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Determined to beat Trump and Republicans in November, Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders have established a commission to unite the Democratic Party on a progressive agenda that appeals to the party's various factions. Here, several Democratic presidential rivals and other activists and elected officials march arm-in-arm at a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day event in Columbia, S.C., Jan. 20, 2020. From left: Tulsi Gabbard, Joe Biden, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and S.C. Rep. Jim Clyburn. | Meg Kinnard / AP

Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders have established a task force to unite the Democratic Party on a progressive agenda. The action reflects the urgency that not only most in the Democratic Party but labor and all its allies place on the task of ousting Trump from the White House in November.

People whom progressives in the Democratic Party spent years battling against on a variety of issues are actually joining those same progressives in an effort to forge the unity needed to defeat Trump in November. And beyond defeating Trump, they are focusing too on freeing the U.S. Senate from the control of Mitch McConnell and his right-wing GOP minions, holding Democratic control of the House, and ousting GOP powerhouses from state legislative positions across the country.

The single-minded determination of a broad array of grassroots forces to oust Trump is what is behind the announcement last week by Biden and Sanders that they were forming a joint task force to hammer out a progressive program that will defeat Trump in November. The two have been appointing people to the new task force since last Wednesday.

Among the first to be appointed are New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and former Secretary of State John Kerry, both of whom have been named co-leaders of a subsection of the task force that will focus on the environment.

The formation of the unity task force, a Sanders condition for his endorsement of Biden, follows by four weeks his official announcement to back the former vice president.

Now, its no great secret out there, Joe, that you and I have our differences, and were not going to paper them over; thats real, Sanders said at the time. But I hope that these task forces will come together utilizing the best minds and people in your campaign and in my campaign to work out real solutions to these very, very important problems.

The problems of gross inequality and racism in the U.S. have become clearer than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic rages across the nation with people of color, the poor, and working people in general hit so much harder than the people at the top of the economic ladder.

People determined to defeat Trump are agreeing that just as it took the New Deal to pull the country out of the Great Depression it will take an entirely new approach to rescue both the health of the people and the economy this time. There is also a deepening realization by broad forces that it will not be possible to rise to the challenge unless Trump is removed from the White House.

The task forces include members from both the Biden and Sanders campaign, and their formation has already increased, by varying degrees, support for Biden by progressives who had backed Sanders and other candidates.

House Progressive Caucus co-chair Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a supporter of Medicare for All, for example, has already endorsed Biden.

Ocasio-Cortez, a leading supporter of Sanders and also a leading backer of Medicare for All, has not yet officially endorsed Biden, although she has announced she will be voting for him in November. She said official endorsement comes when one is convinced Biden is fully on board with the program of profound change that will be needed to defeat Trump.

While Ocasio-Cortez will co-chair the climate change subcommittee with Kerry in one of the most important subsections of the task force, there are five other important parts to the whole package. They include committees on criminal justice, the economy, education, health care, and immigration.

Trump has wasted no time trying to ramp up attacks on these latest Democratic efforts to unite behind Biden on a progressive agenda.

Many believed Trump was hoping Biden would lose the primaries to Sanders, allowing the president to paint the whole Democratic Party as socialist.

Events this week show, however, that red-baiting was Trumps plan regardless of whom the Democrats nominated. Immediately after the unity effort was launched this week by Sanders and Biden, Trump declared that now Joe Biden is the bannerman of the socialist agenda.

Jayapal will co-chair the health care group with Vivek Murthy, who served as surgeon general during the Obama administration.

The immigration subgroup of the task force is run by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, D-Calif., and Marielena Hincapi, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center.

Leading the economy subgroup is Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, and Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif. Bass is the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus and endorsed Biden in early March.

Chiraag Bains and Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., will lead the criminal justice reform group. Another prominent member of the criminal justice task force is former Attorney General Eric Holder, who served in the Obama administration.

Heather Gautney and Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Ohio., have been picked to lead the education group. Fudge serves on the House Committee on Education and Labor and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Gautney was a senior policy adviser to Sanderss presidential campaign.

From health care to reforming our justice system to rebuilding a more inclusive and fair economy, the work of the task forces will be essential to identifying ways to build on our progress and not simply turn the clock back to a time before Donald Trump, but transform our country, Biden said last week when talking about the task force.

Sanders last week urged the Democratic Party to think big, act boldly, and fight to change the direction of our country.

