3967

There is a chunk of truth to that.

An agency’s political appointee leader - even a cabinet level one - can have as much or as little influence on their agencies as they want. 99% of the work that any given agency does is carried out by career government workers, not the political appointees. That’s fairly obvious to everyone, I imagine.

But the vast majority of the political policy work is carried out by the career guys too. They are the ones that write the drafts, the briefings, etc. The tone of those documents may change based on the political leadership of the agency, but only if those leaders care enough to make that effort.

And a LOT of them simply do not do much of anything. These people do the glad-handing and conference circuit associated with the position, and do a fair amount of travel to other countries to meet with their counterparts for a photo-op, before slinking off to do sight-seeing and letting the career guys do the actual work. The job is a reward for support during the election; it looks good on a resume but does not require much in the way of expertise or effort. This is especially true for well-established, stable agencies that are running fine.

So for such appointments, if the person in the position isn’t going to do much anyway, why not have a diverse pick warming that seat rather than the default white guy?

3968

I kind of agree with Delaney. It’s not a dumb statement. I certainly care more about expertise and/or competence in those positions than I do about political lean. I’d take a really smart, passionate moderate over a disconnected, inexperienced progressive 7 days a week. And as with all hiring decisions, you have to overcome intrinsic resistance to diversity by explicitly aiming for it. It’s really a good thing to shoot for a diverse Cabinet, which again, I’d prioritize above political lean, depending on the position, particularly since the policy goals of moderates and progressives in the Democratic party align like 90% of the time.

And who, among Biden’s diverse slate of nominees for Cabinet positions, do you think is a bad pick?

3969

I agree, it’s not dumb.

In 2011, Elizabeth Warren stepped down from the CFPB to run for the Senate. She was replaced by a moderate, but I don’t think anyone noticed the difference. Their priorities were ultimately set by Obama.

3970

I am not sure why this is really coming up. It seems like Biden is picking from a diverse group of individuals.

3971

I think maybe some folks are saying that he’s not picking enough far left progressives? Pretty sure that Biden and Harris are literally antifa communists though.

3972

This is the crux of it.

3973

This same group is trying to exclude minority groups from being able to even call themselves progressive. It’s so ridiculous.

3974

Because some of the far left wants to invent reasons to complain about Biden, because for their political project to succeed Biden must be seen to fail.

3975

It’s more that the diversity that is being shown is performative and not substantial.

During the BLM protests, this claim was being made frequently, and with good reason. Younger folks aren’t seeing change they believe in, they think it’s all performative.

The annoying thing I’m seeing from some centrists is that the left was, and is still willing to give Biden a chance, even if there is a lack of trust. They really held their powder during the election, and then the first thing you hear is centrists blaming the left for their loss of seats in Congress during 2020. Personally, I get the constraints Biden is under, and I’m willing to wait and see more than some.

Also, I like how some folks here are conflating leftists with accelerationists (who most on the left think are a dangerous form of leftist).

I’d argue it’s more centrists are trying to marginalize progressive minorities in favor of minorities who won’t actually do anything to solve the problem, as well as the typical claims that leftists are trying to exclude minorities because they dare to criticize minority candidates on their positions (which are fair game, and it would be racist to not do this)

The one criticism I have of leftists is that they protect their own a bit too much when they step over the line, such as Omar (who I consider a liability)

My issues with that statement is that I see it as encouraging performative change over anything that requires work.

3976

It seems to be a rather peculiar mission, especially since they can’t decide where minorities are allowed to go in this grand plan of theirs.

3978

If he was there, Adonis would be attacking him for ignoring the tier 4 regulations.

3979

This is the whitest thing I’ve ever read. Well, at least since I read the twitter reaction to the appointment of Alex Padilla to replace Kamala Harris yesterday. :D

3980

Does that include the black spokeswomen here in California (didn’t catch what group she was with) who was upset the pick wasn’t a black woman.

3981

Eh, it’s probably Barbara Lee who they were talking about (that’s just me guessing, there was speculation she might get the appointment), and I get it. It’s not so much that she was passed over as a black woman (though perhaps that’s part of it) but also that she’s very much a leader of the progressive wing of the party.

3982

Barbara Lee and another woman were mentioned by the person I saw on the local news regretting Newsom’s choice. Lee was actually quoted as being fine with the selection.

3983

Yeah, I’m not quite sure what this means. Biden has choices about who to appoint for his Cabinet positions. He actually and really seems to be nominating the most diverse Cabinet in history, by far. Maybe that’s performative? (Politics is all performance.) But who cares? It’s really happening, and we’ll end up with an actually diverse Cabinet (Senate willing.) Kamala Harris will actually be the first female Vice President. When you perform substance, what you get is substance.

3984

Agree. Performative would be making a show of considering a diverse set of candidates and then not choosing any of them. Actually choosing them? That’s delivering.

3985

Sometimes I see my wife hug our children but what if it’s performative…

3986

You may or may not be relieved to learn that, per Descartes, you can’t even be sure that your wife and children exist.

3987

I like everyone on this forum performatively.