Tag Archives: Jill Karofsky

4/14 Jill Karofsky’s Win In WISCt Was Powered by Progressives & Moderates; More about the Path of the Biden Endorsement; Morning OT

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Looks like Ms. Karofsky got a lot of Dem and some indie support to bolster her to victory over incumbent Justice Daniel Kelley. Great story is emerging from this set of tweets by Ben Wikler, the WI Dem Party Chairman

Yet these same voters couldn’t vote for Bernie. I digress.

Alright, more about election day results for Karofsky:

Good for Wisconsin. Hopefully the SCOW will better serve the needs of all people, not just the corporate interests.

The communications between Sanders and Biden camps indicate engagement as teams are forming to discuss issues and strategies. The NYT has some more superficial but still interesting reporting on the relationship-building transition process of the two entities.

That news of the endorsement did not leak beforehand was another signal of the growing unity between the campaigns. Only a small group of people on each campaign knew it was happening, according to a person familiar with the discussions.

Ms. Warren and Mr. Biden have also spoken multiple times since her exit about policy issues, including the plan that Mr. Biden has developed to respond to the pandemic. At the staff level, Ms. Warren’s chief campaign strategist, Joe Rospars, and Anita Dunn, a senior adviser to Mr. Biden, have been engaged in talks bridging the two camps.

Ms. Dunn, along with Ron Klain, another longtime Biden adviser, played a central role in negotiations with the Sanders camp in recent weeks, while a top Sanders political adviser, Jeff Weaver, and campaign manager Faiz Shakir, represented the Vermont senator.

The scene on Monday was a striking example of the ways the coronavirus has upended traditional campaigning. In normal times, both men most likely would have appeared onstage together at a rally — or at least done so at an event with more pomp. Instead, they appeared at their homes, as they have been doing for weeks.
When Mr. Sanders officially declared his endorsement, Mr. Biden seemed visibly moved. “Oh!” Mr. Biden said, before dropping his head as if he hardly saw it coming.

The two men said they would form “task forces” on issues including the economy, education, immigration, health care, criminal justice and climate change. Mr. Biden’s campaign said that the groups would include “policy experts and leaders that represent the diverse viewpoints of the Democratic Party,” and promised updates on the groups’ progress.

Two senior Biden advisers, Cristóbal Alex and Symone D. Sanders, who both have relationships in the progressive sphere, have been reaching out to leading liberal organizations, including groups that focus on immigrants’ rights and on climate. And Representative Cedric Richmond, Mr. Biden’s campaign co-chairman, has spoken with his counterpart on the Sanders campaign, Representative Ro Khanna, about the need to unite the party.

Still, Mr. Sanders’s endorsement surprised many of the progressive grass-roots groups that had endorsed his candidacy and that are struggling with the prospect of the more moderate Mr. Biden becoming the nominee. Some worried that it undercut the leverage Mr. Sanders might have to persuade Mr. Biden to make policy concessions.

“We want those task forces to be given real power in the campaign and in the party apparatus,” Mr. Weber, of the Sunrise Movement, said. “Not just gestures but real commitments.”

It is unclear how much sway Mr. Sanders would have over Mr. Biden’s campaign decisions, including his potential cabinet or vice-presidential selections. In a Friday interview with PBS NewsHour, Mr. Sanders acknowledged a preference for Mr. Biden to pick a more progressive running mate but said he had not weighed in on the choice.

“Joe is going to have to make that decision himself,” Mr. Sanders said.

Throughout the campaign, Mr. Sanders had often referred to Mr. Biden as his “friend” and the two men have a personal relationship that has remained intact. Even as the field dwindled, Mr. Sanders was reluctant to attack Mr. Biden directly and largely did so only for a brief spell near the end of his campaign that included the last debate — and only on policy.

That comity was on display Monday in an appearance that at times resembled a slapdash buddy skit, with levity that offered a brief respite from the seriousness of a national health crisis. The two men seemed to delight in talking to each other — bantering away on subjects that generally sounded as if they had been cleared with campaign aides.

“Do you have any questions for me, Bernie?” Mr. Biden said.

“I did, Joe,” he said. Both gushed their effusive praise.

Near the end, when Mr. Biden asked Mr. Sanders if there was anything else he wanted to do, Mr. Sanders quipped that they should “play some chess.”

“I’d like to play chess!” Mr. Biden said.

But Mr. Sanders was out of moves.

As Mr. Biden’s live stream drew to a close, a message popped up on his one-time rival’s video screen: “You are muted by host.”

The same article says that Warren is supposed to endorse sometime soon.

More news in the comments.