MORNING
MESSAGE
...the
debate veered into the wingnut fantasies about 10 percent flat taxes (Ted Cruz,
Ben Carson), government so small “I can barely see it” (Rand Paul), corporations
and markets that somehow self-regulate (virtually everyone), the liberal media
and government as the root of all evil (unanimous) ... There is no mention of
the shocking decline of our public infrastructure ... There is not a murmur
about deregulated Wall Street blowing up the economy ... Kasich is right: these
candidates are selling fantasies. They reject arithmetic and confound
logic.
BREAKING: Growth Slows
GDP
growths slows in 3rd quarter. BEA: “[GDP] increased at an annual rate of 1.5
percent … In the second quarter, real GDP increased 3.9 percent … The
deceleration in real GDP in the third quarter primarily reflected a downturn in
private inventory investment and decelerations in exports, in nonresidential
fixed investment, in PCE, in state and local government spending, and in
residential fixed investment…”
Numbers Don't Add Up In GOP Debate
Republicans
offer tax plans with “fuzzy math” in latest debate. Politico: “The tone was
best summed up by Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who blasted his rivals’ tax-reform
plans as ‘fantasy tax schemes.’ … The Tax Foundation has released analyses of
tax-reform plans by six of the presidential contenders, and found each would add
at least $1 trillion to the debt.”
Climate
ignored. TNR’s Rebecca Leber: “CNBC’s debate on Wednesday in Colorado was
supposed to focus on economic growth. But one of the greatest uncertainties
about future economic growth and national security has barely warranted a
passing mention in any of the GOP forums. Don’t blame the candidates for this
one, blame the networks moderating the debates.”
Budget Deal Advances
House
approves budget. NYT: “The measure, which was approved by a vote of 266 to
167, with 79 Republicans joining 187 Democrats in favor, averts a potentially
devastating default by lifting the federal borrowing limit through March 2017,
and it sharply reduces the risk of a government shutdown by setting clear
spending targets for the next two years.”
Senate
next. The Hill: “…a procedural vote would take place Friday … Sens. Bob
Corker (R-Tenn.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and David Perdue (R-Ga.) announced Wednesday
that they would join a handful of Republicans — including presidential
candidates Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)
— in opposing the deal … Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) predicted
every Senate Democrat would back the bill. If that happens, they would still
need approximately 15 Republicans…”
Senate
approves highway trust fund extension through Nov. 20. The Hill: “The lower
chamber is expected to bring the multiyear highway bill up for a vote on the
floor of the House next week, clearing the way for a long-sought conference on
infrastructure spending between the chambers.”
Sen.
Mitch McConnell hasn’t decided how to handle Ex-Im Bank. The Hill: “On
Wednesday night, McConnell started the fast-track process for a stand-alone
version of Ex-Im reauthorization on behalf of Democrats, but he is under no
obligation to bring it up for floor consideration … The House is slated next
week to take up a transportation bill that is expected to include authorization
of Ex-Im. A House-Senate conference committee is expected to follow.”
Ryan Poised To Win Speaker Vote
GOP
caucus nominates Ryan for Speaker. HuffPost: “Ryan won the nomination with
just 200 votes as 43 members, largely with the hard-line Freedom Caucus, cast
ballots for Rep. Daniel Webster … The entire House will vote Thursday on the
speakership, and Ryan will need 218 votes to win. The fact that he fell short of
that number on Wednesday could be seen as a sign that his selection has not
completely eased the minds of his party’s most conservative members.”
Test
for Ryan’s ability to manage caucus may come soon. NYT: “The budget deal
creates room for the House and Senate appropriations committees to draft a huge
spending bill for the current fiscal year … But the spending bills already
drafted are replete with conservative policy prescriptions … Ryan will have to
decide how far to push that clash with the president, knowing a government
shutdown just before Christmas could be at stake.”
Can Bernie Create a Movement?
W.
Post’s Harold Meyerson asks if the Sanders campaign will leave behind a lasting
leftist movement: “Problem is, progressive presidential candidacies seldom
have consequential afterlives … Nonetheless, Sanders’s campaign is the largest
specifically left mobilization … in at least a half-century … signing on for
Sanders, if his volunteers are serious, isn’t like signing on for any other
candidate. It should mean they’re signing on for rebuilding the long-gone
American left.”
Senate
staffers boycott cafeteria to protest low wages. OurFuture.org’s Isaiah J.
Poole: “Their show of solidarity took the form of a ‘brown bag boycott,’ in
which they brought their own brown-bag lunches to the cafeteria. Joining the 40
or so Senate staffers who participated in the protest was Sen. Sherrod Brown
(D-Ohio). He promised that the boycott would not be a one-time event. ‘We will
be here every Wednesday until you are treated fairly,’ said Brown.”
Progressive
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