I commend Joe Biden for working together with my campaign to assemble a group of leading thinkers and activists who can and will unify our party in a transformational and progressive direction, Sanders said.

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Biden, Sanders form task force to unite party on progressive agenda - People's World

Progressiveswant to extract a concession from former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenKlobuchar to be next guest on Biden's podcast Former Inslee staffers pitch climate plan to Biden, Congress Trump says he'd be willing to give coronavirus aid to Iran MORE with his pick for a running mate after they failed to push one of their own to the top of the Democratic 2020 ticket.

Biden, a centrist who bestedmore liberal rivals such asSens. Bernie SandersBernie SandersSanders asks for donations to reelect members of 'The Squad' Klobuchar to be next guest on Biden's podcast Biden wins Wyoming Democratic caucus MORE (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth WarrenElizabeth WarrenSanders asks for donations to reelect members of 'The Squad' Providing safe child care during COVID-19 a life and death issue What Biden's VP choices bring and don't bring to the table MORE (D-Mass.) on his way to becoming the presumptive nominee, has already vowed to tap a woman as his vice presidential pick. But he will still have to traverse a political minefield to find a No. 2 who will most effectively expand his appeal and win over skeptical liberals.

Several advocacy groups told The Hill that tapping a progressiveto share the ticketwould go a long way in signaling to the party's left flank that he takes them and their policies seriously.

Joe Biden absolutely has to pick a progressive champion as his VP pick. He has to unify the party, and thats the key, Charles Chamberlain, head of Democracy for America, told The Hill. What we saw during the primary is we saw that we have two major factions of this party, the corporate wing, more establishment Democrats, and there is progressive, ascendant left. And he absolutely has to choose from that progressive left to unify the party.

Speculation over Bidens pick for a running mate kicked into hyper drive last week afterSanderss withdrawal made him the last man standing. But he will still have to recover after a divisive primary that exposed intraparty fissures.

The former vice president has consistently touted a moderate platform and campaigned on a return to normality, a stance anathema for progressives who demanded a political revolution to push the nation forward.

And while Biden has rejected leftwing policies including Medicare for All and the Green New Deal, liberal groups say the right running mate could still signal that he is willing to take progressive proposals with him into the Oval Office.

Running with a vice presidential nominee and the eventual vice president, that person matters in an administration. They bring with them a base, they bring with them followers and supporters, they bring with them a certain set of values and a particular agenda that would have to be taken seriously, said Maurice Mitchell, the national director of the Working Families Party.

The obstacles Biden faces in shoring up his left flank have been made apparent since hebecame the de facto standard-bearer. Some liberal voters are still smarting over the defeats of Sanders and Warren, and a coalition of eight progressive groups sent the former vice president a letter with a list of policies they demand he adoptif he wantstheir support.

Prominent Sanders supporters have already vowed to withholdtheir support for now, citing Biden's reluctance to adopt key progressive platforms.Briahna Joy Gray, whowas Sanderss national spokeswoman, emphatically declared this week: "I don't endorse Joe Biden."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-CortezAlexandria Ocasio-CortezSanders asks for donations to reelect members of 'The Squad' Omar introduces legislation to cancel rent, mortgage payments during pandemic Schumer says he's focused on job when asked about possible Ocasio-Cortez primary challenge MORE (D-N.Y.), a Sanders backer and one of the most prominent progressives in the nation, has also appeared tepid about a Biden endorsement, only saying "we'll see"during a web event this week when asked aboutdeclaring support forthe former vice president.

Were having conversations with Bidens team, and trying to figure out what some of these policy conversations will look like. I would love to see the vice president clarify and deepen his policy stances on certain issues," Ocasio-Cortez said, though she added, "I think its incredibly important we support the Democratic nominee in November."

Biden has offered preliminary olive branches to progressives, proposing dropping the age to qualify for Medicare from 65 to 60 and unveiling a plan to cancel some student debt.

Butwhile progressives told The Hill they appreciate Bidens first steps, those proposals have not tempered their desire to see one of their own byhis side.

Its both important for Vice President Biden to move on the issues, but also for him to surround himself with people who do have a track record of championing some of these issues that progressives care about deeply, said Alliance for Youth Action executive director Sarah Audelo, whose group signed onto the letter to Biden.

Biden could pick from a number of progressive women to serve as his VP. Among the most prominent contenders who have been floated are Warren and Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and state House minority leader. Both have openly expressed interest in the role, with Abrams saying she would be an excellent running mate for Biden and Warren confirming that she would accept an offer to be his No. 2.

