Sanders' campaign chief aiming to push Biden leftward

[Donkees]

Excerpt:

Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign manager is running a new media startup aiming to use ideologically driven storytelling to push the Biden administration to the left, the group tells Axios.


Why it matters: Faiz Shakir's new venture, dubbed More Perfect Union, scored a win last week when White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain shared its video about efforts to unionize an Alabama Amazon warehouse. It was an early sign the administration is attuned to the priorities of its party's left flank.

Klain's tweet came shortly after President Biden backed organizing efforts at the Amazon facility.

What's happening: Shakir told Axios he remains a political adviser to Sanders (I-Vt.).

He formed More Perfect Union and an advocacy arm late last year. The nonprofit groups are independent of Sanders' political operation but share its policy goals and some of its tactics, Shakir said.

"We have a desire for policy change or political change," Shakir said during an interview. "We aren't going to be afraid to say, 'Hey, you know, based off of our reporting, what we've learned on this, a policy solution to address this would be X, Y or Z.'"

A staff of 12 has already produced videos covering issues including student debt, marijuana legalization, technology policy and abortion.

https://www.axios.com/sanders-shakir-biden-media-startup-117c463f-20d9-4554-8916-40095c851de2.html

[Me.]

1. I Would Suggest THat No One Is Pushing Biden Anywhere

He knows what he is doing and will continue with his plans.

[PatSeg]

3. That was my reaction as well

During the election, a young MSNBC contributor suggested that Kamala Harris was an excellent choice for VP, as she would pull Biden more to the left. She was corrected very quickly by an older, more experienced person (I'm pretty sure it was Michael Steele), who explained that Biden will be President and he will set the agenda and make the decisions. In another words, the implication that Biden would be so wishy-washy and uncertain, that he could be swayed was rather insulting as well as naïve.

The President will listen to expert advice and weigh his options, but no one is going to transform him into something he isn't. At this point in his career, I think he knows what he is doing. Apparently a lot of people are surprised that he is more progressive than they thought, but that may be because he is also a skillful and pragmatic politician, much like FDR or Abraham Lincoln. He has always been a liberal, but he is also a realist and knows how to evaluate the political climate.

[Me.]

7. This

[MineralMan]

2. President Biden Needs No Pushing

Such pushing is more of a publicity campaign for the pushers than an effective strategy.

Joe Biden already has progressive goals.

[PatSeg]

4. Yep

Some people just need to be talking so they can get some media attention.

[MineralMan]

6. Exactly!

[PatSeg]

8. And no one knows that better than Biden

He's dealt with the press and political operatives for decades. At this point in his career, I'm sure he lets a lot of this just wash over him, so he can focus on the things that really matter.

[Nixie]

11. Yes!

[SidDithers]

5. ...

Sid

[LetMyPeopleVote]

9. I seriously doubt this person will be successful

Joe is going to do what he thinks is best for country

[George II]

14. That person wasn't very successful in his last venture.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

17. I am amused that given this person's bad track record, they expect to be taken seriously

[TwilightZone]

10. The time would be better spent supporting Biden's agenda and getting the word out.

This smells of attention-seeking.

[ismnotwasm]

12. They think Biden wouldn't support unionization without a "push" ?????

Are they serious?

[George II]

13. Joe Biden's first 50 days have probably been more productive than any previous President....

....in history. Biden won the Democratic nomination and the Presidency. He and his people know what they're doing, he needs no outside "pushing", particularly from another campaign's chief.

They may "have a desire for policy change or political change", but the fact that Biden was elected is a good indication that his policies are what the American people want.

A little more from the article:

Between the lines: Shakir declined to identify his new venture's funders

As a nonprofit venture, More Perfect Union does not have to reveal them, though entities such as labor unions and foundations may end up disclosing grants to the group.

Why don't they want to identify their contributors? Seems contrary to what they've been demanding of other committees.

[Me.]

18. This...

[murielm99]

15. I would not trust a venture that

would not disclose its backers.

As far as policy change or political change, we got that when Biden was elected. He is off to a great start!

[BGBD]

16. Since when is

Last edited Thu Mar 11, 2021, 03:47 PM - Edit history (1)

Supporting unions a "left wing" of the party issue? I'm pretty sure mainstream democrats have been fighting for unions for the past 50 years.

[George II]

19. I've been called a "centrist" here, but I've belonged to three unions over the years. My brother....

....would not be alive today were it not for his union job, and my father was one of the first non-AA members of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters - the "Pullman Porters Union".

In all honesty were are/were "progressive" before that word got redefined, but we're considered to the right of those bashing the Democratic Party of today.

[Hortensis]

20. No thanks to a "left" that would refuse to raise the MW from $7.25 to $11.

I spit at "standing" on $15 or nothing when nothing means millions now have to struggle on at $7.25.

When $15 became impossible, Biden let Sanders know he would back him and the other senators if they agreed on the $11 being floated. That raise could be in the bill about to be signed into law. But no! Sanders refused to let his committee consider it.

Biden is a moral man who genuinely cares about the welfare of the people.

Sanders would never choose to live on $7.25 instead of $11 for himself.

Well, Biden would never have chosen it for others.

[Me.]

22. ...

[AZProgressive]

23. So conservatives like Manchin can kill the $15 minimum wage rather

Than do what most House & Senate Democrats as well as what Biden wants but now it is on Sanders and the left to accept Susan Collins $11 minimum wage proposal?

[JustAnotherGen]

21. Not seeing it

Its learning . . . he learned during the Obama Admin
1. Go big or go home
2. Take victory laps

Now he needs to work with blue state delegates to get the SALT CAP lifted.

[Donkees]

24. 'Faiz Shakir, spoke twice with Ron Klain about having Biden back the Amazon unionization efforts.'

Faiz Shakir, former Sanders aide now at @MorePerfectUS, spoke twice with WH Chief of Staff Ron Klain about having Biden back the Amazon unionization efforts. @FlyingWithSara also urged WH officials to make statement

Link to tweet

In at least one area, Sanders and Biden have full agreement, Politico finds. Sara Nelson, the president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, told Politico that,“The labor platform was aligned almost entirely” in the Biden-Sanders unity task force.

https://truthout.org/articles/sanderss-staff-talked-to-white-house-nearly-every-day-when-pushing-for-15-wage/