They Fueled A.O.C.âs Win. Can They Shape the N.Y.C. Mayorâs Race?
Itâs not yet clear if voters want bold ideas from the left or a leader who can manage the city out of a crisis. Or maybe they want both.
Scott Stringer, the New York City comptroller, has been endorsed for mayor by several young progressive Democratic lawmakers, but it is unclear if the cityâs progressive groups will coalesce behind him.Credit.Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Dec. 23, 2020
Last summer, the rising influence of the Democratic Partyâs progressive wing in New York seemed almost boundless.
The message behind AOC, Pence jumping the line
23 Dec 2020 US Vice President Mike Pence receives the COVID-19 vaccine at the White House in Washington. File/Reuters
Kathleen N. Walsh,
The Independent
Of all the strange bedfellows this political season has wrought, there are perhaps none so strange as Representative Ilhan Omar of “The Squad” and Senator Rand Paul, son of libertarian godfather Ron Paul. The two were united for one brief, bizarre moment this week in their criticism of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other lawmakers for jumping the vaccine line to get the inoculation on camera.
The criticism came directly after a chorus of outcry following Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, Vice President Mike Pence, and other Republican leaders‘ choice to also get vaccinated publicly ahead of the line a choice that seemed especially galling considering their months of Trumpian Covid denialism.
Newly elected members of the 117th Congress convened virtually earlier this month for a bipartisan orientation hosted by the Harvard Kennedy Schoolâs Institute of Politics.
Held online for the first time in its 48 year history, the orientation, which took place this year from Dec. 7 to Dec. 15, strives to acquaint representatives-elect with their colleagues, spark discussions on various policy issues, and bridge the gap between politics and academics by introducing the perspectives of Harvard faculty.
Over the course of the program, Harvard affiliates â including Kennedy School Dean Douglas W. Elmendorf, Professor of the Practice of Public Leadership Wendy R. Sherman, and School of Public Health adjunct professor Ashish K. Jha â led a series of talks ranging from the United Statesâ role in the world to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and ensuing recession on vulnerable Americans.