MORNING MESSAGE
The
editors of The Boston Globe called on Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to run
for president this weekend, joining over 300,000 “Run Warren Run” activists who
have already built the largest field operation of any candidate in Iowa. ... The
editors point to big issues that deserve a serious debate: the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP), enforcement of the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, and the
strategy for dealing with extreme inequality and the decline of the middle
class. The Globe editorial is yet another indication of the populist moment. ...
The reason for this populist moment isn’t the misery of the poor, or the decline
of the middle class. The poor have ever been with us. And the middle class has
been struggling since the 1980s. What is different now is that people are
starting to understand that their struggles aren’t their own fault.
Budget Votes Loom
House
faces delicate budget votes this week. Politico: “Some Republican deficit
hawks will vote against the budget resolution. But Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) —
who heads the House Freedom Caucus, a group of roughly two dozen hard-line
conservatives — supports the plan … Boehner — with Pelosi’s help — is also
pushing a $200 billion package to fix Medicare’s Sustainable Growth Rate for
calculating payments to doctors, as well as a two-year extension to the
Children’s Health Insurance Program …”
Budget
votes “could break the House” says Fox News’ Chad Pergram: “If the House
adopts a [more conservative] substitute before the [leadership’s] resolution …
that budget wins. The entire process comes to a screeching halt … So the
Republican leadership must trod carefully here. Leaders must be certain about
the whip count ahead of time. The GOP whip operation has been the source of much
anxiety recently.”
“Doc fix” bill would give Boehner a win on entitlement reform. The Hill: “‘This is the first time Democrats have been willing to say yes to a compromise on entitlement reform without calling for major tax hikes.’ the leadership aide said. ‘That is a very important step forward in terms of ultimately balancing our budget and ultimately saving Medicare.’ Several Democratic senators, however, say they want more sweeteners in the deal. They are pressing, in particular, for a four-year extension of the children’s insurance insurance program (CHIP), rather than two years.”
“Doc fix” bill would give Boehner a win on entitlement reform. The Hill: “‘This is the first time Democrats have been willing to say yes to a compromise on entitlement reform without calling for major tax hikes.’ the leadership aide said. ‘That is a very important step forward in terms of ultimately balancing our budget and ultimately saving Medicare.’ Several Democratic senators, however, say they want more sweeteners in the deal. They are pressing, in particular, for a four-year extension of the children’s insurance insurance program (CHIP), rather than two years.”
Obama
rules out extending sequester in HuffPost interview: “We are not going to
have a situation where, for example, our education spending goes back to its
lowest level since the year 2000 — since 15 years ago — despite a larger
population and more kids to educate. … We can’t do that to our kids, and I’m not
going to sign it.”
W.
Post’s E. J. Dionne slams GOP budget priorities: “…we now know that
conservatives and Republicans (1) aren’t serious about the plight of
working-class and lower-income Americans and (2) would actually make their
situations much worse. Their spending plans fail even on conservative terms:
They are not fiscally responsible. Instead, they rely on all sorts of magic
tricks that shove choices and problems down the road.”
Hillary To Speak On Urban Issues
Hillary
Clinton joins Center for American Progress panel discussion today at 10 AM
ET: ” This event brings together a small group of public, private,
philanthropic, and nonprofit leaders to discuss challenges that our metropolitan
regions face, as well as emerging solutions, laying the foundation for a vision
of a thriving urban America that supports national prosperity.”
Final
public event on her calendar. MSNBC: ” It’s the end of Clinton as we’ve
known her. The next time she emerges publicly, Clinton is likely to be a
candidate for president.”
Martin
O’Malley sounds likes Elizabeth Warren, says W. Post: “…the advantage of
wooing Warren supporters was clear as he spoke to big and small crowds on his
first visit to Iowa this year: They are among the most energized Democrats, and
they are hungry for an alternative to the more centrist Clinton. What was less
clear is whether O’Malley, who barely registers in most polls, will become their
natural fallback if Warren stays out.”
Big
liberal donors hope to move Hillary and the Democratic Party leftward.
Politico: “The Democracy Alliance funders club at a private April gathering
in San Francisco is set to unveil a five-year plan to boost causes on which some
of its members contend leading Democrats like Clinton have been insufficiently
aggressive … It aims to steer more than $30 million a year toward groups
committed to fighting income inequality, climate change and the influence of
political money. A particular focus is on groups fighting those issues at the
state level …”
Greece On The Hot Seat
“Decisive
week” for Greece. Bloomberg: “Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is set to
meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the second time in five days on Monday
… amid signs that it could run out of money by early next month …”
Syriza
squeezed at home from all sides. NYT: “Infighting is worsening as hard-core
leftist factions grow frustrated by some of the compromises made by Mr. Tsipras
in his continuing negotiations with creditors. Critics on the left and right are
questioning whether the government has a viable plan to restart economic
growth.”
Upcoming
British elections warped by pro-austerity media bias, says NYT’s Paul
Krugman: “The narrative I’m talking about goes like this: In the years
before the financial crisis, the British government borrowed irresponsibly [and]
at imminent risk of a Greek-style crisis; austerity policies, slashing spending
in particular, were essential … this is what you hear all the time on TV and
read in British newspapers, presented not as the view of one side of the
political debate but as simple fact.”
Breakfast Sides
New
report show marriage isn’t the antidote to poverty, notes Nicole Sussner Rodgers
in W. Post oped: “…according to a recent analysis of new census data on
family structure, education and income from the Council on Contemporary Families
(CCF) … financial security helps children more than does any particular family
structure … There are almost as many poor or near-poor children in two-parent
families as there are in single-parent ones.”
Koch-backed
organization ramps up effort to kill Ex-Im Bank. NYT: “The group, called
Freedom Partners, will begin a six-figure digital advertising campaign and has
set up a new website, eximexposed.org, to criticize the institution, which it
has called a haven for cronyism and corporate welfare. But the real impact may
not come from the size of the advertising campaign: The group’s members include
the Kochs … whose allegiance (and wallets) are avidly sought by Republican
lawmakers and presidential candidates.”
Progressive
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