ending with "The establishment is panicked because together we are building a campaign that is on its way to winning the Democratic nomination, beating Trump and transforming America.If we come together to show that we won’t tolerate their attacks, organizations like Center for American Progress will think twice before attacking our campaign again.In solidarity,Team Bernie" Tho not the same, their uber sensitivity to any kind of criticism( case in point- Medicare for al) , no matter how reasonable as well as this sense of victimization and it's US vs THEM mentality, is very similar to the kind of email solicitations I also get from the Trump campaign. If Bernie and his followers cannot tolerate questioning and honest differences of opinions from other Democrats, how are they going to withstand what will inevitably be a tsunami of insults & smears from the Trump campaign? And what does it say about a campaign that seems to demand that fellow progressives pass some kind of Sanders campaign approved purity test? This is a perfect example of the circular firing squad that Obama has warned us about.
14
@IsaMom
They are not honest attacks.
For example,
Neera Tanden does not actually believe that Bernie is a hypocrite for supporting tax increases on the wealthy while making money off of a book.
While some people might be opposed to politicians making money off of books, Neera Tanden is not one of them. She was fine with Hillary Clinton making money off of books and remains fine with any centrist candidate doing so. She just thinks that it might hurt his popularity to pretend that he is a hypocrite.
I don't have any problem with Sanders fundraising off those smears. If The Center for American Progress is basically going to run negative smear advertisements against Bernie and other progressives, his campaign might as well raise some money off of it and use it to share the truth.
I would also hope that Bernie would raise money off of deceptive smear attacks against him in the general election by Trump. There certainly will be plenty of them. Trump is not an honest person. Wouldn't you want the eventual nominee to raise money when Trump lies about them?
8
At 54 years old, I've surely been a democrat longer than Neera has. Maybe that is why I can remember a time in the party BEFORE it was victim of a hostile takeover by craven DLC hacks. That happened in the 1980s when I was President of my College Democrats. Neera wouldn't have been old enough to be involved in politics then. I was a left of center dem then, supported Jesse Jackson, and I haven't changed, but I watched my party move to the right. Tanden came in just in time to bully up to the table with the money people who care more about name dropping, elbow rubbing, and resume padding than getting things done for the people. That's why she doesn't remember anything else, and she doesn't realize that there are some of us lifelong dems out here supporting Sanders because we are fighting to bring the party back to its senses. I find it comical that by virtue of my support for Sanders and disdain for her and her fellow corporate shills, she considers me -- her elder, and Dem lifer -- a "millenial agitator"! Ha! That's a good one. I wish.
224
We will win this time!
15
I'm older than you are, stefani, but I share your memories - and then some! I'm also all for 'millennial agitators,' who will be saving this country when Neera is put out to pasture.
37
Re-waging the battle of 2016 ensures losing the battle of 2020.
Ms Tanden backed the only candidate that could possible lose to the ignoramus currently occupying the White House and has never gotten over it. She needs to blame someone other than herself or her candidate, or their campaign managers.
I'm no "Bernie bro" by any means and I voted for Mrs Clinton but if they insist on looking backward instead of forward, they will only themselves to blame for another trump term.
140
I am 84 years old and a life long dem. I was in Chicago in 68 and a strong Humphrey supporter. The far left in our party got Nixon elected. The rest is history. Now, Bernie (not a dem) is trying his hardest to re-elect Trump. God, I wish he would go away. He hasn’t a prayer of beating Trump.
11
I won't deny that most Democrats are moderate, aligned with establishment thinking, and all too willing to accept the status quo. They may be reliable Democratic voters but they are not representative of the substantial portion of the electorate who are absolutely opposed to, or looking for an alternative to the pro-wealthy, anti-government, Evangelical Republican Party.
Reliable Democratic voters alone cannot win elections which brings me to the counterproductive demonizing of progressive and independent Bernie Sanders. Since the 90's the Democratic Party has moved far to the right in search of wealthy donor contributions while concurrently losing the support of many middle class and blue-collar voters.
We've all read the comments that Sanders is not a Democrat, the implication being he is not a legitimate Democrat and therefore an outlier who does not deserve to run as a Democrat. Let me translate - you're not one of us and we don't want the people who have passionately and financially supported Sanders and more importantly his progressive ideas.
Democrats, why bother campaigning when all you really want is what you already have - reliable Democratic voters? You don't want progressives or liberals or independents. After big wins in 2018 by progressives, Pelosi and her lieutenants, and many Democratic voters barely tolerate the progressives.
My message to Democrats: expecting people to continue to choose the lesser of two bad choices is not a winning strategy.
14
What a choice Venality vs Vacancy. Can it get any more transparent. Two leaches sucking the blood out of the US economy for personal gain and power. One wants to play the victim card and the other the socialist false equality card.
"A jester out of work is nobady's fool." D K
2
Ms. Tanden acknowleges "tensions" with "millennial agitators" in the Democratic Party. Well, Ms. Tanden, with that bad attitude I think you're going to have to admit that YOU are the cause of the tensions. I'm no millennial and have been a Democrat longer than you've been alive. These "millennial agitators" are the future of the Democratic Party. They are not required to adhere to your Republican-lite Clinton pipe dreams which lost us our base and were soundly rejected by everyone in 2016.
208
@chele Those 3.7 million more Hillary votes than Bernie votes doesn't sound like it was SHE who lost the base. Bernie never would have had it to begin with.
7
@EDC
Umm...do you mean 3.7 more votes than Trump?What has that got to do with Bernie? Not Bernie’s fault the Clinton campaign paid NO attention to the rust belt... not to mention doing the electoral votes math. And btw, do you remember when blue collar workers and the union rank and file were almost all Democrats - back before the Clinton DLC dragged the party onto the Wall St. cocktail party circuit?
26
Neera is the person MSNBC calls to be on panels at 9:00 Saturday night or 7:00 a.m. on Sundays. Everyone knows she still shilling for the Clinton conflict of interest machine and its nest of don't ask/don't tell donors.
17
Seriously NYT? I had to double-check that this was not an opinion piece.
When was the last time you interviewed a MAN’S mother after he showed a bit of aggression?
And to say, “Few rival Ms. Tanden for her bellicosity on Twitter”?! Have you ever been on Twitter? (Hint: check out @realdonaldtrump or @DonaldJTrumpJr).
These authors are showing their bias.
52
Center for American Pomposity.
12
It is interesting that both parties have an elite that consistently thwarts the desires of the base. Trump ran on an anti-immigration, protectionist platform. What we got instead were ... the tax cuts for the rich that Paul Ryan had always wanted. Meanwhile, the Democratic base wants Medicare for All, but what they'll get is ... some Heritage Foundation crafted "public-private" partnership, where the government uses its power to force people to buy health insurance but doesn't use its power to force health insurers to keep their costs down.
16
Democrats have an excellent field of candidates for President who listen to the people, stick to the issues, offer fresh solutions and renewal of democratic and Democratic values. Sanders should have had the grace not to insert himself into the race just because he recruited a lot of supporters in 2016. He's rigid in his ideas and apparently thin-skinned in being called to questions about his new economic status. (Remember, he railed against Clinton for her wealth - but she got there by the same means he got there now, by selling books.) He's not a Democrat, spends hours attacking Democrats and the Democratic Party, but he wants to lead it? I say thanks to Senator Sanders for presenting some very good ideas and highlighting economic inequality. He is much needed as a Senator and he should stay there.
12
@mblockhart The bulk of Clinton's financial 'status' did not come from 'selling books' though Sander's late arrival into the millionaire class did come from a book sale. Clinton made her multi-millions by selling favors to the corporate class that is devastating democracy. Think oil, fracking, banks and pharma.
9
@mblockhart
Didn’t Clinton get some of her wealth giving expensive speeches to Goldman Sacs and won’t let us know what she said?
7
Neera Tanden is thoroughly destructive of Democratic values. Her shameful attacks on Tulsi Gabbard and Bernie Sanders alone show her destructiveness of values.
20
Neera needs to go. She does not represent progressives or promote liberalism. Rather, she is another neoliberal corporatist interested in securing funding for her think tank and keeping herself on that throne.
Wikileaks published Tanden arguing that Libyans should be forced to turn over large portions of their oil revenues to repay the U.S. for the costs incurred in bombing Libya, on the grounds that Americans will support future wars only if they see that the countries attacked by the U.S. “pay” for the invasions. Sound like someone we know?
No wonder she hates Assange. He outed war crimes, duplicity, corruption and hypocrisy. He exposed how the 2016 DNC and others conspired to hand the nomination to Clinton.
For those who are not aware, Libya is now a failed state with open slave trade. One candidate, Tulsi Gabbard, is talking about this. Sanders recognizes it as well but is not as vocal on the subject. He should be.
What happened to the anti-war movement in unceasingly bellicose America? Where is the Center for American progress on the push for invasion of Iran? Crickets.
This is why we support Sanders, Warren, Gabbard, AOC, and others who are not BOUGHT.
20
Sanders lost big against one opponent, Clinton, and he and his supporters have screamed "rigged" ever since. He made a yuge mistake - during and after his loss Sanders and his team treated HRC like a door mat. Her supporters have not forgotten that and they will not vote for Sanders in any primary. Rigged? Nope. Pay back for treating a woman such as Hillary Clinton with so little respect. Stick a fork in him. He's cooked.
10
It would be lovely if the centrist-haters and “agenda” promoters would put flesh on the bones of their good-but-dead-on-arrival proposals. As a long-time liberal who believes in universal health care coverage, the CAP proposal — or any other — that includes letting those who want to keep private insurance do so, is not only capable of being passed and implemented, it establishes a path to the ultimate goal: single payer provided health care.
Allowing a non-socialist “democratic socialist” spout empty phrases that stoke the fires of our youngest voters is one thing; holding him to account for more than 30 years of living off the government with little to no legislative accomplishment to show for it, iis something else.
Let’s make this primary season one with well thought through policy proposals — not slogans. Lord knows we have work to do: closing the gap between the haves and have nots, reestablishing the rule of law by reversing the republican stuffing of our federal courts, etc etc. And let us not forget, removing Trump and as many senate republicans as possible from office.
12
The Times should consider how balanced its reporting is about fractiousness within the Democratic Party. Every time I open the paper and see a story about it, it seems like Bernie is still getting a pass. I hope the millennials take him down in the primaries. They are a pragmatic bunch, and many read about health care in places like Germany and see that the American solution is likely not going to be Medicare for all, and could be something better. I'm still unhappy he is able to run as a Democrat -- he is not a Democrat.
32
@Deborah I don't know which Democrat millennials you see that prefer any system to universal/single payer at this point. We've seen how much better other countries have it.
12
Ahhh, the power of the party - it still persists. I have voted Democrat my entire adult life, often grudgingly, until the Clintons and their group came along. Never again and thank God for Schultz, potentially intervening on behalf of the people. As long as this party establishment is in place, and I assume it will be thru the 2020 election, I won't vote for one person wearing that lapel pin, regardless of the consequences. The only way to have a real alternative in this two party system, is to get rid of at least one and start over. I guess we, in the State of Washington, should at least be thankful that the Democratic party has finally conceded that we should have the opportunity to participate by voting in a real primary. What a system.
3
Man, I cannot stand this lady. She is as petty and smug as they come. Fighting on Twitter in the middle of the night? The Clinton machine has ended Neera, best to adapt or go quietly into the night.
19
@Jim
It is the Clinton wing that is splitting the party. They project that on to Bernie, but he did not start the fight. They have.
They want to hold on to power. How McConnell of them!
12
Clinton lost get over it.
19
@William
But but, the Russians!
6
How pathetic. The sooner people like Neera Tanden leave politics the sooner we can start rebuilding the mess than 20 years of people like her have been creating. Corrupt, petty, incompetent.
21
To this outside observer of US politics (I’m Canadian), it would appear that the Democratic party —which should be focused on defeating the incompetent and malevolent Trump in 2020— seems more intent upon devouring itself. Meanwhile, Trump and the GOP gleefully rubs their hands together, envisioning how to further dismantle much (most??) of what has historically been the best of American democracy.
12
The Center for American Progress is in bed with the rich and the corporate elite. The DCCC is blacklisting all campaign consultants who work for primary challengers of incumbent Democrats. Looks like a pattern - protect the status quo.
Makes you wonder - Who's party is it?
22
@rls
I will not give one penny to the Democratic party until they put this stirring of the pot to rest. They are doing the GOP's work for them.