I think Stacey Abrams in Georgia would fill a really important role to the ticket, it would bring a southerner from a very flippable state that also has flippable Senate races in it. She is very much loved by progressives, she would bring a lot to the ticket. Elizabeth Warren, fantastic, would definitely help unite the Bernie and Warren wing with the Biden wing, Chamberlain said.

While Biden has expressed admiration for several progressive contenders, he has also indicated that he needs a running mate with whom hes simpatico, drawing early warnings from liberals that a centrist pick could dampen enthusiasm for his candidacy and make his path to victory more difficult.

Doubling down on the same as what you are doesnt broaden your base, it doesnt broaden your support, Chamberlain said. Does Joe Biden want a landslide victory because hes unified the Democratic Party by putting the two most powerful constituencies together, or is he going to double down on the side of the party that won the nomination and alienate a critical part of his base?

Biden said at a fundraiser earlier this month his campaign will announce a committee in the middle of April to oversee the vice presidential vetting process, and a campaign official told The Hill there are no other details available at this time regarding a pick.

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Progressives look for concession from Biden with running mate | TheHill - The Hill

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A mere 24 hours after Bernie Sanders called it quits on his second presidential run, the Vermont senatorsyouthful supporters had a message for Joe Biden: Dont let us down.

We need you to champion the bold ideas that have galvanized our generation and given us hope in the political process, said a letter from the #EarnOurVote initiative, a coalition of eight youth-focused groups, including the Sunrise Movement, March for Our Lives, and Justice Democrats. Their four-page memo outlined the commitments the former vice presidentwho failed to win muchsupport from voters under 45 during the primariesshould take up in the general election campaign to earn the support of our generation and unite the party.

One of their main requests: that Biden appoint ardent progressives to key executive branch positions. The groups want left-of-center lawmakers who endorsed Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren to co-chair Bidens transition team; they want liberal economists like Joseph Stiglitz to serve on Bidens National Economic Council; and they want a trusted progressive to run the Presidential Personnel Office with the aim of keeping a Biden administration free of corruption. They also wanted Biden to refrain from appointing any current or former Wall Street executives or corporate lobbyists, or people affiliated with the fossil fuel, health insurance, or private prison corporations, to your transition team, advisor roles of cabinet.

The document is the first high-profile manifestation of an organized effort among progressive activists, scholars, and lawmakers that quietly came together over the last few weeks as Bidennot Sanderssalted away the Democratic nomination for president. The distaste many on the left have for the former vice presidents candidacy stems from his ties to the banking industry and centrist economists, among other things. Now that Biden is moving ahead to the general election, progressives are determined to exert what power they have to shape his future appointments.

In 2008, liberals felt theyd been steamrolled by the Obama transition, which unfolded largely without their input. The team installed Clinton-era neoliberals such as Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers into high-level roles, in which capacity they were in turngiven the keys to the recovery from the Great Recession.

Eight years later, progressive groups had armed themselves for an ideological battle over the make-up of the would-be Clinton administration. The Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank, had built a bench of 150 candidates for critical economic policy jobs under Clinton. The Revolving Door Project, a progressive watchdog group that tracks corporate influence, dug into potential appointees it found undesirable based on their connections to business interests. Elizabeth Warren had brought Clinton her own list of potential appointees. Sanders, meanwhile, chose to spend the capital hed accumulated in his formidable primary fight on changes to DNC rules that he believed would level the playing field for party outsiders like himself.

Clinton, a policy wonk at heart, ultimately left little room for influence when it came to her potential appointees. But progressives were heartened by some of her choices, such as inequality expert Heather Boushey, the chief economist at the left-leaning Washington Center for Equitable Growth. Clinton had tapped her as the chief economist on her transition team and her likely pick to lead the White Houses National Economic Council.

At first blush, Bidens long political career and Obama ties might make him seem like a worst-case scenario for progressives who want to exert some influence. Hes spent nearly five decades at the highest levels of federal elected office, and his team had been intimately involved in the 2008 Obama transition that many on the left decried. But the former vice president ran a campaign that, for the most part, remained ideologically agnostic and scant on policy details. That, in combination with his White House experience, may actually set the table well for progressives hoping to exercise some control, says Chris Lu, who served as a deputy secretary of labor during the Obama administration and executive director of the ObamaBiden transition.

