Quote of the Day

At this point, [Bernie] Sanders and avid supporters of the Bernie 2020 campaign have ample reasons to feel frustrated, even “enormously” insulted. It’s small comfort that [President-elect] Biden’s [administration and cabinet] picks so far are purportedly “not as bad as Obama’s” were 12 years ago. That’s a low bar, especially to those who understand that Barack Obama heavily corporatized his presidency from the outset. And given the past decade’s leftward political migration among Democrats and independents at the grassroots, Biden’s selections have been even more out of step with the party’s base.

. . . At this juncture, while Sanders is ill-positioned and uninclined to push back very hard against the evident trajectory of Biden’s decisions, many progressives are starting to throw down gauntlets against the corporate and militaristic aspects of the incoming presidency. While the lunacy of the Trumpian GOP is non-stop and corporate Democrats have control of party top-down power levers, the broad democratic left is now stronger, better-funded and better-networked than it has been in many decades, with greatly enhanced electoral capacities as well as vitality of its social movements. Those electoral capacities and social movements have long been intertwined with the tireless work of Bernie Sanders. But a crucial dynamic going forward into 2021 and beyond will be the resolve of progressives to methodically challenge the Biden administration.

– Norman Solomon
Excerpted from “Bernie Sanders and Our
Winter of Progressive Discontent”
Common Dreams
December 14, 2020

Related Off-site Links:
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Warns Biden That War and Wall Street Appointees Are a “Huge Reason We Got Trump” – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, December 16, 2020).
Don’t Fawn Over Biden. Fight Neoliberalism – Kelly Hayes (TruthOut, December 16, 2020).
Nina Turner Launches Bid for Congress, Pledging “No Honeymoon” for Biden Administration – Democracy Now! (December 16, 2020).
In Her Second Term, Rep. Ilhan Omar Focuses on Pushing Biden on Progressive Agenda – Star Tribune (December 14, 2020).
Survey Shows Americans – Regardless of Partisan Affiliation – Don’t Want Biden to Appoint a Corporate Cabinet – Brett Wilkins (Common Dreams, December 16, 2020).
“A Troubling Indication of What Could Be to Come”: Biden Quietly Adds Goldman Sachs and Big Tech Officials to Transition – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, December 15, 2020).
“A Terrible Decision”: Progressives Denounce Biden Pick of “Mr. Monsanto” Tom Vilsack as Ag Secretary – Jake Johnson (Democracy Now!, December 9, 2020).
“Bad News”: Biden Picks Retired General and Raytheon Board Member Lloyd Austin as Pentagon Chief – Jake Johnson (Common Dreams, December 8, 2020).
Dr. Cornel West: People Went to Sleep Under Obama; Pay Closer Attention to Corporate Greed and Pentagon Militarism Under Biden – Ann Brown (The Moguldom Nation, November 20, 2020).

UPDATES: Bernie Sanders Dubbed “National Treasure” After $2,000 Stimulus Appeal – Brendan Cole (MSN News, December 31, 2020).
How Democrats and Beltway Pundits Just Helped Mitch McConnell Undermine Bernie Sanders’ Push for Direct Aid to Millions of Americans – David Sirota and Andrew Perez (The Daily Poster, December 30, 2020).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• Cornel West: Quote of the Day – December 3, 2020
• Progressive Perspectives on the 2020 U.S. Election Results
• “As Much the Sounding of An Alarm As a Time for Self-Congratulations”
• We Cannot Allow a Biden Win to Mean a Return to “Brunch Liberalism”

Image: Kristen Solberg.