5
Ms. Tanden's statement: “I didn’t slug him, I pushed him,” a still angry Ms. Tanden corrected in a recent interview" pretty well sums up her approach and that of the Clintonistas and DNC core establishment. Ms. Tanden, we little people are tired of being pushed around by the Republicans, weary of being made to feel like lesser Americans by trump and invisible by Republican lite Democratic centrists at the Center for American Progress. So go ahead and threaten other viable Democratic candidates with whom you disagree, punch them if it makes you feel better, suck up to the wealthy donors but this time around we the people will decide and not the establishment so brace yourself for a bumpy ride, it's called democracy.
18
This race has a lot of great candidates, including Bernie. I hope he won't be undermined.
However, I also don't care for this "reporting", quoting Neera Tanden's mother in an attempt to paint her in a negative light. Will you now profile male heads of the other thinktanks and quote their mothers?
Politics is tough. For a woman of color to rise this high in such a tough field, one would imagine she'd have to be pretty tough. The men are aggressive, so why shouldn't she be?
30
Thank you NY Times for your fair coverage of Neera Tanden. She is a corporate shill, an old fashion reactionary. She makes every effort to turn the Democratic Party into a Republican light masquerade of lies and deception.
19
The Democratic Party appears to be using the Republican "look how you have insulted us" playbook to shoot itself in the foot. It did so in 2016 and appears to be doing so again. Rather than going at each other with accusations and perceived insults in hopes of rallying their bases within the Democratic Party, let's hear more about differences in policies among these contenders for the Democratic presidential nomination. It's time for the grown ups in the room to be heard. 2016 provided enough disrespectful childlike comments for the media to highlight in lieu of policy points to last us more than a lifetime.
6
Thanks for reminding me why I've remained with the Green Party all these years. Values still matter.
6
@Patricia Kane Have to agree that the Clintons certainly robbed my party of its values. If the Clinton faction continues to bash and undermine everyone who disagrees with them, I'll be leaving soon too.
7
There is no rematch. They are the party of yesterday. They sold out the party of FDR and turned it into the party of Reagan. Their days are numbered. The voters are angry and fed up with both parties. The Clinton/Obama Democrats are responsible for Trump and all the voter anger. Will vote third party before I ever vote for another centrist, neoliberal Democrat.
16
@dmk
Please hold your fire until you see which candidate prevails. Also hold your donations and send them directly to the person or people you want to see win. Starve the DCCC beast.
5
Someone tell Neera Tanden that Clinton is not running. She needs to learn to be loyal to the voters, not her benefactors.
17
If you didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton, you helped put Donald Trump in office.
41
@Steve: wrong. The Electoral College put him in office and the Supreme Court put Bush2 in office.
12
@Steve
The people who voted for Trump put him in office.
So far as more subjective views of ‘helped’ go, many people who did vote for HRC, including the candidate herself, inadvertently helped Trump.
6
@Steve I live in California, and I cast a write-in vote for Bernie -- after Trump had already won Pennsylvania. California went for Clinton (as I fully expected), so in no way did I help put Donald Trump in the White House.
I sent a message -- and both you, Steve, and Ms. Tanden would do well to pay attention. We don't need those angry Obama/Trump voters going for Trump this time around.
4
I don't get the point of this article unless it's to open up (once again) and put salt in the Cllinton-Sanders wound. CAP's critique of Sanders resonates. Rather than addressing the points raised in the article as a statesman, he rallied like Trump.
That said, finger pointing at millionaires/billionaires as if they are anathema to democracy and progressive policy is stupid and downright counter-productive.
15
@Janet2662
I think it is rich indeed for the CAP crew who nosh at the billionaire's banquet to suggest there is something untoward in Bernie's earning a million dollars from his books. Remind me, how many book tours have the Clintons had?
I am glad to see that the DCCC realizes that Bernie cannot be intimidated or bought - as if that were a flaw. That is a huge part of his appeal.
The same cannot be said of them or of their candidates. We still haven't seen what was in the transcripts of Clinton's presentations to Wall Street nor how much she got when she passed the hat afterward.
They clearly prefer candidates who can be bought. All that is needed is to see the price tag.
9
Please stop trying to pick us apart and set us against each other. I am sure it makes for exciting press, but it is counterproductive. At this point in time, we need someone whose goal is to unite the American people. The sole purpose to do what is right for all human beings. My litmus test for life has become: Does it do harm to any race, gender or creed? Then I will vote against it. Does it advance the lives of a the 90 percent of people who are on the planet who are not rich? Then I will vote for it. Does it help sustain life of this planet? Them I am in.
The rest is unnecessary machinations.
19
@Joan Chamberlain Tell that to those in the DNC who are doing everything in their power to suppress progressive issues and those who support them.
9
@Joan Chamberlain
I like your "litmus test" & will try that for myself.
We DO need someone to unite us, not divide us.
Thank you.
3
@Pam TULSI GABBARD!
1
Today American Politics needs Money. Which makes strage people get into bed together all for Money. This is where we are. Both sides play this game.......... Unlike the right the Left will fight amoung themselves and kill all chances. The right Never liked Trump I hear behind close doors they talk a different song, but out in front they all get behind him. Many today need to learn first there was Social Social Security, then came benefits to survivors and children then came Social Security Disability. Those on the far left need to come together with the party. As keith and mick wrote "You cant always get want you want, but if you try real hard you just might find you get what you need"
3
@frank monaco
Well said & I agree.
I believe that Citizens United has got to be overturned. The amount of money one needs JUST to run for President is ridiculous. Money has to be removed from politics. How that is done, I am not sure. But repealing Citizens United would help.
The Mick & Keith quote at the end of your comment was
"just what I need".
5
Hubris. Wall Street, NY money bags with a limited agenda, contempt for working families (affordable housing has been destroyed in MYC, thereby creating overnight billionaires) contribute and support the Clintonista Center for American Progress. This foundation should be closed and Neera Tendem never allowed on TV again. They are responsible for Trump’s election. Sheer hubris.
15
If a male executive was called "aggressive" and admitted to pushing a woman in the workplace over a disagreement, there would immediately be calls for him to resign.
Why is that not happening here? And it's not even part of the dialogue. Everyone is talking about the spat between the two wings of the Democratic party. If this article was about a man, the ideological battle would be secondary to the assault.
I'm all for holding men accountable for unwanted workplace behavior, but it has to work both ways.
13
Both sides in this particular fight are behaving like toddlers. (Even the reporters in this story are part of the problem... you interviewed HER MOTHER? REALLY?) We need a fresh start and leadership from a grownup of the younger generation. Go Pete Buttigieg!
7
@NCLady
I am with you- Go Mayor Pete. His interview on Rachel Maddow last night was incredible, imo.
2
@Pam
What are his policy proposals or is he another pretty face who takes on Pence's hypocrisy, a rather low bar.
2
Sanders got a pass in 2016 and now that he's not getting a pass in 2020, he is having a tantrum. Clinton was an awful candidate -- for sure -- but it's crazy to think the answer is Sanders. He'll be an awful general election candidate, too. Look at him on Fox News the other night. He was very weak in so many areas -- scattered and unclear in his answers, weak on policy positions.
21
@Tow
I agree 100%.
There was a point to Bernie’s run in 2016. This time, it looks like hubris. And better book sales. He would utterly fail as the Dem. nominee. He had his moment. Now he’s just tying up funds and other resources.
7
It’s as plain as the nose on your face, there’s too much money in politics in US campaigns and elections. We will continue to struggle against lobbyists and single issue big money donors until we go to publicly funded elections. Steep penalties and prison time for taking corporate or large private donations will drive the point home. Bribes and corruption in a democracy are corrosive.
97
@Loren Johnson
I agree. Citizens United needs to be overturned, money has got to get out of our politics.
14
Its high time the Obama-Clinton represenred centrist faction of the Democratic party and the Bernie Sanders led left of the centre liberal progressive stream of the party sink their differences and enter into a strategic truce to put up a united fight against the Republican challenge at the crucial election of 2020.
12
Most of us are not especially pleased (at best!) with either party. We have two choices - 1) go with a Democratic Party that I have some discomfort with - or 2) we watch the Trump fueled GOP totally destroy what our country has stood for since WWII and prior. That shining beacon on the hill will be snuffed out with another 4 year term of Trump. A nightmare!
A majority of voters will not support Trump in 2020 - but I am terrified that the Democrats will tear each other up as each faction wants their perfect candidate & berates all others. There is so much that needs to be done to change the direction of our country - but it will not happen over night or with some magical candidate.
I believe Bernie Sanders is a candidate who cares more about himself than getting a democrat the white house. See his lukewarm effort 2016. Bernie's moment is passed - but I worry that if the time comes for him to give it up - he will not - Saunders is & will become a divisive & destructive force in the party.
17
@Jimi you mean his campaigning non stop for Hillary before the election including two trips to Wisconsin a state HRC could not be bothered to visit ONCE after getting the nomination and lost narrowly. Please stop with the lie that Sanders did not aggresively work for Hillary despite her people sliming him.
18
@Jimi
You know nothing about Bernie Sanders if that's what you believe. His whole campaign has and always will be about the American people. Look to the slogans of both campaigns in 2016, and Bernie's in 2020. Hillary ran on the motive of being the first woman president with "I'm with Her" and status quo policies. Bernie ran on "Not me. Us" with Medicare for all, $15 minimum wage, free public college, and criminal justice reform. Look at Bernie's campaign website versus other candidates. He has his entire platform on his merchandise. Can you say the same for the other candidates who brandish their names?
12
@Jimi What is your belief that Bernie just cares about himself based on? Is it his life story, anything he says, his policy.
Just making a statement without a story to back it up reveals more about you and your pigeon hole view.
9
The problem here is not the tribalism of rival political campaigns or organizations. The problem is the continuing failure of this kind of political reporting, which treats politics as a competitive drama as opposed to a struggle of policies, ideas and leadership. The Times can and should do better. (And leave her mother out of this)
52
I think it’s obvious based on what’s reported here that the only answer at this point to beginning to heal these divisions is for Neera Tanden to resign.
22
HRC lost. She lost to the most vulnerable Republican candidate in recent history.
She lost because people saw her hypocrisy shilling to investment banks receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars for giving speeches.
We knew she was selling access to the 1% while putting out position papers on how much she was going to do for the common people that she referred to as "deplorables". She lost because she could not abide mixing with people not quite like her in the Mid West.
So this 'Think Tank' sustained by corporate and foreign country donors of unbelievable wealth, this think tank that gave us Trump and four years of the destruction of everything liberals hope for in a president still has the brass to tell the rest of us peons that they still know best?
There is a special place in Hades for people with that much hubris.
42
@Edward B. Blau Amen!
5
@Edward B. Blau You should be happy because the person you consider to be more honest won. Enjoy the new America.
4
@Michael Damsky
You have distorted the writer's meaning, which you well know. Hillary lost. Move on.
4
This is so sad. It is the wrong conflict. The primary battle should focus on who can beat Trump and pull the nation out of its current mess. (Nancy Pelosi is a good model for this.) Watch the Demos step on their own foot again!
5
@Pat Marriott
Watch the Clinton wing try to rise from the dead and suck the blood out of the party so they can promote another loosing candidate. These same people lost 1,000 seats, and they still have the hubris to proclaim that they know how to win. Sorry, can't see it for all the losses.
If they were half as clever as they think they are, they wouldn't try to knee-cap any one of the contestants because they would be confidant that their preferred candidate could win. They aren't and says it all.
2
The ability of the Democrats to destroy party unity and hand victory to the Republicans is frightening.
Do the Democrats remember that the Republicans worked in total unison 24/7 for 8 years to block every move Obama tried to make to improve our lives?
Democrats must stop squabbling and promoting their own egos and personal agendas. They must stand tall for the American people. To continue bickering over who is "progressive" is to roll over for the Republican hypocrites who placed the ignorant,vulgar racist Trump in the Oval Office.
9
Remember that each attack on democrats helps Trump. That is the way he cons you in phase 3 of his master con. Birthers (to consolidate the racists), I'll save your job (to con the swing voters in the middle class) and now the media to repeat everything he and Putin thinks will split the democrats.
Wake up and stop going along with this. While this article seems to be bit outside con #3, it isn't and you are the mark in this con, writing as you do.
3
In the post 2016 era, it’s unthinkable that a figure with such close ties to the Clintons— and such personal vindictiveness against Sanders and his allies— should lead a powerful national organization that is supposed to act as an umbrella for Democrats.
