MORNING MESSAGE
Please
make one more call to your senators and let them know you do not want them to
vote for the Fast Track bill ... Thursday the Senate voted 62-38 to halt debate
soon after it began, with 13 “Democrats” joining Republicans to rush the process
of pushing fast track through before the public can catch on that the massive
Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal is being “greased.” ... It is very
important to call your state’s two senators TODAY and let them know your
feelings about rushing fast track through with little debate and almost no
consideration of amendments.
Bipartisan Coalition Breaks Progressive Fast Track Filibuster
Fast
track filibuster broken after Ex-Im Bank deal. The Hill: “Obama sought to
help his own cause by calling [Sen. Maria] Cantwell during the vote in the
Democratic cloakroom … Obama promised to press Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to
schedule a vote on the Export-Import Bank reauthorization … McConnell promised
Cantwell that he would schedule a vote next month on an amendment authorizing
the Export-Import Bank. As soon as he did, Cantwell wheeled around and voted
“Aye,” followed in quick succession by [five more Democrats.]”
Sen.
Harry Reid chose not to fight to the finish. Politico: “‘I knew what the
outcome’s going to be for a long time,’ Reid said. ‘In my caucus, we have a
dozen people who have been pro-trade. That’s why I’ve been very careful in
trying to understand them … I’ve tried not to be an obstacle to the bill
passing.’ Asked why he didn’t try to line up the votes to kill legislation he
strongly opposes, Reid shrugged and said, ‘Well, maybe I didn’t want to.'”
House
Republicans claim momentum for fast-track. The Hill: “…Rep. Kevin Brady
(R-Texas), a member of the Ways and Means Committee, said he expects his party
will deliver enough votes to pass the legislation … Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.), who
supports fast-track, said [Rep. Paul] Ryan firmed up Republican support during
the meeting and ‘turned some of the wavering people our way.'”
NYT’s
Paul Krugman calls Obama dishonest on TPP: “…there is an argument to be made
for such a deal … other reasonable, well-intentioned people have serious
questions … I would have expected a good-faith effort to answer those questions
… the fact that the administration evidently doesn’t feel that it can make an
honest case for the Trans-Pacific Partnership suggests that this isn’t a deal we
should support.”
Third Way Takes Swipe At De Blasio
Third
Way’s Jon Cowan and DE Gov. Jack Markell criticize Mayor de Blasio’s
“Progressive Agenda” in W. Post oped: “As progressives ourselves, we can
support many of the things on de Blasio’s list … But the mayor’s proposal
doesn’t come remotely close to solving the United States’ growth-and-wage riddle
… We can make a huge difference … by raising standards in our public schools …
Reforming our antiquated tax code will entice businesses to locate, hire and
expand here rather than abroad. And revamping our retirement system so that
every working person has private savings in addition to Social Security will
mean a comfortable retirement for everyone.”
W.
Post’s Dana Milbank joins the union: “I am proud to be a card-carrying
member of Local 32035 of the Communications Workers of America … I signed up
because income inequality, after years of worsening, has reached a crisis — and
the decline in union membership is partly to blame. Rejoining the labor movement
is my small, symbolic protest.”
“Wall
Street Flouts Fed Standards to Fund High-Risk Loans” reports Bloomberg:
“Regulators’ efforts to rein in Wall Street’s biggest banks are in danger of
backfiring. Guidelines aimed at strengthening lending standards are shifting the
market for high-yield credit to less-supervised loan funds, raising alarm this
week from the Financial Stability Oversight Council.”
Breakfast Sides
The
Nation’s Ari Berman explores “How the Money Primary Is Undermining Voting
Rights”: “Never before has so much money flowed into the American political
system from the deep pockets of an elite few … Twenty-eight percent of total
campaign funds came from the 1 percent of the 1 percent … When the wealthiest
Americans dominate every facet of political life … what happens to the voting
rights of everyone else?”
“Senate
Democrats Press G.O.P. to Fully Fund Amtrak” reports NYT: “Nine lawmakers
who represent the area serviced by Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, which is
traveled by more than 31 million passengers each year, asked their colleagues to
fully meet the passenger rail system’s approximately $2 billion funding
request.”
“Obama
Set to Strengthen Federal Role in Clean Water Regulation” reports NYT: “The
Obama administration is expected in the coming days to announce a major clean
water regulation that would restore the federal government’s authority to limit
pollution in the nation’s rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands … [Republicans]
are advancing legislation on Capitol Hill meant to block or delay the
rule.”
Progressive
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