The Harvard Institute of Politics provided an orientation conference for new members of Congress, most of whom were Democrats, and the progressive freshmen were outraged.
Slate has the story here, as well as the agenda.
The meeting was co-hosted by the free-market, conservative American Enterprise Institute (one of its funders is Betsy DeVos).
Believe it or not, the only “expert” to speak about education was Raj Chetty, Mr. Fire-Teachers-Sooner-Rather-Than-Later. Why no one from the Economic Policy Institute? Or the Network for Public Education? Or Harvard’s Daniel Koretz on the failure of NCLB and Race to the Top and their cousin the “Every Student Succeeds Act”? Or anyone who knows that federal education policy has been a disaster for almost 20 years?
Slate wrote:
“Before the beginning of each new Congress since 1972, the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics has hosted the Bipartisan Program for Newly Elected Members of Congress, which bills itself as “the preeminent educational and preparatory program for newly elected Republican and Democratic Members of the House of Representatives.” The institute held its program—co-sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, as well as the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Congressional Institute—for the large incoming class of recently-elected members of Congress this week, and the schedule was designed to foster policy discussions and offer tips for stepping into the new job.
“But there was drama.
“Some of the most progressive members of the class, including Reps.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, tweeted their displeasure with the program. Ocasio-Cortez criticized the event’s corporate tilt, while Tlaib paraphrased her version of an exchange she had with former Trump economic advisor (and former Goldman Sachs president) Gary Cohn.”
Ocasio-Cortez-Cortez tweeted:
Our “bipartisan” Congressional orientation is cohosted by a corporate lobbyist group. Other members have quietly expressed to me their concern that this wasn’t told to us in advance.
Lobbyists are here. Goldman Sachs is here. Where‘s labor? Activists?Frontline community leaders?
Why did the Harvard Institute of Politics subject savvy progressive members of Congress to same-old, same-old from corporate leaders?
Open the article ad see the agenda and judge for yourself.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It’s great to see our new reps doing a great job, from day one! It’s also bracing to note that just pointing out the obvious when it comes to ways corporations insinuate themselves into our legislative process is shocking. How deep, and broad, the rot really is. ALEC is the US government, with only a bit of exaggeration.
The Kennedy family should be ashamed for not acting to protect JFK’s legacy. John F. Kennedy’s name is taken in vain when his namesake, Harvard’s Kennedy School, egregiously panders to the richest 0.1%.
There are “un-Koch my campus” groups popping up on college campuses all over the country. EVERYONE needs to see how blatant big business has been in taking over the democratic process. Both sides of the aisle have participated in this and lined their pockets as well. Both sides have created loopholes to serve their own greed as well as the greed of big business. “We the people” are only allowed to participate by paying taxes but reaping little benefit. It’s time that the scam be revealed to all.
YES. May I repeat that comment with a couple words in caps: “BOTH SIDES of the aisle have participated in this and lined their pockets as well. BOTH SIDES have created loopholes to serve their own greed as well as the greed of big business.”
What perks were offered to the newbies who attended the Harvard Institute of Politics and how many were seduced by the imagined expertise and bi-partisanship flowing from that outfit?
Good for the newbies who are good detectors of BS.
Wishlist: NEPC and NPS join with others in DC for a program on education with newbies and all supporters of NCLB and jESSA exposing the problems with federal policies and offering an action agenda. Also a campaign to make every TFA staff associate in Congress high visible, and ideally with the sums of money that put them in those positions.
Glad Ocasio-Cortez and the rest of those young women elected KNOW the pundits’ agenda. I send them LIGHT, courage, and steadfastness.
The answer to the question “why” is, many university administrators/boards and some faculty have traded integrity for dollars.
Please go to actionnetwork.org/letters/tis-the-season-for-transparency and sign the student and faculty letter to the Board of George Mason University, a public school in Virginia. GMU gave donors control in return for their dollars. The state and the nation should make it clear that it’s no longer business as usual. Please sign before Tuesday. The Board meets on Wednesday.
UnKochMyCampus.org has posted research about the travesty of Koch influence at GMU.
To trade integrity for dollars, don’t you have to have integrity to begin to with?
Once again, Poet, you make a good point.
Years ago I attended an all-day conference on vouchers at Harvard. The Harvard folks on the panel all favored diverting public funds to special interest private schools. The only panelist whomstood up to them was a black prof from some small college in the South.
How did the panelist who stood up to harvard’s group think get an invite? Usually, only the billionaire’s functionaries get invitations to “summits” e.g. Fordham invited to make state policy in Ohio’s capitol..
Harvard must have made a mistake.
Harvard has always represented the elite who believe they are smarter and wiser than everyone else.
It’s basically a throwback to the days of monarchy.
As a few others have already stated here, this was “bipartisan.” The Dems and the GOP signed off. For those who are hard of hearing: THE DEMS AGREED TO THIS. THEY AGREED TO NO REPRESENTATION FROM LABOR.
And yet labor, including the NEA and CTA (my union), are so far up the Democratic anal cavity they really should have rope tied around their feet in order to get them out.
And in spite of millions of labor dollars going to the Democrats, we’re out here fighting for our lives.
Can we stop pretending the Democrats are so much better than the GOP? They’re not as bad, but that’s far different from saying they’re better.
What are the Democrats doing about Wisconsin, Michigan and Georgia? Have I missed the mad-as-hell statements from the Democratic Party? HAH. The Dems, as well as the GOP, are happy Madison and Lansing don’t look like Paris right now.
As long as WE THE PEOPLE are willing to vote for these fakes, we deserve what we get. You can vote for the GOP 100% cow patty milkshakes, or you can vote for the Democrats 60% cow patty milkshake, but you’re still ingesting cow s**t. WILLINGLY.
So let’s stop acting surprised and appalled that things just keep getting worse. Nancy Pelosi & Chuck Schumer don’t give a rat’s a$$ about labor or public education, and neither do a sizable amount of elected Democrats.
It’s time to get radical.