Instead of elevating what is best in us, Neera Tanden is waging a closed door, backroom campaign to smear our front runner and tear us apart. Actively and intentionally, she’s leveraged one of Washington’s largest think tanks to discredit and belittle progressive policies that have infused Democrats with renewed passion and energy, calling a national healthcare program (which every other advanced nation on earth guarantees) a “crazy idea”.
And then, on top of it all, she has the audacity to blame the SANDERS camp for perpetuating the divide. Unbelievable.
Ms. Tanden should step down immediately and let someone who actually cares about Democratic unity— and put 2016 behind them— lead CAP.
Published 5:14am EST
30
@Me Sanders does not care about Democratic unity. He isn't going to be the nominee. The reason Dems won't select him is that he did not join the party until he wanted a party affiliation in order to be in the race when he ran in 2016. He seemed to be a self serving opportunist then. Dems won't forgive that now. You may not like it but that's it in a nutshell.
7
@PugetSound CoffeeHound
Nice repeat of the Clinton talking points. You get an A for that. However, the only Dems you are talking for are the CAP ones. The rest of us have marched on.
6
As this article explains very well, the CAP is a vessel for major corporations and the Saudi government. It represents everything that most regular Americans--Republicans and Democrats--despise about our current system. Do you remember Ilhan Omar grilling Elliot "Adams" (lol) at the Congressional hearing for, well, overseeing genocidal war crimes in Central American on behalf of the Reagan admin? Kelly Magsamen of the CAP came out and defended him as a man of honor fighting for human rights! What a despicable institution.
20
This article is reminding me of all the Dem negatives from 2016. The corporate Clinton side pushing out any new ideas, and the whiny victim Bernie Sanders who has a slim senate record to run in and sounds like Trump with the victim thing! We need to do better than both!!!
5
She certainly represents the Clinton philosophy: It is all about money! From Whitewater on.
12
If the Democrats really want to win in 2020, then the circular firing squad has got to STOP.
7
And stop the media from putting their thumbs on the scale. My goodness, nearly 2 years to go and it’s already started
5
Ms. Tanden is not resigning because she invaded another person's space? By her own admission. What kind of a Democrat is she? The kind who wants to win?
Way to go, HRC. Start bashing your colleagues who oppose DJT and help guarantee his re-election. Your sense of entitlement bewilders me. Just how much money did you get from Goldman-Sachs for a single speech, and you have the gall to have your proxies attack Sanders for writing a successful book??? What have you got in store for Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and all the rest? A pox on your house.
13
Repeat after me: Bernie Sanders is NOT a Democrat. He runs as a Democrat because that’s where the votes are. Look, if the Democrats didn’t want him to run, they could have forced him to join the party, which he would not have done. They let this feckless interloper who has no political constituency run as a Democrat. And that’s the thing about Bernie Sanders. He needs to end every speech with the following sentence. “But I know that I will never be able to pass anything that I just described because I’m just a blowhard who likes attention.” I am sick of Bernie Sanders. He may raise money, but he won’t get the nomination. That’s already clear. Too many Democrats hate him for his lackluster support of HRC in 2016. If he’s so sure that Socialism is the way, then start a Socialist Party with the 8 or so House members who run in that crowd. Otherwise, just go away.
8
@RodA He has no political constituency?? haha, So where are the donations coming from? where are the volunteers coming from? He has a much larger political constituency than Hillary, or any of her sycophants like Neera Tanden, ever had... And all of his policies are pie in the sky pipedreams? Never mind that most of what he advocates already exists across the developed world, but apparently you think the richest nation in the world is incapable of doing the same. The Clintons dont run the party anymore, the 21st century Tammany Hall is over. The Clintons and their sycophants will no longer pay lip service to the needs of the American people, all the while lining their pockets with money from the Donor Class. We've seen through it, we're not going back to the party of Clinton. This will be the party of FDR once again
5
You called her *mother* and used those quotes to criticize her? Shame.
29
and what did mr. shakir's mother have to say, or is that not conducive to the reporters' narrative?
31
The moral flaws of the #metoo thinking is revealed in the lead paragraphs of the article. In 2008, Neera Tanden -- a "powerful female" figure -- assaulted a man of color, Faiz Shakir, out of anger. "I didn't slug him, I pushed him," she acknowledged without regret.
Where is the outrage among so-called feminists? If they can orchestrate outrage over Joe Biden's backslapping, baby-kissing political style, surely one person can stand out and say Ms. Tanden's behavior was unacceptable?
Imagine the furor if a man had done this to a woman and refused to apologize, much less make restitution? Is there a statute of limitation on assault or civil charges in this district? Under the hashtag ritual there is no expiration date for such things. It seems that Mr. Shakir has a good case to make.
10
Will she be able to cheat Bernie with the help of the DNC, just like Hillary?
4
This mistake is thinking that Neera is a fair or unbiased purveyor of Democratic interests; she is far from it. For the Democratic party to move to become a party of the people, actors like Neera need to retire...they consistently hurt the chances of unseating a uniquely disgusting president.
13
Clinton legacy? It’s simple - she lost to a philanderer.
5
wow... imagine if a man simply 'pushed' a woman away ?.... lost in thought !!
5
Why are you interviewing and quoting her Mother for this article? It seems wildly out of place. If she were a man would you be interviewing his Mother?
39
Briefly: Old faux Democrat Bernie is yelling and pouting because Democrats won't bow before his self-proclaimed awesomeness.
4
The US electorate has rejected the policies of the CAP and its unlamented predecessor the Democratic Leadership Committee (DLC) in every election since 2000.
Did you think that Nader lost it for Gore? I'd suggest that Gore lost it by making the idea of a progressive alternative more important than the risk of losing to a growing segment of the Democratic Party. Maybe they were wrong about losing; but they were not wrong about the need for an alternative.
Did you think that the Sanders campaign undermined the Clinton campaign. What undermined the Clinton campaign was their efforts, along with the entrained DNC, to undermine Sanders's campaign.
The DLC was founded on the claim that if they wanted to win national elections the Democratic Party could no longer afford to be the party of "poor people". At that point they had lost two presidential elections in a row and still held majorities in congress. Given the record of the last 18 years, it is clear that the Democratic Party can no longer afford to keep trying to be the party of the "rich people".
19
There is so much division from all sides of the political spectrum that unfortunately for the country and people not much is getting done while special interest groups and lobbyists take over. Instead of fighting for the people and country many of these so called politicians, campaign lobbyist/supporters are in it for themselves. We are and have been the creation of our own demise as illustrated by political current events. For as long as I can remember, politics in this country has always been divisive and this article is just another example of how dysfunctional, broken, divided and volatile politics in the U.S. really is and explains how a President so undeserving as Trump got elected.
6
There's a lot that can be said about TP and CAP, some of which is good and some of which is not. But for all of that, the decision to not only accept but solicit donations from UAE, a top Saudi ally in the latter's disastrous humanitarian nightmare in Yemen, will be a stain on the organization until it is helmed by a new captain with a new culture. The UAE commits grotesque violations of human rights that, were they committed by a state less aligned to whatever defense contractors' interests may be, would be uttered in the same breath as Venezuela and Iran.
And not only did CAP/TP take that tainted cash, they turned around and made hay out of Republican influence by foreign powers. Perhaps the "P" in CAP is meant ironically?
9
It's really a simple choice: the Democratic Party can be the party of FDR that fights for working people - or the party of the Clintons that loses chunks of its working class base to phony Republican populism and loses cliffhanger elections.
The Democrats can either be the party of popular policies like Medicare for all - or the party that protects the private insurance industry profits.
16
@Ed Watters EXACTLY!!! And I'm not a millennial, as Ms Tanden seems to believe is the only support for Sanders--she's not only odious, she's just plain wrong.
5
A portrait of a sociopath leading a “Stop Another Democrat” campaign. This election will be easy pickings for Trump. Why wasn’t Tanden arrested and charged for punching Shakir? There certainly would have been an arrest had he punched, or even “pushed” Tanden and the media would have provided weeks of articles about toxic masculinity and calls for his “other victims” to come forward. The double standard is ridiculous.
12
Benjamin Franklin said it best: " We must, indeed, all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."
I'm sure all Dems wish Hillary well in retirement. Let me reiterate...IN RETIREMENT!
11
I know Ms. Tandem only through her appearances as a guest political pundit” on MSNBC. I have gradually soured on who she is, who she purports to represent, and the ends to which she is willing to go to push her political agenda. Bernie Sanders was absolutely correct that the Democratic establishment worked behind the scenes to deprive him of the party’s nomination in 2016. I laughed out loud when I read Neera Tanden’s assertion that “millennial agitators” within the Democratic party are currently creating unnecessary tensions. Ms. Tanden is so quaintly 2016: beholden to the Democratic establishment, still fuming about Sanders role in Hillary’s defeat, and still threatening and tweeting angry insults to her enemies. She has adopted many of the behaviors and mannerisms of the current White House occupant, and it isn't pretty. Time for Neera Tanden to step back. SHE is the one who will not be getting a free pass this second go around.
14
Another example of how pessimistic I am that a Dem will be able to win over someone so despicable as Trump in 2020. I was really impressed with mayor Pete's entry speech the other day but he makes too much sense to get elected plus the fact that no matter how much acceptance out there to Gays nowadays, is America really ( I mean in all honesty) ready to accept a gay president?
There's so much in-fighting and "thank you for that question" nonsense among all these contenders that overall compared to the goose stepping True Believer mentality of the Trumpers, I just don't see how they'll beat Trump's insults and lies instead of a reasoned approach to Trump's idiotic and thoughtless appeal and the immoral and irresponsible approval of his bought and sold Republican/Trump Party in Congress.
America just wants to be entertained with Trump's lies, conspiracy nonsense, name calling and making fun of other people rather than look seriously at anyone running for office.
6
@Gert I think America is ready to accept a grownup to lead the nation. Pete Buttigieg is a grownup.
2
@NCLady
Thank you. But please reread my comment. You underestimate the power of faith based belief and stupidity vs facts/evidence that lies at the root of Trump's strong appeal to his base.
And they will vote for him again no matter what's revealed in the Mueller Report if and when we Americans get to see it for ourselves without Barr's interference in protection of his boss.
I can't remember the last time I read a piece of political analysis that repeatedly quoted the subject's mother -- not because she an expert on anything, but just because....she's the subject's mother.
33
There is one thing we need to learn from the Republicans ... how to keep our disagreements private. All this bickering looks like a scene from a junior high cafeteria.
6
This is absolutely the last thing we Democrats need in the fight to remove Trump from office. Infighting between those opposed to the most ignorant individual ever to hold the presidency of the United States has to end NOW!
3
Remember George Herbert Walker Bush and his "kinder" conservatism. Ms Tanden and her likes just want a "kinder" Republican Party.
2
If the Dems want to win this election they better come together and quickly. The Clintons are old news. Move on and get your message together.
Work together and stop acting like children who aren’t getting their way .
If we want to save this country, then grow up and get a plan!!!
4
Mom says her daughter "is not going to let anyone rule over her." Who would want any less in a sister, friend, business associate? The world's better for such women. Thanks Mom.
8
The electorates’ frustration with the institutional status quo tipped the election to Trump. People want fundamental changes that provide more opportunity to support themselves, their families and communities in an environment where rapid technological change is the norm. There’s good reason to be highly suspect of institutional power which seeks to preserve the status quo and only make marginal changes as an increasing percentage of the population gets left behind.
4
I’m no fan of anyone in this piece but the fact that a primary source of criticism in the reporting is Tanden’s mother feels very gendered to me. Imagine a NYT piece about a powerful male activist in which his mother’s inappropriate candor was used to condemn him. If you are profiling a political operative, cite other professionals in the field. Her mother’s opinion is there for shock value and is frankly irrelevant.
174
@Diane Levitt
It certainly is gendered. The reporting here includes an anecdote where Tanden punched a person in the office. When questioned, Tanden claims it was only a push. Either way, just two weeks ago this paper was reporting tirelessly about "incidents" when Joe Biden touched women. Here a woman initiates a aggressive/violent contact in an office and... crickets.
