From: Neera Tanden
Sent: October 21, 2011
“Subject: RE: Should Libya pay us back?
We have a giant deficit. They have a lot of oil. Most Americans would choose not to engage in the world
because of that deficit. If we want to continue to engage in the world, gestures like having oil rich
countries partially pay us back doesn’t seem crazy to me.” (This is a shortened version of Tanden’s tweet; the full text is easily available online.)
My question is this: Why are our two Senators, Markey and Warren, even considering voting to put Neera Tanden in charge of the OMB? It’s like bringing Trump back to the White House.
Please share widely!
Agreed. I have the sense that the party will not be entirely devastated if the nomination of Ms. Tanden is eventually withdrawn or defeated. Mr. Biden is known for his political chops, and Mr. Manchin’s high-profile opposition to her nomination helps him with his red-feathered constituency.
Perhaps Ms. Tanden has always been a “redshirt” (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redshirt_(stock_character)).
I feel like I’m missing context here. What would they pay us back for? I don’t have enough information to judge if this is “crazy”. Honestly I’m not sure why this position is Senate-confirmable. OMB director strikes me as a position internal to the WH who advises POTUS on crafting his budget. Seems this position should go pretty much to whomever POTUS wants. I’m also not a fan of both left and right grasping at straws to try to find anything to sink her with, which is what it feels like to me.
The consensus seems to be that she was saying that the campaign of bombing that led to the downfall of Kadhafy was a kind of favor. And in return we could cut the deficit here in the USA.
There are a lot of other positions she has taken over the years that are problematic, not to mention her tenure at the Center for American Progress, if you’re looking for more context.
I left all that out because I don’t like my posts to be longer than necessary and I thought that this idea alone was close to disqualifying. It might look like I’m grasping at straws, but I’m really pulling on a thread.
Is there something specifically problematic with her tenure at CAP? The organization itself I see as a net positive.
I think this misses the political point.
Joe Manchin is in a tough Trump-leaning state (WV). Democrats want him to vote our way on each and every crucial agenda item of the Joe Biden administration. If he does that, it will make him vulnerable to attacks from his constituents that he’s nothing more than a rubber-stamp for the “leftist socialist Democrat radicals”.
Opposing this nomination gives him something concrete to counter those criticisms with. That’s why I think Ms. Tanden is a red-shirt (or perhaps sacrificial lamb).
I suspect his high-profile opposition to putting the $15/hr minimum wage in the ARP is a similar play. I think there will be back-room handshake to take that provision out of the ARP, giving him another trophy to present to his WV Trumpists. I suspect that the second part of that deal is that he’ll support a $15/hr minimum wage provision when it is brought up on its own or as part of some other vital program.
Joe Biden got points for nominating Ms. Tanden (just as Walter Mondale and the Democrats got points for nominating Geraldine Ferraro). When the nomination is derailed, he and the Democratic party can accurately blame Trumpist “hypocrites” and “extremists”.
Some other candidate is offered up, Mr. Manchin goes along, and everybody wins (except Ms. Tanden).
Can’t Manchin go full populist on the minimum wage and other working class items? I distinctly recall Elizabeth Warren getting a great reception when she was running for President there.
There’s this Christopher, Amid Scrutiny of Tweets, Tanden’s Role in Killing a Union Website Should Not Be Forgotten — FAIR.
I would hope that a Democratic administration would not be a home for union busters. Call me a purist.
There seems to be some dispute about her role in that, and I’m not sure how relevant it is to the job she now seeks.
Don’t grasp at straws.
I don’t think Mr. Biden ever expected her nomination to fly — that’s why I think she’s been a “redshirt” from the start.
When all the dust settles, Joe Biden and the Democrats will have gained lots of credit for nominating Ms. Tanden. The episode provides lots of campaign fodder against GOP candidates in the 2022 and 2024 campaigns. The “no” vote from Mr. Manchin helps him a great deal in WV. The private permission for “no” votes from Mr. Manchin and Ms. Sinema was surely given in exchange for a promise of cooperation on later tough votes.
Meanwhile, after a great deal of public wailing and gnashing of teeth, Mr. Biden and the Democrats will “reluctantly” offer a different nominee who will be easily confirmed.
We can hope that the confirmed nominee will in fact be a friend of labor.