Bidens team knows its not just about the 100-day legislative strategythey know he needs a regulatory strategy around what Trump regs need to be turned around, and a budget, which is usually unveiled sometime in February, Lu explains. Thats to the benefit of the progressive community, because a lot of their ideas can be translated more readily by folks who understand the process.

There are also some signs that Biden wants to cooperate with the left. Last month, Biden adopted Elizabeth Warrens bankruptcy proposal, a plan that would reverse much of the 2005 bankruptcy bill he had championed as a US senator. As progressive youth groups released their list of demands last week, Biden announced that he supported dropping the Medicare qualifying age to 60 and canceling student debt for some low- and middle-income studentsmodest overtures to the progressive activists. And on Monday, Sanders and Biden announced that their trusted advisers would team up on six policy task forces focusing on topics such as the economy, climate change, and criminal justice, an effort the Biden campaign says will lay the groundwork for Bidens general election platform and presidential transition.

So far, the reception among liberal leaders and Sanders loyalists has been flat. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who had endorsed Sanders, told theNew York Times that Bidens concessions were almost insulting in their meagerness. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), who co-chairs the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told theTimes she needs to see real movement from the former veep.

Lu has been in touch with a number of the progressive groups seeking advice on how to have a say in Bidens appointees. Hes encouraged them to think about positions that touch a lot of decisions, such as those in the Office of Management and Budget and the National Economic Council. He also says they should consider whom they might want named to lower-level positions beyond the Cabinet. Everyone sort of thinks about the Cabinetand the Cabinet is important, Lu says, but who runs NOAA, for instance, can send an important signal about climate change priorities, and if you want something done on workers rights, you need someone at OSHA who gets it.

Other important players are reprising some aspect of their 2016 roles. The Roosevelt Instituteto which a pair of former Warren policy aides, Julie Margetta Morgan and Bharat Ramamurti, recently decampedhas been reaching out to experts, sources familiar with their work tell Mother Jones, but the think tank isnt currently performing the same bench-building effort it undertook in 2016. We believe its important to have progressive, reform-minded personnel that are ready and able to use the full power of the government to make a difference in peoples everyday lives, said spokesperson Ariela Weinberger when asked about the early outreach.

The Revolving Door, led by Jeff Hauser, is working with allied groups to identify people theyd prefer that Biden not appoint to his administration. Among those on Revolving Doors no-fly list: Larry Fink, chair and CEO of the financial services behemoth BlackRock, who Biden donors floated as a Treasury pick at a recent fundraiser; Erskine Bowles, a former Bill Clinton chief of staff whoco-chaired an Obama administration task force that called for cuts in benefits for the elderly, veterans, and government workers; and Jeffrey Zients, Obamas final director of the National Economic Council who now serves as president of the Cranemere Group, a London-based private equity firm. Hes a bundler for the Biden campaign and, during his White House tenure, Zients had been a proponent of austerity. I fear he might be this generations Robert Rubin, Hauser says,referring to the finance-friendly Clinton administration Treasury secretary.

One remaining question is what role Elizabeth Warrens will play. The Massachusetts senator has remained front and center in the debate over the nations response to the coronavirus pandemic, releasing plans to safeguard the economy and protect voting rights. She endorsed Biden on Tuesday, but has yet to announce any formal collaborations with the former vice president.*

But theres reason to believe she may reprise her 2016 efforts. Dont forget that Warrens entrance into national politics came by way of her feud with Biden over bankruptcy legislation in the aughts. She was a Harvard bankruptcy professor, then, and Biden was a senator whom she accused of performing energetic work on behalf of the credit card companies. In those days she saw him as a man from whom working families needed to be protected. Now hes the standard-bearer of the party that wants to speak for them.

*This story has been updated to reflect Elizabeth Warrens endorsement of Joe Biden.

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Joe Biden Is the Democratic Nominee. Progressives Are Worried About His Cabinet. - Mother Jones

Cohen said he views Warren as the strongest unity candidate and moderate Sen. Amy Klobuchar as the most divisive choice for Bidens running mate. And Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants, has also been singing Warrens praises in talks with the Biden campaign.

She would be a wonderful choice, Nelson said. Were watching her leadership play out in real time during this coronavirus crisis and she would unite the party.

Warren's advocates argue that she would bring a number of strengths to the ticket, including a strong record on many progressive issues and a robust small-dollar fundraising operation.