16
Hi Diane, thank you for commenting. The story was about divisions in the Democratic Party, as told through a profile of Neera Tanden and the powerful think tank she runs. My interview with Maya Tanden, who raised Neera alone and is close to her, was meant to shed light on both. We didn’t interpret her candor about CAP and the Sanders campaign as a condemnation of either side, so I’d be keen to learn more about why you did. I found Maya Tanden’s views relevant because Neera says her mother was a profound influence on her, and she shares many details about her political life and work with her mom. That said, I hope questions about Maya Tanden’s voice in the story don’t obscure its most newsworthy elements. Those include the divisions on health care we detail, and the big contributions the think tank accepted from the United Arab Emirates, a Saudi ally, and the extent of the discomfort that money caused inside the organization. We also found it newsworthy that the think tank invited the Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Khalid bin Salman, to appear on a panel on “the U.S.-Saudi relationship in light of recent events," at a time when his brother, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was widely suspected of ordering the killing and dismemberment of the Saudi-born Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Thanks again. Please let me know if you’d like to correspond further.
20
@Diane Levitt
Tanden should have advised her family to say "no comment" or just say nothing when queried by the media. As it is, mom's comments certainly don't favor her daughter.
8
It has become abundantly clear that we are fighting on two political fronts in our country—one against the shameless corruption and incompetence of the GOP, and the other against a corporate-funded Democratic leadership that waves the flag of progressive politics on social issues while undermining efforts to address climate change and wealth inequality.
The corporate wing of the Democratic Party seems intent on repeating the many blunders of the 2016 election. Every story about a DNC/Clinton operative attacking Bernie and his supporters deepens the country's disenchantment and distrust of the DNC.
I reluctantly voted for Clinton in 2016, despite resentment over the DNC's rigged campaign against Bernie. I will NOT vote for another neoliberal Democrat in 2020.
35
@freediverX,
I feel your pain. As a woman targeted for nasty comments by Bernie Bros last time around.....But I will happily vote for Bernie if he gets the nomination. Not only do I agree with his policies (but also want policies to be enacted, not just speechified), but the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Not voting Democratic is as silly as voting for Jill Stein. Worse than a wasted vote in the circumstances.....
6
@freediverX Me either and hopefully so goes the nation.
1
@Nancy Brockway I don't see myself voting for any centrist Democrat who believes the way to take back our government is to make further concessions to the right on climate change, health care, and economic issues...
4
The back-stabbing about status and standard bearing is much too unproductive. Substance is much more productive.
3
As Will Rogers said, he wasn’t a member of an organized party, he was a Democrat.
And therein lies both its strength and its weakness. The only way for the Democratic Party to survive is to persuade the large American public, itself naturally divided, that it can govern effectively and should have its members elected. Part of governing effectively is including among “the American people” those both with and without money—everybody. The progressive wing of the Party, including Sanders (and the otherwise able Warren), seems not to understand this dynamic, if it would exclude those with money.
The Republicans don’t even have that dynamic. They historically rely almost solely on organization and, let’s face it, subterfuge. Its persuasion is directed almost solely to the moneyed classes and its chief message to those of us without money is “shut up and be happy with what you’ve got.” To the great majority of us it’s even “be happy you’ve got a job.”
To respond sensibly the Democrats have to persuade us that “yes, it’s always about the economy, but it’s not just about the economy.” If the Democratic Party wants to become the Democratic Socialist Party, including Sanders, it will probably lose, but it at least better put its emphasis on “democratic.” That’s its only sensible message and it’s the only message consistent with its strength.
4
Thanks for the look inside the inner workings of the CAP. Those think tanks exert enormous influence but the public knows so little about it. I hope that changes. Neoliberal policies have been tried for long enough that we can all experience first hand how it has worked out and realize it is time to swing back to a new and improved New Deal. So it is upsetting that the leadership has guided this organization to attack a fellow liberal. It is discouraging to read that Ms Tanden has this toxic relationship with the "far left" and that this does not disqualify her. But what is really puzzling is what does Ms Tanden's mother have to do with this story? It is highly unusual for journalists to interview our mothers. I'm so glad my mother never tried to comment publicly on my work. Thanks Mom.
23
The Center for American Progress is just like those Congressional bills where they call one to kill the ACA something like " Supporting Patient Rights Bill' CAP uses money from uber rich people and corporations to denigrate REAL progressives and tell us that our views are 'unrealistic'. Exactly how is taking millions from Walmart, Bain Capital, Facebook and United Arab Emirates and attacking Bernie Sanders being "Progressive"?
17
@Jessica Also, isn't it rich that centrist think tanks like The Center For American Progress are always crying, "Bernie Sanders NOT a Democrat!" Yet CAP isn't a progressive organization in any way shape or form.
5
All politics aside, I can't beleive they went to talk to her mother! That must have been embarrassing.
27
Exactly why Trump won and (unfortunately) will win again. We Dems can't get out of our own way.
7
No, please. Not again. This kind of internecine warfare is what cost us the election in 2016. Keep this up and you will blow 2020 and we will be stuck with Trump and his fascist minions until the country collapses under their weight. Is this what you really want? It's not what I and millions of others want.
I don't care who's right or wrong at this point, or if that is even a case to be made. What I care about is unifying behind the great American principles that made our country what it was before Trump started wantonly destroying it. You guys need to bury the hatchet by Wednesday night, so that when the Mueller report comes out on Thursday, we have a unified front against Trump's alternative facts version, which will crawl out from under a rock at the same time. The Trump camp's spin will be based on lies. We Democrats must be unified and truthful and not let internal squabbling get in the way of trouncing those menaces to our nation.
Please don't mess this up. Figure it out among yourselves in back rooms where you're not giving the Republicans any more fuel, and then let's unify and get rid of them in 2020.
15
This article makes me weep for the US system, especially as the country still leads the free world.
Neera Tanden seems to reproduce everything that was wrong with Clinton's campaign last time around. Her only real priorities seem to be to fund her own think tank and to make Democrat policies "business-friendly". It could not be worse.
And yet, Bernice Sanders is the only real candidate cast as potentially leading the opposing faction of the party despite his being too old to be a proper choice for a job which requires a level head and SUSTAINED good judgement through the next decade.
And the real problem lies deep in a constitutional system that has resulted in a de facto two party system which allows those parties, effectively anchored in power, to become truly complacent. The only viable routes to the top job seem to require name recognition or wielding the influence of dark money.
7
I don't see much of a difference between the CAP and CPAC except with the folks over at CPAC, they are organized and unified around a central plan and individual right now. The democrats say they are the "Party Of The People". If this were true, CAP would have put their money on Sanders in 2015 and 2016 because "the people", by polling, showed a significant preference for Sanders over Clinton. Not only that, but a Quinnipiac poll in 2016 showed that Sanders would very likely win a national contest over Trump. I will never forget that! But we all know what happened and now it is becoming clearer that the Democratic Party is dangerously close to shooting itself in the foot, again.
10
Tanden is "aggressive" ...and I like that. We've got to stand up to the men trying to steer our agenda and claim it as our own. One of the most infuriating pictures we see day after day is men making decisions about women's healthcare, wages and "place" in the world. No one ever got a 'seat at the table' by being quiet.
What I do find disturbing is donations from countries and organizations that have shown zero interest in elevating women to positions of power.
Men are not going to hand over even a modicum of control to women and minorities unless we both earn it ....and take it and Ms. Tanden's twitter feed may be controversial, I see consistency and breadth of knowledge rare in the twitterverse.
4
Ms Tanden's goal is simple: get a brokered Democratic convention where super delegates choose the nominee. This nominee will not be a Single Payer advocate.
Ms Tanden is within her right to support any candidate that she likes but those she does not favor are within their rights to discredit her.
I hope someday she suffers under the imposition of a concrete universal benefit: Medicare for All.
11
“Hillary is the one who made her.” Made her what....a high paid political hack? Some of these folks need a REAL job.....maybe then the Dems can win representing REAL people.
The only thing we need to focus on is preventing a 2nd DJT term.
13
“She says Sanders got a pass” in 2016, “but he’s not getting a pass this time.”
Seriously?! The fact that Tanden and other Clinton acolytes had come to control so much of the party was an important factor in the rise of the left. It was the only voice remaining.
14
@David Bird Pass last time??? Oh my god, she doesn't want an honest candidate to win because they will not hire her in the new administration. They all know she is corrupt, She wants money to stay in politics. Shame on her for carrying on the corporate Dems policies, promise small increments and then once again turn your back on regular people and swirl off with the elites. Clinton playbook 101
5
Sanders' healthcare idea was just applauded by a Fox News audience. Progressives don't need the Clintonistas, Blue Dog Democrats, Pelosi, Feinstein or any other collaborators with the oligarchy. They need to be defeated and encouraged to join the Tea Party.
9
people like ms Tanden are the reason the democrats might not win back the presidency. how can they not see....people want change! based upon this article, she sounds like a real jerk in a trumpian way..more about her power and agenda and keeping the money and the power flowing in than really helping people. there is real suffering and real issues at hand.new approaches and ideas are needed and I for one am glad to see sanders and warren and Harris and booker - among others speaking to the real concerns.
14
Bernie and his supporters are a mirror image of trump and his.
They’re always playing the victim while in attack mode.
Beware the wrath of the bully.
14
Legum: "all these little factions on the left." Not exactly accurate. There are two factions: neolib corporate derriere smoochers like CAP, Third Way, and the old DLC; and progressives. The latter understand that the corporate wing is wrong for America -- a problem, not a solution.
Neera Tanden: "millennial agitators." Really? How absurd and counter-productive. No, they don't agree with you, but this idea that neolibs are entitled to run the show and everyone else has to fall in line is a recipe for more radical GOP administrations, and thus the frying of the planet.
If Tanden and the CAP can't convince a whole cohort of Ds that their policy preferences are right for the country, they need to examine themselves, not attack the "agitators."
10
This is a distressing article about has beens.
Clinton was not a strong candidate. But she would have made an excellent president. It is hard to imagine a better qualified person to be POTUS. She had been a leader in womens rights, and an international powerhouse as Secretary of State.
Sanders was an amazing (surprisingly) candidate. We owe him big time for essentially mainstreaming the conversation about income and wealth inequality. And he really was the pioneer for universal healthcare - as a human right.
Clinton lost because not enough millenials voted. And I will never forgive Bernie for not immediately endorsing Clinton and campaigning tirelessly for her. He acted like a spoiled brat. And so did many of his supporters. The result is the current nightmare.
All you "could have beens" just go back to your day jobs or retire. You battled each other and look what we got. Hillary (and your cadre), Bernie (and your cult)...and yes, you, Joe (equivocating teaser) - just stop it.
Pete Buttigieg is the best qualified person I can think of for President.
1. Religious veteran
2. Harvard, Rhodes Scholar
3. Ran a city with remarkable results
4. Can speak so well! In six (or is it seven?) languages (Arabic!)
5. Understands the challenges of the next industrial revolution.
6. Can speak to the victims of the last wave of job losses.
7. Understands the threat of climate change (should be #1)
Pete 2020 - time for the next generation, Neera.
10
@Bob Bruce Anderson You said it, Clinton lost because she was not a strong candidate. She also voted for GWB's illegal war, made a mess in Libya then sat back and laughed about it. The exposure of her dirty tricks in the DNC had nothing to do with Sanders. The ENTITLEMENT persona built up around Clinton 'entitles' her and her supporters to blame Sanders for her loss.
7
A plague on both their houses.
It is past time the Democratic party moves beyond Hill & Bill who have done nothing but triangulate it into Republican Lite while lining their bank accounts. Ditto Bernie Sanders who did get a pass in 2016 and is so incredibly arrogant he isn't even a member of the Democratic Party but expects its nomination! What brass.
Kamala Harris, Pete Buttigieg, Corey Booker--yes, even Joe Biden would be an improvement over these two losers. Good riddance to them both.
4
Nice watch Neera, is that Movado? That will definitely connect with working class Americans.
4
@Eric -- Poe's law.
I think Nedra’s mother has some explaining to do.
2
WikiLeaks is a publisher. They do not steal. Neera and the Clinton's have destroyed the Democratic Party by taking money from the special interests (Big banks, big oil, pharma, military, et..) that directly undermine the will of the American people. Bernie does not!
8
Real tired of these hit pieces. Clearly the establishment is scared and their lying to protect the corrupt Democratic establishment machine.
To correct the article - Bernie has been trying to get the wealthy to pay their fair share. Now he will be paying taxes, not hiding them offshore.
Clinton was a horrible candidate. Get over it
6
Ms. Tanden is one of the reasons the Democrats have a reputation for "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory." I have been disgusted with them since 1965.
11
The CAP approach is to let the wealthy and the corporations dictate the direction of the Democratic party, while enacting incremental changes to the current system( also known as throwing crumbs to the working class). It also happens that they themselves can become wealthy in this system as campaign managers and lobbyists. This doesn't make for good optics.
