MORNING MESSAGE
Will
Hillary Clinton oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement and the
fast track authority designed to ramrod it through the Congress? She’s been
noncommittal to date, with many assuming she will eventually support the
president who she served as secretary of state. But by calling out his
opponents, President Obama has turned the escalating battle over fast track and
TPP into an intra-party back-alley knife fight. As someone seeking to lead that
party, Hillary can’t remain on the sidelines for long. And, if she adheres to
the standards that she put forth for the agreement, she might well end up
joining the opposition.
Left Energized By Trade Fight
Congressional
Progressive Caucus members hope fast track fight, win or lose, will influence
Hillary. Roll Call: “Ideally, Clinton would have come out already against
TPA, [Caucus co-chairs] Grijalva, Ellison and others say. But if she won’t — and
not many expect her to — then the mission is to make it politically untenable
for Clinton, assuming she is the nominee, to tack to the right on other issues
important to populists and labor, a core Democratic constituency. A senior House
Democratic aide who works for a member of the CPC added that even if Democrats
aren’t able to derail TPA, the opposition has reached a crescendo that will make
future trade negotiations non-starters.”
Robert
Kuttner explains the trade “Test for Hillary Clinton”: “…this is only the
first of countless tests of where Clinton really stands — tests that will keep
coming up between now and primary season. If she is presenting herself as a
forceful leader, it ill-becomes Clinton to duck.”
“Obama
shifts his pitch for the Trans-Pacific Partnership” reports W. Post: “…last
December, President Obama … mentioned the looming threat of China 18 times in
remarks to the Business Roundtable. Last week, while making the case to 200
liberal activists, Obama mentioned China only once … Obama sought to place his
trade pact alongside his signature domestic initiatives, including his
health-care law, the auto industry bailout, student-loan consolidation and Wall
Street reform.”
Warren Keeps Heat On Clinton
“Elizabeth
Warren isn’t running, but she’s Hillary Clinton’s biggest Democratic threat,”
says The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza: “‘I think she’s in a beautiful position
right now,’ the Warren adviser said, ‘because she can get Hillary to do whatever
the hell she wants. Now the question is, will Hillary stick to it if she gets
in? But at the moment Elizabeth can get her on record and hold her feet to the
fire.’ Clinton’s advisers are respectful of Warren, but they privately argue
that Clinton has a more sophisticated understanding of the economy, and that
Warren places too much blame on Wall Street as the root of America’s economic
problems.”
Clinton’s
populist rhetoric may signal a deeper ideological shift in the electorate,
argues TNR’s Brian Beutler: “Clinton’s movement to the left is unalloyed
good news for liberals. Because if she wins the presidency as a result, that
would change American politics in perpetuity … if those reliably liberal
positions turn out to be reliably winning positions with the national
electorate, that would mean America itself has moved durably to the left.”
SC
Dems impressed by O’Malley and Sanders. W. Post: “Bernie Sanders, the
socialist senator from Vermont toying with a primary challenge to Clinton,
brought Democrats to their feet with a fiery sermon about the hollowed-out
middle class and the rise of an ‘oligarchic form of society’ controlled by
billionaires … Delegates rose again for Martin O’Malley, the ambitious former
Maryland governor, after he spoke with rhetorical flourish about the undying
American dream and gave a muscular defense of such liberal ideals as increasing
wages, expanding Social Security benefits and cracking down on Wall Street
banks.”
Jeb Raking It In
Jeb
Bush exploiting Citizens United to the hilt. NYT: “Jeb Bush told donors here
that he believed his political action committee had raised more money in 100
days than any other modern Republican political operation … the figure is
expected to be in the high tens of millions of dollars … the money he’s raising
is primarily for his super PAC, which can collect unlimited donations … [As an
undeclared candidate,] he is still able to raise funds for and direct the
spending of his super PAC. The senators face restrictions on such activities.
And it’s an edge that he will keep until he is a declared candidate…”
W.
Post’s Robert Samuelson slams GOP for estate tax repeal: “…they’ve handed
Democrats a priceless campaign gift: a made-for-TV (and Internet) video
depicting Republicans as lackeys of the rich … A party working to reduce the
taxes of the rich while cutting food stamps for the poor invites a public
relations nightmare.”
Corinthian Collapses
Corinthian
Colleges shuts down. AP: “Corinthian Colleges will shut down all of its
remaining 28 ground campuses, displacing about 16,000 students … U.S. Senator
Dick Durbin of Illinois released a strongly worded statement in response to the
closures, encouraging [the U.S. Department of Education] to pursue debt relief
for students of the colleges.’ … the U.S. Department of Education [had]
announced it was fining the for-profit institution $30 million for
misrepresentation.”
Education
Dept. reaches out to displaced students. Bloomberg: “U.S. Education
Under-Secretary Ted Mitchell said the department’s workers will begin reaching
out to Corinthian’s students to review their options, including the possibility
of loan discharges.”
Breakfast Sides
Nuclear
industry lobbies for changes to EPA climate regs. The Hill: “The proposed
Clean Power Plan rule would allow states with nuclear power plants to take 6
percent of their nuclear output and credit it toward the emissions reduction
goals regulators sets for them. The industry says the 6 percent figure is
arbitrary and is a disincentive for states that might otherwise switch to
nuclear sooner … That number is based on a government calculation that nearly 6
percent of U.S. nuclear plants are in danger of closing, primarily due to market
pressures.”
Japanese
PM will urge US to embrace high-speed rail. WSJ: “With the support of the
government, Japanese companies are vying for chances to join three fast-train
projects under consideration in the U.S. The three would link Los Angeles and
San Francisco; Dallas and Houston; and New York and Washington with high-speed
systems … Mr. Abe also is expected to highlight the latest achievement of the
magnetic levitation bullet train being developed by Central Japan Railway Co.
The maglev train reached a record speed of 603 kilometers an hour…”
Progressive
Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to
activists. Progressive Breakfast is a project of the Campaign for America's
Future. more
»
