At Harvard orientation, freshman Democrats confront lobbyists and CEOs
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/12/07/harvard-orientation-freshman-lawmakers-skeptical-democrats-confront-lobbyists-ceos/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.3db90958c4b9
The talk was not billed as being about politics. “A Discussion with Business Leaders,” hosted on Harvard’s campus earlier this week for freshman lawmakers elected in 2018, featured
the CEOs of General Motors, Johnson & Johnson and Boeing.
But Rep.-elect Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), one of the incoming lawmakers, said she was taken aback when, in a meeting after the talk, GM chief executive Mary Barra suggested laid off
GM workers who live in the Detroit area could still seek employment at a plant in Flint, Mich., more than an hour’s drive away.
Tlaib’s disagreement with Barra came amid wider criticism from several incoming House Democratic lawmakers of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics Bipartisan
Orientation Program, a traditionally uncontroversial affair that has hosted more than 700 members of Congress since 1972.
Harvard’s orientation for new members of Congress is pitched as a way for incoming lawmakers to learn about life on Capitol Hill, but some new Democrats broke with precedent and
criticized it. Other incoming Democrats, including a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, applauded the proceedings, while Harvard officials also said they welcomed the
feedback of the critics.
Harvard’s Gearan told reporters that the point of the orientation was not “to push any agenda,” adding that the program was responsive to feedback from incoming lawmakers. The
orientation schedule was crafted with input from both Democratic and Republican House leadership, Gearan said.
Some of the freshman Democrats also criticized remarks given by Gary Cohn, the former Goldman executive and Trump adviser. On Twitter, Tlaib quoted Cohn as telling the freshman
lawmakers, “You guys are way over your head, you don’t know how the game is played.” Tlaib added in her tweet: “No Gary, YOU don’t know what’s coming — a revolutionary Congress
that puts people over profits.”
One attendee at the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an off-record event, said the remark came amid a discussion about the pressure incoming members
would probably face if told by congressional leadership to support a bipartisan infrastructure package. The attendee said he interpreted Cohn’s remark as meant in jest, rather than an
insult of the new lawmakers.
"This is supposed to be a totally bipartisan, friendly mixer where your corporate overlords tell you their Christmas wishlist and demand you fulfill it to get re-elected; why did the democrats have to make it so hostile???"
seems like inviting gary cohen of all people is defacto poisoning the well. The WH has labeled these people the enemy of the state, and now you go invite a WH mouthpiece to the event and give him a bullypulpit to denigrate them, what did they think was going to happen?
Maybe he booked it because he delusionally thought the GOP were going to keep or expand their majority.
They were expecting business as usual.
"revolutionary congress:
lmao yea right, don't these people read a book and see what happened every time the people actually took power?
"yeah thank you for organizing all this, it was nice of you, but off with your head lmao", every time