12
The problem here is that Mr Sanders isn’t a Democrat, he’s simply using—yes, using—the party for his own political ends because he knew in 2016, and knows today, that an Independent candidate couldn’t win a presidential election. Sanders really is no different politically than Trump and would make just as much of a mess of things and get just as little done. He’s been in Washington for decades and has accomplished nothing of real note.
71
@MDR
Bernie has basically singlehandedly made Medicare for All a national issue. That's a major accomplishment. He's been steadily changing young voters' conception of what may be possible to achieve in our democracy. It may take a lone voice in the wilderness years to start being heard, but now he's being heard, hence the deeply cynical, intellectually and morally bankrupt swipes being taken at him by the likes of Neera Tanden. The first step toward actual change is changing the conversation. That too is no small accomplishment.
124
@clint
your reply and claims are what are "morally bankrupt".
If Bernie, and those like him, want a new conversation, then start their own party. Run as what he is, a Socialist.
The fact of the matter is, that under our current structure and debt, none of the Medicare for All plans and claims can possibly come to fruition.
One major sticking point will be that we currently don't have enough Doctors who will accept Medicare.
How do you think you will force them to accept Medicare for All?
Think boo boo, think.
7
@mike
Sanders is a socialist only in the context of contemporary American political dialogue. In most industrialized countries, many of his proposals are middle of the road fare. Sanders is a New Deal Democrat. It's worth noting that the further the party moves away from that era's vision, the less electorally successful it has become.
As to Medicare for All and costs, some basic research shows that it is attainable, though it will require massive structural changes. US healthcare as an aggregate cost has doubled as a fraction of GDP--from 11 to 22%--since 1980. Beyond the fact US health outcomes have declined massively compared to the rest of the world in the same period, this trend alone raises the question of how long our economy can bear the weight of our current healthcare system. Allow the government to negotiate drug prices. Regulate out-of-control expenses. Cut out the insurance industry's built in 20% profit margin, which turns those firms into businesses whose primary function is to deny care. (Medicare overhead, by the way, is roughly 2%.) Ultimately, Medicare for All would reduce aggregate healthcare expenditures enormously.
Costing less is more affordable than costing more, right?
55
What Bernie supporters know in their heart is that the corporate-bought Democrat Party would rather lose to Trump than win with a Progressive. Look closely and it is not hard to see.
Bernie supporters continue to battle less with Republicans than with their own party. Which is why some Bernie supporters voted for Trump. Trump is in a win-win situation and he is cunning enough to know it, which is why he just might win again. And the little known secret of the Dems is: If we can't have a centrist, hey, Trump isn't all that bad
13
This is an absolutely ridiculous claim and evidence of why the Bernie Bros are so universally loathed. There is absolutely zero evidence to support this...and if I recall from 2016 the exact opposite was true - it was his supporters who stayed home rather than (good heavens) vote for Hillary to stop Trump and...here we are.
6
@NICHOLS COURT Your comment is without foundation. Really, how many Bernie supporters do you know that voted for Trump, the antithesis of what Bernie represented?
As a Bernie supporter, I did not vote for HRC because my very blue state's voting record allowed me the privilege of voting for a more appealing and ethical candidate. That has meant that this life-long Democrat can say that I have never voted for either Clinton, not in 1992, in 1998, or in 2016. No regrets that my vote can't be associated with the corruption that the Clintons represent.
4
The DNC itself, spearheaded by Debbie Wasserman Schultz, undercut Bernie Sanders in the 2016 democratic primaries. Schultz regularly denied it, until WikiLeaks revealed what she was doing. She was then removed from her spot on the DNC and stopped talking. Sanders has every right to be suspicious.
30
The most humorous issue is that the conversation seems to revolve around age and yet...it is Bernie at 70+ years of age who attracts the young and certainly not the establishment Dems.
We need the young to be involved, so why does the establishment Dems so ignore them?
15
The establishment wing of the Democratic party believed that Mrs. Clinton was ordained to win and even in the face of the most brutal contradiction, trumps win and her loss, they continue to bamboozle themselves. Why double down on a loosing strategy? Cognitive dissonance in an escalation of commitment?
11
Et tu Bernie? Your version of "Lock her up"?
Democrats, of whom I am one, should have two concerns right now. First, that about 15 of these people running for president need to wake up, smell the dead roses in their campaign vases and get out now because they are turning the nominating contest into the kind of farce that plays right into the hands of Donald Trump.
Second and of equal concern is that not if, but when Sanders does not win the nomination -- and he won't for very many reasons -- that knowing afterward that he never will have another chance, he will not leave the field in a sulk, leading his supporters away with backs turned on the ultimate nominee. That would all but insure a second Trump term.
No doubt there is something to Clinton people still mucking around. It's what they do and have always done. So? So that is not the Democratic Party, it is not the force and energy that won back the House and it does no one any good for this to continue.
But with this ploy Sanders really seems to shade the Trump determination to keep Hillary Clinton in his and his mob's focus as the doer of all evil.
The senator from Vermont is making a not dissimilar play aimed at keeping his base feverish and fervid.
9
@Carl Zeitz
What are the many reasons on why he won't win?
3
@Daniel People underestimate the hunger of younger (and older!) people for a younger leader. The young people I talk with do not want a pedantic grandpa preaching purity and socialism. Millennials are practical too, and want to beat Trump. They also know moderate Dems don't like Bernie much and they see lots of other, younger options. Watch what happens in the real primaries, not the Iowa caucuses - but those could be very interesting this time around, too.
1
@Daniel
Let me count the was:
Bernie calls himself a socialist (Trump & the GOP will ignore the nuance of democratic socialist)
The cost of Medicare for all which, by the way, has a 20% co-pay in traditional Medicare and is an HMO in Medicare Advantage.
Many people are happy with their employer supplied, non taxable health insurance and will be reluctant to give it up for some new untested program. This is especially true if they think there taxes will go up.
The cost of free college and the tax increases to pay for it.
His inconsistent positions on gun control. Only recently changed his position on that.
He voted for the 1990's crime bill. You can't criticize Joe Biden for that but give Bernie a pass.
If Bernie supporters want purity and consistency in positions, the last 2 points don't pass muster
He will raise your taxes! Including the estate tax. While most Americans do not pay an estate tax, many people don't realize that. It's not as though Trump and the GOP would refrain from lying and distorting the Democrats position
1
There is no excuse for anyone who claims to be 'for' Democrats to then instigate division within the party.
When someone with a pocket full of Big Donors money and is not in the race attempts to sow discord within the party, they should be ostracized. While I know that will not happen, because there will be quite a few candidates where money overshadows ethics, we can still make a list of who accepts.
It is so discouraging how the old, defeated, and irrelevant still hold the reins on the politics of this country.
10
The legacy Clinton machine's win-at-all-costs approach doesn't seem to include all the costs.
9
I thought the Clintons had retired ("vanished into the sunset"), but apparently there is still need for some cleanup.
As a registered Democrat (though no longer paying annual dues to the party), all I can say is this: I will never, ever vote for Joe Biden, nor for any republican-like Democratic candidate.
41
DNC became captive of Hilary very early and pre-empted other candidates until Bernie came along. Tulsi Gabbard openly broke ranks with the then DNC chair.
Tandon must bear some responsibility for defeat of Mrs Clinton. Her belligerence as I can glean from this report and elsewhere was reflected how Clinton behaved. Why Democrats need a person like her at the helm of center defining their strategy, shen we know tgat she faiked to deliver. Unless Democrats shed their past baggage and look for new ways to connect to the heart and soul of the country, not just the coasts, they have no chance at the Whitehouse. Clinton is history along with her team. We need new voices and new thinking.
28
Why is Tanden's elderly mother extensively quoted in this story? There's no suggestion that she has a role in Tanden's political life or is herself a public figure. It doesn't appear that the reporters contacted members of Sanders' immediate family for comment about his character. I'd really like to hear from the reporters on how they justify this.
219
Hello, thanks for your comment. Our story focused on Neera Tanden, and the Center for American Progress, the powerful Democratic think tank she runs. Maya Tanden--who at 78 is a year younger than Nancy Pelosi--raised Neera as a single mom, a story Neera frequently shares, naming her as a profound influence. Maya Tanden is very familiar with and knowledgeable about her daughter’s political career; she was active in local Democratic politics herself earlier in her life. In retrospect, I should have made those connections clearer, to help readers understand why Maya Tanden appears. To your other question, I do try to reach any profile subject’s family members. They provide a window into an individual’s life experiences and personality that few others possess. If the story were a profile of Bernie Sanders, I would have reached out to his family too. The conflict between his campaign and the think tank blew up last weekend, months after I began reporting this story on Neera, the think tank, and ideological divisions within the Democratic Party. Hope it was helpful for you to hear from me.
10
@Elizabeth Williamson I read this exactly the same way as others who were surprised by the extensive quotes from Ms. Tanden's mother. The fact that Ms. Tanden was raised by a single mom who is also active in politics and to whom Ms. Tanden is close doesn't really merit the numerous quotes. The article positions Ms. Tanden as a powerful figure within the Democratic party and yet, it does not quote as extensively from colleagues (or adversaries). Ms. Tanden is presented more as a daughter with a tough talking mom than she is presented as a formidable figure in her own right. I would have hoped that someone at the NYT could have seen this when this article went up and through the editing chain. That it didn't seem to raise any eyebrows is deeply disappointing and discordant with the NYT's message that it reports issues in a non-gendered way.
37
Thinktanks is a misnomer. Conservative (i.e. Republican) or liberal (Democrat), idealoguetank is more accurately descriptive. The word describes Ms. Tanden well.
There can be no real democracy as long as the wealthy continue to buy the government they want. As it currently stands, the US is no less a tyrant-led oligarchy than is Russia. The American Experiment is as endangered by the money being pumped into it as Earth is by C02 emissions.
37
Factual correction. Your article states "Mr. Sanders’s team remains convinced that the Democratic establishment worked behind the scenes to deprive him of the party’s nomination in 2016."
This is an accurate statement. It does reflect what the Sanders team 'believes.'
But it's misleading because it leaves out that this belief is based on the facts that were uncovered from the DNC emails and published by Wikileaks.
Those facts include feeding Clinton debate questions in advance, rigging the delegate selection process to lock in super delegates regardless of the vote and changing delegate votes in West Virginia.
Ms. Tanden may be a tough campaigner, but the Center for American Progress has not been an incubator of new ideas.
They bailed on universal health care, missed the Green New Deal and sidestepped on free tuition and student debt bailout.
The DNC can play hardball with the Sanders campaign, but they do so at their peril. As they say, what's the point of winning the battle only to lose the war?
50
Reluctant Hillary independent voter here, and this is a disgrace, and the exact reason Trump won. Howard, please run and start a third party and grab Tulsi as your running mate. So tired of all things Clinton, and Bernie is NOT the answer. Joe, don't do it.
4
While they should be unifying the party, they are continuing to split it. DT and Republicans must love them.
14
Way to go, Democrats. Start a high profile power struggle within the party. Have the media fill with reports of one millionaire slugging away with another multi?millionaire- or rather slugging away with the minion of a multimillionaire. No better way to hand Trump the next election. When or can the Democrats get smart.?
12
Bigger is not necessarily better.
In 2016 I was elected to be a Bernie delegate from my village to the Maine state democratic convention in Portland. When I got to the convention, I discovered that we mere elected delegates had just one vote each, while the "superdelegates" chosen by the DNC had 600 votes apiece. That was when I parted ways with the pseudo-Democratic Party. Both parties are brothels of Mammon, and little else. I voted for Hillary that November only because Trump was even more abominable.
40
The rich who own the Clinton's would rather lose 2020 than let Bernie win and see their taxes go up.
28
@gene this is what I’m realizing...gradually and sadly.
3
Why, pray tell, is ThinkProgress producing a video like "Bernie Sanders is a millionaire"? Who, exactly, does Neera Tanden believe she's appealing to by trying to smear Sanders as a hypocrite? Wealthy Republicans? Indeed, mocking Sanders' attacks on wealth inequality -- when US inequality has never been greater -- seems like a losing strategy, likely to help re-elect Donald Trump. It's precisely this type of unprincipled Machiavellian logic that many American voters found so repellent in the candidacy of Hillary Clinton in 2016. That Tanden is still playing the "triangulation" game shows that mainstream Democratic Party leadership would rather lose to Trump than allow a true progressive like Bernie Sanders to win.
