MORNING MESSAGE
Will Any Republican Call Out Cruz’s Failed Planned Parenthood Strategy?
Two
months ago I warned conservatives that “Cruz’s Planned Parenthood Strategy Will
Backfire.” The math was obvious. Convincing a minority faction to withhold
support for keeping the government open “wouldn’t force resistant Republicans
and Democrats to take up the banner of defunding Planned Parenthood. It would
only force congressional Republicans to rely on Democratic votes to keep the
government open.” ... And here we are: a two-year budget deal that in the first
year adds $66 billion in spending above the sequester cap, just a hair less of
what Obama initially proposed in his February budget.
Budget Deal Expected To Pass
Budget
deal poised to pass Congress. The Hill: “Two House Freedom Caucus members
told The Hill as many as 100 House Republicans could ultimately vote for the
deal.”
How
will Rep. Paul Ryan vote? The Hill: “Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a leader of
the conservative Freedom Caucus who helped push Boehner out of Congress, upped
the pressure on Ryan, issuing a statement Wednesday calling for all Speaker
candidates to oppose the deal … while he repeatedly declined to say how he would
vote on the budget pact, Ryan decried the secretive talks…”
Republican
presidential candidates slam budget deal. WSJ: “Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.)
called the deal ‘severely flawed’ … ‘it is complete and utter surrender,’ Mr.
Cruz said … [Ben Carson] said he would not agree to a debt limit increase as
president … ‘I will do everything in my power to stop this steaming pile of
legislation,’ Mr. Paul said.”
Deal
prevents added costs on retirees. NYT: “The budget agreement … will prevent
a sharp increase in Medicare premiums for more than 15 million older Americans
and a deep cut in Social Security benefits for nine million disabled workers
…”
Mother
Jones adds: “the deal actually shores up the finances of an important
entitlement program without hurting people who have already earned their
benefits.”
Jeb
Bush proposes Social Security and Medicare cuts. The Hill: “[Bush] would
shift [Medicare] into what is known as ‘premium support’ … which Democrats often
denounce as ending Medicare ‘as we know it.’ … On Social Security, Bush would
gradually raise the retirement age, a proposal he casts as similar to one from
the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles debt commission. He also proposes to change the
formula used to calculate Social Security benefits each year.”
House Gets Busy
House
passes Ex-Im Bank restoration. NYT: “[The issue] underscored the split
between the party’s traditional pro-business members and ascendant free-market
conservatives who are suspicious of big corporations. The lopsided final vote of
313 to 118 belied that split, as a majority of Republicans allied with all but
one Democrat to reauthorize the 81-year-old bank agency…”
House
passes short-term highway fund extension. NYT: “[It] would fund and extend
the authorization for federal highway and transit programs through Nov. 20 …
[It] would give railroads an additional three years to install technology
intended to prevent train crashes … Critics say railroads should not be given
relief from installing lifesaving technology. But railroads say they have faced
technical and bureaucratic obstacles to installing the costly system.”
Bernie Gets Tough
Sanders’
political team maps out aggressive strategy to Bloomberg: “This new phase
will be more aggressive, hard-edged, and focused on driving home contrasts
between Sanders and Clinton … [Says Tad Devine,] “it is going to be about a lot
of issues where she’s gone from one place to another.”
Devine
also talks to NYT: “If they start going further down that negative road, I
think we’re going to start looking at whether or not she can really tell the big
banks to reform when so much of her money comes from Wall Street.”
Clinton
tells Stephen Colbert she would let big banks fail. Bloomberg: ” If Clinton
were president, Colbert asked, ‘and the banks are failing, do we let the banks
fail this time?’ ‘Yes,’ the former secretary of state replied. ‘Yes, yes, yes,
yes, yes … under Dodd-Frank, that is what will happen because we now have
stress-tests and I’m going to impose a risk fee…'”
Sen.
Sherrod Brown backs Clinton. Politico: “With Brown — a prominent ally of
progressive hero Elizabeth Warren — in the fold, Clinton can boast of support
from Ohio’s lone Democratic senator, Virginia’s Democratic governor and its two
senators, and Florida’s one Democratic senator.”
Will
de Blasio be next? NYT: “…Mr. de Blasio is in discussions with Mrs.
Clinton’s camp about an endorsement, according to two people briefed on his
plans, who said the mayor was expected to offer a blessing soon.”
Bernie
eyes youth vote. USA Today: “A central part of the Vermont independent’s
strategy is to draw young people and others into the political process, as
President Obama did ahead of the 2008 primaries. On Wednesday, Sanders will
address an audience of thousands during a ‘student town hall’ meeting that will
be live-streamed at colleges and universities across the country.”
Fed Meets Today
“Fed
Seen as Unlikely to Raise Rates” today, reports NYT: “The Fed is widely
expected to announce that it will continue for now to hold its benchmark rate
near zero. The case for liftoff has weakened since the summer. The rest of the
world is struggling and there are worrying signs of slower domestic growth. But
Fed officials are unlikely to rule out an increase at their final meeting of the
year, in December, in part because they are still waiting to see whether
economic growth weakened in recent months…”
NYT’s
Steven Rattner urges Fed to hold off: “The Fed should step back from its
implicit commitment to raise rates this year and hold firm until there is clear
evidence of inflationary conditions.”
Progressive
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