A recent POLITICO/Morning Consult poll showed Warren with the highest net favorability ratings of the potential VP candidates listed. And her experience in the Senate and in launching a consumer advocacy agency could play well with Democrats who said in the survey that they value experience for Bidens vice presidential pick more than race, age, or ideology.

Despite the scar tissue from the primary, some Sanders campaign officials said Warren is the most viable progressive in contention for Bidens vice presidential selection.

I think one of the things we should do as a progressive movement is, given that he cant pick Bernie he said hes going to pick a woman we should push for the most progressive woman, Khanna said. And in my view, thats Elizabeth Warren.

Yet other Sanders allies and aides are outright dismissive of any effort to make Warren the consensus pick of the left. Sanders campaign leadership believes that her assertion that Sanders privately told her a woman couldnt win, which he denied, hurt him among female voters and amounted to a personal betrayal. Sanders was also deeply disappointed that she didnt endorse him after she dropped out of the primary, and it even made him question her progressivism, a person close to their talks previously told POLITICO.

"Youre not going to see a lot of groups who endorsed Bernie pushing for [Warren] given how things ended, said one leader of a group that backed Sanders. The person privately believes Warren would probably be the person who would win over the most progressives but said the organization would likely stay mum given the raw feelings.

A former aide to Sanders' 2020 campaign added, Elizabeth Warren has a progressive voting record and progressive ideas and has been a progressive leader. But if the goal is to bring disaffected Democrats into the fold, I think the primary and how that played out complicates her ability to do that.

Many former Warren aides scoff at the finger-pointing and say Sanders campaign has itself to blame for his defeat.

Others Sanders supporters recommended people other than Warren to be Bidens running mate.

Rep. Marc Pocan (D-Wis.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and a top Sanders endorser, talked up his home state senator Tammy Baldwin. At the same time, he disagreed with the notion that Sanders and Warren arent on good terms and said their teams have worked together with the CPC on battling the coronavirus.

I dont know if we have a particular VP candidate, he said of progressives generally. Personally, Im a huge fan of Tammy Baldwins. Wisconsins a must-win state. Shes a progressive. She won the state by 11 points.

Melissa Byrne, the former grassroots director for Sanders in California and New York, suggested Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) on Twitter Tuesday, and Sanders policy adviser Terrel Champion cheered her on.

Other progressives are advocating for the vice presidential pick to be a woman of color. Groups including Indivisible, She the People, and Latino Victory Project signed a letter in March calling for just that.

Jennifer Epps-Addison, the co-executive director of Center for Popular Democracy, which endorsed Sanders, seconded that call. "We think the VP pick must be a woman of color, she told POLITICO, adding that Stacey Abrams is qualified beyond measure.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday also signaled she wants a progressive woman of color on the ticket in interviews with POLITICO and ABCs The View. Asked which woman she wanted to see on the ticket, Ocasio-Cortez said to have our first female vice president and to have that be a woman of color is a significant milestone.

But she then subtly acknowledged the lack of a consensus choice: In terms of who that is, you know, its really hard to kind of, um, to point some out because there are leaders out there, but, you know, I dont think we have a shortage of them. Thats for sure.

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Progressive movement wary of Warren for VP - POLITICO

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Editor:

With democracy on Novembers ballot, progressives must act to ensure that we preserve the system of government envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

We have already won the war of ideas. Especially with the onslaught of COVID-19, Americans increasingly favor universal health coverage. A majority of all Americans believe that climate change should be a top priority for the president and Congress.

Our only chance to meaningfully address the many critical issues facing our country public and personal health, the environment, resuscitation of our economy, wealth inequality, student debt, immigration, mass incarceration, public education and more is through our vote in the November election.

Another Supreme Court justice in the mold of the two most recent appointees would be fatal to our civil liberties and civil rights.

The self-anointed pro-life conservatives have been exposed as not even remotely valuing life. They have allowed COVID-19 to become a catastrophe and caused countless unnecessary deaths by first denying the pandemic and then delaying and bumbling its response.

They told us the elderly should become human sacrifices on the altar of the stock market so business as usual can quickly resume. They suggested we pack the churches on Easter despite a life-threatening contagion ravaging our country.

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They withheld life-saving equipment and supplies to punish blue states or had governors who failed to show sufficient appreciation. What could be less life affirming?

Our votes will write the next chapter of American history. Lets write a chapter that cherishes our democracy and works to make it better.

Sincerely,

William C. Bumgarner

Bernalillo

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Letter to the Editor: Progressives must vote well in Nov. - Albuquerque Journal