The Clinton campaign isn’t the only group having a rough time since WikiLeaks published a cache of embarrassing emails hacked from the account of campaign Chairman John Podesta. Several of the messages show Neera Tanden, president of the liberal Center for American Progress, privately trash-talking various liberal causes and activists, prompting outpouring of anger against her on social media.
Among them was Lee Fang, a liberal reporter who previously worked for the center. Fang tweeted an image of a February email in which Tanden called him and another liberal writer, Zaid Jilani, “freaks” apparently because they supported Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt. In a follow-up email, Fang wrote: “I miss the old, progressive ThinkProgress which was unafraid to challenge power & even the Dem Party. Now it’s run by unimaginative suckups.”
ThinkProgress is the official blog of Center for American Progress Action Fund. Podesta was previously the center’s president. Tanden took over after he left it to join the Clinton campaign.
It is not clear from whom WikiLeaks got the collection of Podesta emails, which were presumably illegally obtained.
The emails revealed that Tanden was privately opposed to a $15 minimum wage and counseled the Clinton campaign against supporting it. She referred to people who did support it as the “Red Army.” In another email, she said that a demand by David Brock, head of the liberal group Media Matters for America, for Sanders to release his medical records was so counter-productive that he “may actually be a Republican plant.” In a message to Podesta shortly before Sanders won the New Hampshire primary, she said, “What is wrong [with] the people of NH?”
In some of the emails, Tanden was presumably kidding around with friends, but many fellow progressives were angered by the tone and attitude she took.
“Gotta love @neeratanden wondering if @davidbrockdc is a GOP plant. Sycophancy evokes contempt,” tweeted liberal writer Doug Henwood.
“This is the thing with #Wikileaks … Nothing illegal here, just what a scumbag @neeratanden is. Go figure… #PodestaEmails3,” said @DaneThePain1.
“When New Hampshire people don’t bow down to @neeratanden’s queen HRC – she thinks there’s something wrong with them,” said @KristianneMrsC.
“@neeratanden Criticizing @lhfang and @ZaidJilani for doing legitimate & necessary work? How Trumpian of you. You madam are NO progressive,” said @liberalranter.
Tanden avoided responding for the most part but did retweet a post by MSNBC host Chris Hayes in which he said, “If someone was going around breaking in to the DNC and Podesta’s office, I feel like we’d all be more alarmed,” indicating that she thought she was the wronged party.
