Biden Taps Top Bernie Allies to Craft Economic AgendaWashington Free Beacon, May 13, 2020
Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden has called on two of socialist senator Bernie Sanders's (I., Vt.) top allies to help lead an economic advisory group tasked with shaping the party's 2020 agenda.
The Biden campaign tapped top Sanders allies Stephanie Kelton and Sara Nelson to join a "unity task force" focused on developing the Democratic platform on the economy. An economist at Stony Brook University, Kelton served as an economic adviser to Sanders's failed presidential campaigns in 2016 and 2020. She has argued that the government can pay for expensive programs, including the $94 trillion Green New Deal, by printing more money. Nelson, who is president of the Association of Flight Attendants, was Sanders's guest to President Donald Trump's State of the Union address in February. She has been floated as the progressive pick to replace AFL-CIO leader Richard Trumka in 2021, tying her candidacy to the implementation of far-left values in the labor movement.
The appointments come as Sanders attempts to push Biden further to the left. While coronavirus has thwarted the socialist insurgent's plan to influence the party platform by seeking additional primary delegates—Sanders's campaign called New York state's decision to cancel its June presidential primary "a blow to American democracy"—the task force gives the Vermont senator an opportunity to sell Biden on far-left economic policies as the U.S. attempts to rebound from the pandemic. Following the task force announcement, Sanders released a statement touting the group's ability to move the Democratic Party in a "transformational and progressive direction." Biden appeared to agree, saying the task forces "will be essential to identifying ways to build on our progress" and "transform our country" in a Wednesday statement.
More:
https://freebeacon.com/issues/biden-taps-top-bernie-allies-to-craft-economic-agenda/