70
@ando arike. Spot on. Any “Policy Center” should have allegiance to policy rather than allegiance to (or against) a particular candidate. Ms Tanden should understand that.
10
"Mr. Sanders’s team remains convinced that the Democratic establishment worked behind the scenes to deprive him of the party’s nomination in 2016”
The Times really needs to stop printing variations on this sentence. It's not a matter of belief and he said/she said. It should be a matter of fact, one way or the other.
Look at the evidence. Either H. Clinton inappropriately took control of the Democratic Party before the primaries or not. As far as I can tell from reports about the hacked emails and even Donna Brazile's book, she clearly did.
If all of that is wrong, then please explain what other evidence you are looking at.
32
@Evidence Guy Bernie is not a Democrat and I have no idea why so many of you think the Democratic party owed him ANYTHING. Its candidate, OUR candidate was the Democrat. He didn't waste a minute after he (finally) conceded returning to his true political identity and I will never forgive him nor his "Bernie Bros" helping elect Trump!
8
Way to go kids. Keep this up and you will surely get 45 re-elected. I am sick of corporate politics and partisan bullies. I will continue to vote for Democrats and will work at my local level but will never send a penny to national organizations until I discover one that can be a grown-up and work for the overall cause. So far I don't see that emerging. There are more important issues in this country than your self-centered bickering.
15
"...the organization has sought to rebrand itself as a brain trust for the anti-Trump resistance."
This is hilarious. Toxic Democrats like these are why i left the party long ago, and why i am not a member of the "resistance". I'm as opposed to these corrupt shills as i am to Trump. But hey Dems, if you think they help your case, by all means keep them around and vocal.
13
The Clinton Democrats need to get out of the way. At the very least, they need to accept responsibility for the errors made in the 2016 campaign, including the way they treated Sanders and his millennial followers. The Party should have thanked him for bringing all those bright, energetic, young crowds into the tent. They were potentially assets for getting out the vote; instead, even his delegates to the convention were shunned. Dumb and dumber to waste energy on infighting instead of attracting voters with real alternatives to current administration!
19
The Democratic Party would be a much stronger and healthier party if the Clinton's and their followers like Neera Tanden and Deborah Wasserman Schultz would just go away. The damage the Clinton's have done to the party will take decades to heal.
34
Somehow I always find myself responding to the uncovering of Clinton- contrived strategies and world-domination tactics with the same thought: I knew something smelled; I despised the centrist smugness of Clinton and Tandem; and, I know this is why she lost.
There was a yawning moral chasm in that campaign that placed win at all costs at the center. I believe in winning- I just want my candidate to have a pulse and a soul.
42
I have never been a fan of bernie or in fact any of the fringe folk who only jump under the Democratic Party banner to try and get elected.
My view is they should start their own party and see how much traction their views get with the American public. This also applies to the Libertarian party and Tea Party on the Right Wing side of our political spectrum.
I am really tired of these "edgers" coming in and trying to demand the Party adopt their extremist ideas. Those like Bernie and AOC who then threaten to 'primary' incumbents if the others don't go along with them are nothing more than bullies.
In fact of the new crop of Freshmen Representatives, the most far Left ones attacked incumbent Democrats, while the majority of the class took seats from Republicans. Yet that majority is ignored by the media, while the few radicals that took out other Dems are give feet of newsprint every day.
The far left agenda will never win in a General Election but might, just might, win in a Primary. Giving the Dems their very own version of a Donald J. Trump. This is would guarantee the Orange one another 4 years in office as no Republican, even a Never Trumper, will ever vote for the liberal extremes.
17
@mike
Please get your facts straight.
So far, the threats to 'Primary' have come from the DNC and were directed at those freshman candidates you are accusing.
3
@mike
You are absolutely correct!! I am and old guy that has leaned Democrat for years. Here in the deep south, the few of us are a voice in the wilderness, surrounded by hordes of Trumpsters. My hopes are dwindling that the Democratic party can defeat Trump in 2020. Bless old Bernie's heart, he is not the answer. mainstream democratic leaning voters will never vote for Bernie. He does not resonate with mainstream democrats, be they white, Hispanic or African American These folks will stay home and Trump will glide to victory. Bernie cannot win with just the millennial vote, no matter how vocal they are in supporting him. I'm viewing this from the perspective of how things are playing out in my part of the world, possibly things are different in other parts of the country, but I suspect they are not so different from here.
Do we want another four years of a crazy man in the White House? If not, the democrats need to decide whether they want a victory in 2020, or do they want to destroy their chances by splitting the party in to warring factions? Playing into Trumps hands and delivering a victory to him is the path they are on now.
5
@mike
This comment seems to be built on an assumption that there's some form of eternal, Platonic Form of what the Democratic Party is. Even a glance at how it changed from FDR to LBJ to Clinton proves that this isn't so. Worse, there's something not-so-vaguely authoritarian about attacking people with different perspectives for having the temerity to run for office with the goal of winning. That's what democracy is, and like it or not, third parties are unviable under the Electoral College.
2
It's high time the Obama-Clinton represented Centrist establishment of the Democratic party and the Sanders Bernie led left of the centre liberal progressive stream of the party sink their differences and enter into strategic truce till at least the crucial 2020 elections.
7
As a life long Democrat I am so sick of the party bosses shoving candidates down my throat at every level including local. It's time for new faces and new ideas and nothing shows that better then the election of Donald Trump. And if these Democratic leaders don't get their act together soon he's going to get another 4 years in which to destroy our country and our democracy.
Instead of spending energy trying to impeach Trump we should be spending big bucks and lots of energy into taking the Senate. Then he couldn't do a thing even if he is re-elected (which I think he will be).
165
@B.Smith "Instead of spending energy trying to impeach Trump we should be spending big bucks and lots of energy into taking the Senate." YES!!!
The Democrats problem is money or lack thereof. They can compete in presidential elections, but more times than not they are badly underfunded in Congressional and especially state races.
To use a football analogy, Republicans play every single down, every quarter of every game; Democrats wait to fourth and goal before they expend maximum effort. When Republicans pay off the refs to fix the game, Democrats cry foul and lick their wounds.
And then there are the courts! The fix is in there too. No excuse for letting McConnell and the Reps stealing a SC seat and Dems should be opening investigations into Kavanaugh - as they promised they would. There is no way that man should be on the SC!
Republicans have so thoroughly corrupted the system unless Democrats completely control all three branches of government, it will be one step forward, two steps back. Winning the presidency is not nearly enough - eight years of Obama proved that.
10
@B.Smith
It has been proven time and again that spending big bucks does not win elections, just ask Hillary.
8
Wouldn't it be neat if both Bernie and Hillary put their egos aside, "got over it," and slipped -- quietly but deeply -- into the background? Hillary's hubris helped put Dirty Don in the White House. Now's Bernie's may very well help keep Dirty Don there.
To her credit, Hillary, in 2016, ran a relatively 'clean' campaign against Bernie. Had she taken the low road -- providing him with a 'reality check,' questioning his record, and particularly his inability to accomplish anything at all while in the Senate -- she would have divided the Dems. But on the plus side, she might have shown the Dem base that Bernie isn't all he is cracked up to be.
9
Who in their right mind would blame millennials for thinking? Bizarre. Take away the political dogma and rhetoric and it becomes pretty clear who is more concerned with power over representation.
16
Ms Tanden's bellicose personality would perfectly fit in over at the Trump camp. Clinton lost because people didn't trust her and didn't much like her. Tanden may be a fighter for her own aspirations but we'll all pay the price of a Trump re-election if she gains a Democratic spotlight. And what's with the mother? Her comments didn't appear supportive. You're so confrontational you've turned away Mom?
30
The Clinton power over the Democratic party has long since metastasized into a cancerous growth requiring aggressive surgical removal.
Bill Clinton earned the opportunity as a 2-term president to use his great intellect and political charisma to help shape the future of this country, but his lack of personal discipline starting with his sexual scandals, right through the Marc Rich pardon to the infamous episode on the tarmac has turned the Clinton influence into one of the most destructive political forces in modern U.S. history.
No man is more responsible for the rise of Trump and the trilogy of the above events provided the foundation for the Trump presidency.
Hillary is tied to this man and her rise and fall can be almost entirely attributed to their alliance, but she has her own list of political mistakes, including a much too cozy relationship with corporate America.
She should never have taken her golden corporate speaking tour before her run for the presidency.
I am very worried about the viability of Sander's potential candidacy, but at least it would be a declaration of independence from excessive corporate influence in the Democratic party and its agenda.
Let the investment class turn to the GOP to support their increasingly excessive share of the American pie. Democrats need to be the party of salaried workers whose leaders are not on the corporate dole. There should be as little doubt as possible whose side they are on.
74
Does Ms. Tanden have any clue how she is continuing to hurt not only the Democrats and Democratic Party but also democracy in America?
Wasn't it bad enough that multi-millionaire and Wall Street sell-out Hillary Clinton, who always felt she was entitled to the Presidency because it was "her turn", conspired with the DNC to use dirty tricks to stop the progressive assault by Bernie Sanders?
Sanders, with his progressive and yet populist message of helping the average American in places hard hit by the 2008 recession and the growing disparity in wages and wealth, would in the view of many had a much better chance to stand up to and defeat the monstrosity who currently occupies the White House. In doing so, he would have saved us from all the hurt Trump has inflicted in his first two years, and beyond.
But no, it was Hillary's turn even though she was tone-deaf and a terrible candidate. And so we, and American and world, lost big-time.
45
Can you imagine the outcry if it were a Trump campaign aide who punched an interviewer? Here, it’s just mentioned to make a point about how tough this girl is.
23
@Phil haynesor She said, "pushed", not "punched". NOT the same thing. Politics is an emotional sport, is that news to you? Nobody is immune from emotions, men or women.
@Marianna I’m sorry. A witness said she threw a punch. The perpetrator downplayed it by saying “pushed”. Unwanted touching is wrong. My point still stands.
3
Center for American Progress is a thoroughly ruinous influence peddler for Democrats, while Neera Tanden is an intemperate bully of a president. All that was of concern for the CAP leadership in the last presidential was securing positions in what was supposed to be another Clinton administration and actually undermining Democrats along the way was of no concern or even intended.
30
As a woman and a (small) monthly donor to the Democratic Party, I am sickened to read this. I know women like the one pictured. They cannot forgive Bernie, who for all his faults ran on a platform that was moral, and put Hillary Clinton, who for all her good points, compromised and compromised with power and held others responsible for her loss. The Democratic Party, fighting (as always) weak ( as always) and compromised the super wealthy (as always) is the best hope of this benighted country. Lord help us.
179
Bernie is not a registered Democrat yet he continues to want to avail himself of all the party can do for him to his advantage. And anytime a strong woman in the party calls him out, be it Hillary or Neera, he cries victim! I have no sympathy left for this poor rich man who wants it every way that suits him as long as it’s in his favor. Bernie doesn’t have party loyalty, has a problem with strong women, and plays victim when called out on his problems rather than dealing with them. Not at all what I want in the next president!
152
@R. Pasricha
I'm not quite sure why Party Loyalty is more important then just ideas like universal healthcare and Independence from the banking class. I think Progressive liberal ideas like those represented in Scandinavian countries and European countries represent our best chance for the best American life.
20/20 should be a referendum on Healthcare and infrastructure in that order. Healthcare is a crisis in which I am deeply enveloped unfortunately. Not unlike millions of Americans. Let's get this right. Universal healthcare and green infrastructure and we've got it made. So complicated yet so simple at the same time
103
@R. Pasricha, it's not about strong women, it's about these particular women. Wise people know when the play is over and it's time to leave the theater.
50
@R. Pasricha This poor rich man, is right! "I will donate ALL the profits from my books, Paul Newman-style, to social and economic justice causes," said Bernie Sanders NEVER!!!
15
This type of in-fighting and bickering in the Democratic party is really annoying and causes people to tune out. A lot of people are just plain sick and tired of the old (literally) school - Saunders, Biden, Warren. It's the same stuff over and over again.
Their time for a presidential run is past. Warren and Saunders need to get back to their jobs in the Senate and Biden just needs to get off the stage. This nonsense is a big distraction and is a waste of everyone's time.
There are some real interesting candidates emerging - Pete Buttigieg being one. If you have the opportunity to hear his interviews or see him in person; take it! He's young but far wiser, articulate, intelligent, and savvy than his elder counterparts. And, he doesn't carry their decades of political baggage. A real glimmer of hope and inspiration.
