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Backlash over Trump supporter focus groups
08:10 - Source: CNN

Editor’s Note: C. Nicole Mason, a visiting scholar at the Center for Public & Nonprofit Leadership and a professorial lecturer at Georgetown University, is the author of “Born Bright: A Young Girl’s Journey From Nothing to Something in America.” She has written extensively on community development, poverty and economic security. The views expressed in this commentary are her own. View more opinion on CNN.

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Earlier this month, I interviewed Neera Tanden, president of the Center for American Progress, about her upbringing, work and the future of the Democratic Party. In the interview, Tanden spoke candidly about the need to unify the party and focus on bread and butter issues that Americans care about– like health care and the economy–instead of perpetuating the toxic divisiveness that has characterized much of Donald Trump’s presidency. This is how we can win, she said.

C. Nicole Mason

Last week, the Bernie Sanders campaign sent a letter to the Center for American Progress, criticizing the organization. The letter also accuses Tanden of “call[ing] for unity while simultaneously maligning my staff and supporters and belittling progressive ideas.”

The New York Times added fuel to the fire this week when it highlighted the friction between Sanders and Tanden in an article that painted her as an overly ambitious Clinton loyalist with a personal axe to grind. The Times interviewed Tanden’s mother, Maya Tanden, who said her daughter “can be very aggressive.” She added: “She’s not going to let anyone rule over her and she has loyalty to Hillary because Hillary is the one who made her.”

She also intimated that Neera Tanden had a score to settle with Sanders and his supporters from the 2016 Democratic primary. Maya Tanden later released a statement through her family members saying that she “didn’t understand my words would be used in the story.” She went on to express pride in her daughter’s success and credited her for “making life better for so many people.” Despite the clarification, however, the damage had already been done.

Tanden has been publicly chastised for her ambition and political shrewdness in a way that likely no man in her position ever would. It is dangerous to attempt to discredit or penalize women like Tanden for having a clear point of view for which they are willing to fight – and for using the skills, networks and access they have accumulated over years towards this end. California Sen. Kamala Harris faced similar criticisms. When she announced her candidacy for president, some portrayed her as an overzealous political climber willing to do whatever it takes to win. Lately, it seems like women candidates and political operatives have had a hard time breaking free of gendered stereotypes about how women should be or act. Tough women, like Tanden, are no exception.

Tanden wants to win. When I sat down with her for a one-on-one interview for the radio show Making Space, it became clear that she is an ideologue and party loyalist, almost to a fault. She has a clear allegiance to the Democratic Party and believes it has the right policies and values to move the country forward.

In 2008, when it became evident that Hillary Clinton was going to lose the party nomination to Barack Obama, Tanden went to work for him as policy director, a position she had held in the Clinton campaign. Given the bitter primary, many thought it was an odd move, but to Tanden, it wasn’t about the person but about the larger cause.

Tanden’s dogged loyalty to her party is no different from Mitch McConnell’s loyalty to his. They want to win. The question becomes at what cost?

The 2020 election is high stakes for Democrats and Republicans alike. It will be a contest of ideas and strategy, with a very slim margin for error. For Democratic elites and insiders who are tethered to a well-worn centrist playbook, the ideas and policies proposed by party newcomers, such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York, might seem destabilizing or risky in such a pivotal election cycle. However, voter enthusiasm and the conversations sparked by the Green New Deal or Medicare for All cannot be ignored. Neither can the throngs of Sanders supporters and others who are pushing the party left.

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    The challenge for Democrats will be to craft an agenda that reflects the real needs of people and families, and to support the candidate that best personifies these ideas and ideals. Tanden, and her unwavering commitment to building a more equitable and inclusive democracy with sound policies that make the lives of Americans better, is exactly what the party needs. We should all embrace her, not push her away during this critical political and social moment.