By Perry Bacon Jr. @ FiveThirtyEight.com, Dec. 9

[...] Ideological, racial and ethnic considerations and tensions are normal in the presidential transition and appointment process, particularly for Democrats, who are a much more racially diverse party than the GOP. But the Biden team’s choices in navigating them tell us a lot about the current distribution of power within the party — or at least how Biden and his top advisers see it. So far, based on Biden’s choices, three trends are clear.

1. Both the Black establishment and the Latino establishment within the Democratic Party have real clout, able to essentially force Biden to pick some Black and Latino appointees for key posts and to block some people they don’t want.
2. The progressive wing of the party doesn’t seem to have enough clout to get its people key jobs, but does have enough power to prevent Biden from picking people they strenuously oppose.
3. And other blocs in the Democratic Party, most notably anti-Trump Republicans or former Republicans who backed Biden, don’t have a lot of clout in the appointment process, at least so far. (We should note that this article refers often to stories first broken by The American Prospect and Politico in particular, as both outlets have done stellar reporting on Biden’s transition process.)

Let me unpack those ideas a bit more, starting with the power of the Black and Latino establishments.[....]

Robert F. Smith has acknowledged his involvement in a 15-year scheme to hide more than $200 million in income and evade taxes, but he retains the support of the hall’s board.

By Juliegrace Brufke @ TheHill.com, Dec. 8

The clout of a bipartisan group of lawmakers aimed at forging consensus is on the rise.

With the House expected to have its most narrow Democratic margin of control in decades, members of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus see the group’s influence growing exponentially in the next Congress. And its members are looking to flex their strength in pushing for policies that can pass both chambers. 

The bipartisan group of roughly 50 members, which is co-chaired by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Tom Reed (R-N.Y.), has played a leading role in moving the needle on COVID-19 relief negotiations after a months-long stalemate.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will face a more difficult path next year in passing controversial bills due to her caucus’s diminished ranks. The support of the Problem Solvers could be needed on an array of measures.

However, that would require Pelosi to run the House differently than she and other recent Speakers have conducted business in the partisan chamber.

Reed said his group is both expanding in size and finding its footing on ways to push for and shape an agenda both parties can support.

“Obviously, the Problem Solvers Caucus, in my opinion, is growing in strength. It’s growing in depth, not only with the numbers of members, but the sophistication of members understanding the process, understanding the politics and understanding the policy. And so as we go into the next congressional session, I think that’s all going to play to our strengths of wanting to govern for the people back home,” he said in an interview. [.....]

In past Congresses, groups like the House Freedom Caucus were able to successfully push policies to the right and derail deals it felt weren’t conservative enough by using procedural tactics and vowing to withhold enough votes to prevent legislation from passing. Multiple members of the Problem Solvers, which was established in 2017 to provide a space for members to find common ground, said they see themselves as a foil to the Freedom Caucus that could potentially use similar tactics. But the caucus leaders say their focus is on getting bills passed and signed into law.

Leadership officials have ignored many of the Problem Solvers’ plans over the past few years. But there have been successes [....]

I remember that he used to fill in for Rush Limbaugh when Limbaugh was still top dog among conservative talkers, and when conservative talkers were who Americans were most likely to listen to on a given day. End of an era. RIP.

call your rep ASAP, especially if it's a Republican! (found via retweet by Andrew Yang)