By: Beth Baumann
https://muckrack.com/beth-baumann
Progressives voted for former Vice President Joe Biden out of hate for President Donald Trump, not because they were excited about a potential Biden presidency. Now progressives are even more upset with the presumptive President-elect. The reason? They aren't a fan of his cabinet picks.
The Justice Democrats – the progressive group responsible for the rise of Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – on Tuesday slammed the Biden Team's "corporate-friendly insiders" like Rep. Cedric Richmond and political aide Steve Ricchetti. Richmond was tapped one of Biden's senior advisers and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Ricchetti was named as a White House counselor.
According to the Justice Democrats, both Ricchetti and Richmond's appointments ail to "help usher in the most progressive Democratic administration in generations."
>>"If Joe Biden continues making corporate-friendly appointments to his White House, he will risk quickly fracturing the hard-earned goodwill his team built with progressives to defeat Donald Trump," the group's executive director, Alexandra Rojas, said in a statement. "
The progressive organization takes issue with Richetti being a former pharma lobbyists, where he represented clients who opposed Medicare for All, one of the far left's biggest pushes.
The other issue progressives have made a key part of their identity over the last few years: the Green New Deal According to the Justice Democrats, Richmond's appointment hinders that goal when he's "one of the top Democratic recipients of fossil fuel money." He allegedly received $92,000 rom oil and gas PACs this year alone.
>>"Richmond has been aggressively criticized by his own constituents for failing to act on their concerns revolving around industry regulations and the climate crisis," Rojas explained.
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bethbaumann/2020/11/18/let-the-infighting-continue-biden-delivered-another-blow-to-the-progressive-community-n2580345