66
@Jenna, yes let’s hope that Pete’s message is heard by enough voters. He’s articulate and seems truly capable of strong ethical leadership.
5
@Jenna
Pete Buttigieg is the "candidate of the month". He will fade long before the primaries.
26
@Jenna, I like Buttigieg, too! But I am not convinced he will carry the general election. Too many bigots in this country yet - on both sides. Far right won't vote for a gay man (even if he is a veteran), far left won't vote for a centrist from Mid-West. I would love to be proven wrong, though.
13
Yes, I would say that a think tank that “has taken in millions from interests often criticized by liberals, including Wall Street financiers, big banks, Silicon Valley titans, foreign governments, defense contractors and the health care industry,” and whose “Individual donors can ask to remain anonymous,” deserves some serious scrutiny from progressives.
26
As we liberals publicly argue with each other deeping the divides between us, can't you just see Donnie beaming and clapping his little hands together! It should be REAL simple this time around: quickly coalesce around a single candidate and BEAT Trump. Period. Full Stop.
Now stop the bickering. Our candidate will be flawed, there is no perfect person out there. So stop with the nitpicking. If we spend 2 years going after extremely flawed Trump instead of each other we will win. If we don't pull it together soon we will lose and have 4 more years of him. It is that simple.
14
You need not be a Bernie supporter to experience a mild rage stroke after reading this article.
Sanders is criticized for becoming a millionaire with a best-selling book by a team loyal to the Clintons – multi-millionaires for their own books, plus lucrative (and secretive) Wall Street speeches. These lobbyists then attack his liberal agenda, convinced that the marriage between the Democratic Party and anyone with a checkbook – foreign tyrants, big banks, military contractors – is a winning formula…despite back-to-back election losses for their patron saint which should have convinced them otherwise.
The Democratic Party had a long overdue wakeup call in time for the 2018 midterms, and was rewarded handsomely. We saw candidates across the liberal-to-moderate spectrum flip seats at every level of government by returning the narrative to kitchen table issues like healthcare and taxes, rather than spending their time fundraising in the Hamptons and rubbing elbows with foreign oligarchs. Seems clear to me we have a winning strategy, and the my-values-are-up-for-auction approach isn't it.
It is beyond time for the Clinton machine to step aside. That they are smearing a Democratic candidate and working so tirelessly to uphold a status quo that favors the privileged few is infuriating, but hardly surprising. This group and the mentality they cling to is poison. They don't need to lose a third election for us.
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@Solaris I don't think the Democrats had a wake-up call before or after the 2018 election. It was 100% a proxy fight against trump.
The Democrats are making a big mistake not going after Trump hard - impeachment hearings every day until the election. Democrats should be able to develop at least a dozen, probably two dozen articles of impeachment that will probably take until the election to prosecute. It's a win-win.
Republicans spent at least 5 years eviscerating Hillary Clinton and it worked.
1
@Solaris, amen.
4
Most of us would never consider CAP a faction on the left, but instead a corporate-centrist organization trying to masquerade as progressive. When a group rolls out the red carpet for Trump's buddy Netanyahu, and is already trying to trash Bernie Sanders again, this is the path to another 4 years of Trump and world environmental destruction.
Bernie Sanders has myriad, long held, strong positions on the issues- it would be grand if the CAP had the integrity to debate Bernie on the merits of his ideas. But even they understand that the American public is sick to death of a capitalism that only benefits the largest corporations. It is no news to say the the large majority of Democrats support serious work to thwart climate change, Medicare for all, free community college, and many of Bernie's other signature issues.
So CAP can only use personal attacks to try to put Bernie down. So far, it is not working, but it is past time for CAP to consider the common good and work constructively with whoever will be the nominee and throw Trump into the ashbin of history.
26
Another narcissist-led organization that wants power and influence, with little regard for the actual agenda.
It says a lot that only her mother is a character reference.
15
@Devon Lance: I'm not sure her mother is her best supporter.
2
A pox on both their houses-- get with the program and let's win. I assign a significant portion of the Democrats loss in 2016 and all that we are suffering since to Bernie's followers not voting . I am totally done with Bernie and Hillary for that matter...it's on to 2020 and may be best candidate win the Democratic nomination and begin to undo what can be undone from the mess that has been foisted on us by the orange haired narcissist.
3
"Bernie's supporters not voting"? Hillary WON the popular vote by going on 3,000,000 votes. What do you think Bernie's supporters could have done?
3
Seems strange that Neera's Mother is quoted here without a reference as to why she was chosen to speak of Neera's role. manner and future plans? Does she have some position in the Center or an opposition group? Ms.Tanden's input is often sought on T.V. panels where she provides knowledgable input. Sad to hear of an early break with Bernie, Hillary now out of contention. We don't need such high level bitterness. Hoping Neera can quiet this outbreak quickly. The young, exciting Dems deserve room for growth in entry without having to untangle Bernie's past feud and Bernie needs to assist in keeping calm his impressive following. If a past block of Hillary voters are able to choose amongst the new and interesting field of candidates, those voters should not be drawn into some old web of resentment. Let the two camps be freed!
7
@Judith R. Birch
Apparently Neera's mother didn't know her remarks were on the record.
2
They say a picture paints a thousand words. Well, to my mind, Neera Tanden's picture does just that, and--ala Dorian Gray--the picture is truly frightening.
Ms. Tanden represents everything that is WRONG about the Democratic Establishment. The smug contempt for anyone who disagrees with them. The blithe detachment from and utter lack of regard for the actual effects of the policies they put forward have on the rest of America. The fact that 90% of Americans are struggling, holding on for dear life? "Who cares, I'm doing great!"
In short, Ms. Tanden is a creature, a prime example of "Inside the Beltway" thinking. She, like the Democratic Establishment she represents, has been inside the beltway, feeding at the trough for so long that they can no longer see that they've become strangers to the rest of us.
What Ms. Tanden cannot see from her lofty, cossetted Center For American Progress airy is that it's not going to end well for her. Her type never does.
23
Back in the old days, the prevailing question in some circle was "Who lost China?"
Fast forward to the 21st C, maybe the question to the Dems is: "Who lost America [to Trump]?"
It is bad enough to have Wikileak and Russian disinformation machine to agitate America, the real Dems were fiddling while America burnt. Even after 2016, they didn't learn. Except maybe Speaker Pelosi, who has chosen to pivot back to the middle after a challenge from the left.
These two camps - ok, Sen Sanders has never claimed to be Dems but his support machine is - are both behaving like Susan Sarandon, they'd rather have Trump. This is the real American Tragedy
3
@Bos
Making a remark about Sarandon just shows your maturity level. Clinton supporters harassed so much she had death threats against her. Nice feminism you have there.
I found this piece informative BUT I'm confused as to why Neera Tanden's MOTHER is a primary source for quotes. I love MY mom but wouldn't want her quoted about my working life.
Just sayin'...
17
The Clintons (BOTH!) and anyone associated with them and the 2016 campaign debacle need to go away and let the rest of us unite to win in 2020. I’m almost 70 years old and desire to see some progress in this country now!
13
@PCP: Yes, I agree 100%. Please, please, please, Clintons.....both of you, just go away! And after reading this, I'd say the same thing to Ms. Tanden.
4
Perception is often projection. While pointing fingers at alleged “bros” like me, a 73 year old feminist, they wildly attack Sanders with laughable ammo. Let’s hope this nonsense doesn’t work this time around. There are many more of us now who aren’t buying the lies and innuendo. Sanders has consistently fought for the same things all his life, and finally folks are listening.
17
In a misguided attempt to gain more political power the Democratic party tracked to the right and largely abandoned its support of normal, working Americans. Lingering support for the Clintons and for their centrist agenda will only hurt the Democrats moving forward in my opinion.
Many people assumed that the extreme shift to the right of the Republican party meant that tepid support for working people would suffice to defeat Trump. But that was obviously not the case and now is the time for Democrats to push to make the US a more normal democracy with financial and physical security for all Americans and not just for the wealthy.
It is clearly not the time for them to be Republicans but without the hatred, lies and bigotry that characterize Republicans today. That is indeed preferable to the insanity embodied by the Republican party but it is not what the US needs to move into the 21st century and not back into the 19th.
29
Fine, the Center for American Progress appears to be deeply embedded in establishment money. But pointing out that Bernie Sanders is a millionaire is basic. If Democrats in the primary process don’t deal with his potential hypocrisy, Republicans will certainly do so. Another issue that needs to be addressed forthrightly by Sanders is his wife’s involvement in the demise of Burlington College and the investigation into what appears to have been loan fraud. In 2017, the NYT reported that the US was investigating the loan issue. In the NYT’s coverage, the Sanders camp’s defense is that Jane Sanders was a scapegoat and that other senior staff participated in decisions. She was the President of the College. Doesn’t the buck stop there?
3
@Someone
Federal prosecutors ended an investigation into a land deal overseen by Jane Sanders and all charges against her were dropped in 2018.
The allegations against Jane Sanders were brought forth by Vice Chairman of the VT Republican Party and head of Trump's VT campaign committee, Brady Toensing. Toensing, a DC attorney, has a long history of filing complaints against liberals in the state of VT.
4
CAP looks like more pay to play. Sure, funding is necessary; but where you get your funding will, and should, be scrutinized.
Leadership will be scrutinized as well. I want open and civil discussion of the very serious issues we face as a nation. Babble about our issues without coming up with a feasible plan of action appears to be all that CAP and other similar groups on both sides of the spectrum seem to do. Think tanks should be more than an excuse to have another gala to raise more money or vehicles for bullies to push their agenda with no thought about what we need as a society and can reasonably accomplish.
The general welfare must be central to every discussion. It has been neglected by the very people who profess to have those interests at heart so that a Con and Grifter can gain a foothold, however tenuous, in our discourse.
18
"The Center for American Progress and its sister political arm, with a $60 million combined annual budget and 320 staff members"
Sounds like this group exists to protect the Clinton's legacy, not the best interest of the democratic party - Hard to believe that the Clinton's are still so self centered - With a $60 million annual budget it could do so much to support democrats
113
I am sick and tired of people calling Medicare-for-All a "far-left" idea. It is mainstream in most of the developed world and has been for decades.
The Clintons' "adjustment" in the 1990s to the rightward shift of the Reagan era is now being corrected--by Bernie Sanders and many others. It is long past time to move things leftward--which means to what most of the world considers the center.
I am 71 and believe that Sanders is too old and the Clintons and their agents are too rich to do what needs to be done. Bring on Pete, Beto, and Kamala!
90
Beto does not support a single payer, Medicare for all system. Pete is waffling on the issue.
25
@John Agree, it's because we can TRUST Sanders on this issue that I support him despite his age being yes a minus. The others you mention don't have his track record and are not that committed to Medicare for all.
26
@John
Thanks, John, for the reminder about Beto. I heard Pete on Rachel last night, and he definitely said the goal is single-payer though he seems to be proposing a gradual transition to that.
But--and I'm sorry to say this--in addition to best policies, we need a candidate who can shape and control a narrative. Reason alone is not enough, as we have learned. Trump's narrative and his delivery of it have convinced millions of people. Ending Republican power will take someone who not only proposes more effective policies but whose vision for the country and world connects with people viscerally and whose articulation of that vision excites people TO ACT.
12
We need to pay attention to who is favored by CAP and know they have a price.
It's time the Clintons stepped back and let the little people have their chance at democracy. If they feel their mission is to stop the re-election of Trump, they could at least be clear who they want to replace him with.
Who will be their Pawn?
The DNC in 2016 systematically conspired with Clinton, liberal blogs, and cut Bernie off at the knees. Even though 538 had the data showing Bernie with a much better chance to beat Trump in 2016.
To deny it happened is like denying H. Clinton voted to send troops to Iraq.
74
@Ken Floyd
People who lead CAP have more to lose professionally from a Sanders admin than a second Trump term. They know they won't find influence in a Sanders White House; no influence then results in little or no donations. Spearheading a "resistance" to a president pays the bills better than having no influence with a president of your own party. Just ask Frum, Sykes, Kristol, et. al how much influence they have in this administration.
Once one understands that, the rest makes sense.
9
Looks like this is yet another organization to belie its name--should be the Center Against American Progress.
55
Ugh. Here we go. Now everyone gets to choose sides!
We're all on the same team here: anti-oligarchy, pro-fairness, compassionate.
