MORNING
MESSAGE
You
might think that three hours is enough time for a presidential debate to offer
up ideas on how to grow the economy. You might think that a group of 11 people
with such varied backgrounds – two CEOs, three senators, five current and former
governors and one doctor – would have some fresh ideas how to create good-paying
jobs. But this is a Republican presidential debate, so even the CEOs aren’t good
at creating jobs.
Fiorina Trumps Trump
Carly
Fiorina seen as winner of GOP debate, despite numerous falsehoods. Vox’s Ezra
Klein: “Her answer on Russia, for instance, was bizarre. The Sixth Fleet is
already huge … President Obama is already conducting military exercises in the
Baltics … ‘Watch a fully formed fetus on the table, it’s heart beating, it’s
legs kicking while someone says we have to keep it alive to harvest its brain.’
… Nothing like that happens in the Planned Parenthood tapes.”
Sen.
Bernie Sanders live-tweets the debate. NPR quotes: “Have you heard anyone
use the word ‘poverty’ yet? 47.7 million Americans living in poverty … Yup. Bush
was a great president. Yes. No doubt. Great president. All Obama’s fault.”
McConnell Surrenders On Sequester
Sen.
Mitch McConnell says spending will have to be higher than sequester levels. The
Hill: “The GOP leader blamed Democrats for not allowing Republicans to move
forward on any appropriations bills, which he said had delayed any progress.
‘And so we are inevitably going to end up in a negotiation that will crack the
Budget Control Act once again,’ McConnell said … The discussions McConnell and
Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) are holding are expected to include a measure
lasting a short number of weeks or months to buy time for Congress to work out a
deal funding the government through the rest of fiscal 2016.”
Top
House GOPers try to snuff out Boehner putsch. Politico: “The only two viable
potential replacements for John Boehner as speaker of the House say they back
the Ohio Republican and will oppose any effort to remove him from power … House
Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan
(R-Wis.) forcefully backed Boehner and called for an end to the intraparty
warfare…”
Union Win In Missouri
Anti-union
bill vetoed in Missouri. NYT: “…Republicans failed Wednesday to override the
Democratic governor’s veto of a bill that would have allowed workers who chose
not to join unions to avoid paying fees … [But the bill is] poised to be a major
issue in Missouri’s 2016 election for governor.”
Target
pharmaceutical workers in Brooklyn vote for union. WSJ: “…the first time in
the retailer’s history that its workers have decided to join a labor union.”
Group
pushing to unionize Walmart splits. Reuters: “Both wings are claiming the
name OUR Walmart and vow to continue their work, moves that could sow confusion
among supporters.”
Obamacare Still Working
More
insured, poverty edges down, in 2014 Census report: “The share of uninsured
fell to 10.4% in 2014 [falling] by 8.8 million people, to 33 million, from 2013.
Separate studies show that the decline continued during the first half of 2015 …
the median annual household income stayed all but flat … The official poverty
rate remained level at 14.8%. A broader gauge of the rate, which uses a wider
definition of income, fell to 15.3% from 15.8%, driven primarily by government
benefit programs that expanded significantly after the 2007-09 recession.”
Sanders
takes on prison industry in criminal justice reform bill. W. Post: “Under
the proposal by the Democratic presidential hopeful, the federal government
would have three years to end its practice of using private companies to keep
people behind bars. The ban would also apply to state and local governments,
which have increasingly turned to private contractors in a bid to save money …
Sanders said in an interview Wednesday[,] ‘You should not be making a profit off
of putting people in prison.'”
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
»