I don't know what it is about the left in this country - and the reporting about the left that amplifies it - so much ego, so much time squandered.
Let's fix our country please.
30
@Dan
"We're all on the same team here: anti-oligarchy, pro-fairness, compassionate."
I don't see any sign of these attributes from Tanden and the CAP.
15
@Dan It’s not complicated. The difference is MONEY and the neoliberal use of Republican tactics to raise money from and cater to special interests.
5
"Mr. Sanders's team remains convinced that the Democratic establishment worked behind the scenes to deprive him of the party's nomination in 2016." Even if this were true, Mr. Sanders, who is STILL NOT A REGISTERED DEMOCRAT, has no right to complain. He should never have been allowed to run for the Democratic Party's nomination unless and until he became a Democrat. As for his supporters, by refusing to support Secretary Clinton, and then either voting for Trump, Jill Stein, Gary Johnson (a guy who didn't even know that Aleppo was a city) in protest, or refusing to vote at all, they are responsible for the election of Trump. Had even a fraction of those "protest" voters voted for Hillary, Merrick Garland would be on the Supreme Court instead of Gorsuch & Kavanaugh, and we would not be watching the destruction of our environment, the assault on our Constitution, the alarming rise of hate speech and violence, and the daily degradation of our civic discourse. This time around, Sanders not only refuses to register as a Democrat, but has given interviews to the Trump PR machine, Fox News, and arrogantly told us that we too could be millionaires if we wrote a bestseller. (I can just imagine the reaction if a woman candidate had said the same.) Thus, neither Sanders nor his supporters have ANY right to dictate the future of the Democratic Party. As far as this lifelong Democrat is concerned, keep going Ms. Tanden.
42
@Angela MOST of the core Bernie supporters voted for Clinton in the Presidential Election - about 90%. Stop blaming Bernie supporters for HRC's bad campaign. She was a flawed candidate.
28
@Angela
Between 6 and 12% of Bernie supporters voted for Trump, compared with 24% of Hilary supporters ultimately pulling the lever for McCain in 2008. Sanders may not be a registered Democrat, but he's certainly been caucusing with them in Congress and the Senate since 1990; no one seems to be complaining about that. John McCain, however, "maverick" or not, was certainly no Democrat.
Regardless, it's patently unfair, not to mention counterproductive, to blame all the ills befalling us now on "Bernie bros" in 2016, or on Jim Comey or the Russians for that matter-especially given how hard Sanders campaigned for Clinton after he lost the primaries, which is undeniable. Following six years of alarming defeats between 2010 and 2016 (not just the House and Senate, but over 1,000 seats in state houses nationwide), Hillary Clinton continued running with Obama's ball despite that strong electoral evidence that doing so could prove disastrous.
This article gives us good reason to believe that the Clinton/Obama nexus of the party hasn't learned anything from 2016. I hope-but hardly expect-that they take a long look in the mirror before 2020.
33
@Angela
Yes, if only a fraction of those "protest" votes had voted for Hillary, indeed. God forbid individuals should buck the DNC and its Hillary-making machine and make a choice of who they should vote for. This post reeks of the entitlement that plagued and continues to plague Hillary and the so-called "center" of the Democratic Party. As far as I'm concerned, the fossils who still think this way will never see reality and can't die off fast enough. Math doesn't lie: Bernie would have beaten Trump.
15
From this article, Neera Tanden seems abrasive, expedient, and sloppy. I personally wish Bernie Sanders would finally register as a Democrat if he wishes to run as one.
But the bottom line is, Democrats are eating their own and playing right into Trump's hands. Rick Wilson, Republican strategist but firm anti-Trumper, is one smart cookie, when he remarked, "Democrats don't understand power, and they're squandering their chances to beat Trump in 2020.
For the sake of political survival, this squabbling has to stop and the party needs to determine and coalesce around a common agenda.
Democrats have a history of blowing golden opportunities--ideological rigidity, currently a feature of Trumpism and a source of its power, risks infecting Democrats too, given the bad blood described in this piece.
94
@ChristineMcM
Exactly - Democrats, by and large, are not motivated by power in the same manner as Republicans. Even if, as with the Clintons, power is a strong motivator, there are still other tempering influences.
Republicans simply don't care. Power is the ultimate goal and the entire game.
5
@ChristineMcM
Exactly & precisely!’
2
@ChristineMcM "For the sake of political survival, this squabbling has to stop"
Absolutely! But that in itself is not enough. ALL the major actors mentioned in this article, if they have the best interests of the country at heart and hope for a Democrat victory in 2020, should leave the stage now and promise faithfully that they will never, ever return.
(I will possibly make an exception for Ms Tanden's mother, who seems to be doing her best in an honest struggle between loyalty to her daughter and weighing up what's right for the Democrat party.)
1
The issues we are facing as a nation deserve campaigns that focus on those challenges not petty, juvenile, personal vendettas between ancillary personnel staff. I will not vote for a candidate who mouths platitudes from a podium and engages in warfare behind the scenes-against a member of their own party. We have higher aims and defeating trump is the first step. These two need to grow up.
34
@S M Wilcox
Adapt Ronald Reagan's 11th commandment: "Thou shalt not speak ill of another Democrat>"
Clinton's team ran a campaign that didn't connect with voters and lost to a man who couldn't be less deserving to the highest office in the country. They aren't in a position to lecture anyone. If I take campaign advice from the Clinton team, I might as well take business advice from the current President.
242
@American This post is so frustrating. Clinton garnered 3 million MORE votes than Trump. She clearly connected to many more voters than Trump; it was their distribution that was problematic. Why not address that issue instead?
15
@American. Google the article- "Bernie plays hardball...' and read about the treatment of his female opponent.
Dig deep.
2
@Lesley Barnes Like it or not, we have the Electoral College, and that is how the winner is determined. If you lose Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio, that's a problem. Find a candidate who can win those states and the answer may be found.
12
Are men's mothers quoted about their sons' personalities? At what point is a professional woman allowed to be viewed by her own voice or actions? It seems so patronizing - as if Ms. Tanden is still a child and her parent has to weigh in. What does Faiz Shakir's mother think? Or Bernie Sanders's - well, there's that.
300
It’s pretty common journalistic practice to interview members of a subject’s inner circle. Family often doesn’t talk, so it’s rare that reaching out to them is fruitful. Bur parents, siblings, offspring etc. can offer illuminating perspectives on the individual being covered.
19
@Leo Yes, but in this case, Tanden's mother was a dominant source, and her comments were used by the writers to portray Neera Tanden in a negative light-- surely not what her mother intended.
38
In defense of NYT, Ms Tandon’s mother is quoted because she was available. And I would guess she was made available by Ms Tandon. You don’t have to look for gender discrimination angle in everything.
10
Bernie Sanders needs to go away and let the younger generation get started. I said that of the Clintons four years go, and of Sanders. They need to go away. There is so much talent in the younger generations and they just cast a gloomy shadow over the entire Democratic party. And I'm no millenial. I'm 63 and I want to see change, starting with a change in candidates. Years ago, I was a Bernie fan. No longer. Go away, Bernie, and take HRC with you.
62
I'm a millennial and I prefer Sanders. It isn't about age. It is about substance.
42
@WastingTime
I'm another millenial and ditto to John.
4
When Bernie lost to Hillary at the convention, he worked hard for her election as a long article in the New Yorker demonstrates. Hillary should be asked if she would support Bernie if he were to become the nominee of the Democratic Party. We need to stop this internecine bloodshed to defeat Trump and begin to restore decency to America.
84
@rxfxworld
No he didn't. That is more revisionist history.
The writing was on the wall for his campaign months before he finally conceded. He flatly stated he refused to give up no matter what harm he did to the Democratic Party.
Even when he conceded he blackmailed Clinton into adopting some of his agenda or he would not support her campaign.
Don't try and rewrite history, you will lose and look more foolish than you already do.
8
@mike Not true. 2016 Candidate Bernie Sanders said he would support the Democratic nominee from the outset. True to his word, he endorsed Hillary Clinton and made 37 campaign stops on behalf of her campaign.
It's not Bernie's fault that Hillary Clinton took 6 weeks off in the summer to relax in the Hamptons and Martha's Vineyard to meet with her donors.
14
@mike
That was the one and only Bernie Sanders--
who dismissed 'her infamous e-mails' from the very beginning of the--2016--election campaign...
11
I can understand why the energized left does not like Ms. Tanden (and by extension, the rest of the Clinton lieutenants). The Center for American Progress sounds like little more than a Clinton-backed American Enterprise Foundation, or Heritage Foundation, or the Cato Institute. Like these right wing organizations, the CAP is focused on raising money from the uber rich and happy to take funds from foreign interests in exchange for advocating for them. Their tone-deafness, as exemplified by the Saudi example, is stunning.
The wounds left from the 2016 election continue to be gaping and unhealed. It is dollars and the status quo versus the desire for fundamental change to the power structure.
146
The bitterness within the Democratic party is unfortunate, but not ultimately destructive. We're truly in a new, turbulent time. It's unclear when a new stability will emerge. These are the anguished beginnings of whatever will come next. It certainly won't be what came before, but new structures are not yet in place, nor are the people who will form them.
And :I'm amused at using Ms. Tanden's mother as the source to give insight into a person who clearly can speak for herself.
20
CAP has a vital role to play but it will need senior and accomplished leadership to reestablish its credibility. I hope the Board will act to put the organization back on a solid footing and bring meaning to the word “Progress.”
4
The Clintons refuse to give up trying to control the Democratic agenda and refuse to allow bright new leadership to start redirecting the Democratic Party on a new path to victory. It is not necessary to vilify other Democrat's positions while presenting your preferred alternative. Let the new ideas compete through an honest process. Yes, Sanders (who is far too socialist for me) made it difficult for Hillary to win the Presidency after securing the nomination, but she unfortunately proved to be a weak campaigner and tried to avoid taking positions on the toughest issues. She lost, the Clintonians need to move on and enjoy retirement for the benefit of the country. I would say the same thing for the Sanders' crowd.
19
@Mister Ed
"I would say the same thing for the Sanders' crowd."
Maybe if he takes a beating in the primaries. As it stands, he's the currently the frontrunner. No reason to move on just yet.
14
The Clintons created an agenda, true. But the reality is that many are following the agenda. It’s not a matter of them being puppet masters. Rather, there is a constituency that aligns with the planks.
In every poll that has both names, Mr. Sanders trails Joe Biden. We are likely still in the 'name recognition' stage of this race.
--MrJM
1
“Mr. Sanders’s team remains convinced that the Democratic establishment worked behind the scenes to deprive him of the party’s nomination in 2016”
INCORRECT: There is proof so they do not need to ‘remain convinced’
The Wikileaks revelations from Mrs Clinton’s emails prove that Mrs. Clinton and her enablers interfered in the Primary process to deny the nomination to Mr. Sanders.
The Russian interference hoax was intended to divert attention from the actual interference which secured the nomination for Mrs. Clinton.
150
Last I heard Bernie is an Independent and not a Democrat. So maybe he should run as an independent and then he and his bros can have no one to blame.
Also, see Mueller report. Putin helped Trump win and not Hillary.
17
@Robert Jennings
Absolutely spot on. They gave Clinton the questions before one of the debates! How much worse can they have done???
30
Really? Can you specify the specific leaks from WikiLeaks that show that?
11
The fissure continues, thus assuring 4 more years of DT. Running out of time.
112
@Ricardo de la O
"four more years of DT": so be it, but I will not vote for Biden.
1
@Ricardo de la O you may be right, I would never ever support Bernie and his notorious supporters.
1
@Fran So be it? That makes me ill.
1
"ThinkProgress ridicules his new status as one of the millionaires"
That is truly rich! The same people who supported Hillary, the Wall Street-supporting multi-millionaire, are calling the kettle black. The same people who were behind the corruption of the DNC in 2016 are still trying to game the system. The people who are responsible for the 2016 Hillary vs Trump election disaster are still being bitter and spiteful.
As with the Clintons, these people need to do some serious self-reflection and try to stop hurting America.
325
The point of their ridicule is to put focus on the hypocrisy of the Sanders camp. Being a millionaire is not evil.
12
@SalinasPhil Neera isn't mad that Sanders made a million, she's mad because Sanders didn't donate it all to her. Neera and the whole corrupt Dem establishment are fighting off those that want to reform the party and change it from a Corporate toady to a working people's party.
35
@Ashley I am in Sanders "camp" and we never said it was evil to be a millionaire. You misunderstand us entirely.
27