Progressive Breakfast: Black Votes Matter, Because Black Lives Matter

MORNING MESSAGE

...both Clinton and Sanders are vying for the African-American vote with an intensity that hasn’t been seen before ... It’s clear in this election, however, that the pursuit of black votes must be driven by valuing black lives. That has to be reflected in policies that specifically address the conditions that threaten and limit black lives ... The candidates are moving in the right direction, but aren’t all the way there, yet. Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrice Cullors criticizes Democrats for “posturing for the ‘black vote’ and not explicitly saying what they will do once they’re in office to remedy systemic American racism.”

BERNIE LOOKS fOR SUPER SUPER TUESDAY

Sanders sets sights on five Super Tuesday states. Politico: “He’s certain to win his home state of Vermont … Other recent surveys show Sanders with a slight lead in Massachusetts and within a few points of Clinton in Oklahoma … In both Colorado and Minnesota, the two caucus states … the campaigns are neck and neck … Clinton leads by comfortable margins in the polls in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia — all states where the African-American percentage of the population is in double-digits.”
Bernie draws big crowds in MO and OK. W. Post: “Sanders’s raucous evening rally [in Oklahoma] drew more than 9,000 people to a downtown convention center, including about 2,500 who couldn’t get in … His earlier rally in Kansas City, which drew an estimated 7,100 people, served as a twofer of sorts. Missouri holds its primary on March 15, while Kansas, just across border, holds caucuses on March 5.”

GOP DEBATE TONIGHT

Make-or-break debate for Cruz and Rubio. Politico: “Rubio has yet to aggressively engage Trump — and those briefed on his strategy say he’s unlikely to do so on Thursday night … Rubio’s team has decided his best bet is to focus fire on Cruz … Of course, if Trump chooses to engage Rubio — something he hasn’t yet done in a debate — Rubio will have to respond.”
Though Rubio attacks Trump by name for first time. NBC: “Rubio targeted Trump on Obamacare and Israel, charging Trump ‘thinks parts of Obamacare are pretty good’ and … ‘has said he’s not going to take sides on Israel versus the Palestinians because he wants to be an honest broker … there is no such thing as an honest broker in that. Because the Palestinian Authority … has strong links to terror…'”
Trump crushed by Clinton and Sanders with Latinos. W. Post: “Trump does the worst [among Republicans] — losing the Hispanic vote to Clinton by 73 to 16 percent … Matched against Sanders, Trump trails by 56 points.”
Mitt Romney raises questions about Trump’s taxes. Politico quotes:Donald Trump has said he’s the best in the country for the disabled veterans and the disabled generals. Well, if his taxes show that he hasn’t made any contributions to the disabled veterans or to the disabled generally, that would be a big issue.”
Trump club relies on foreign guest workers. NYT: “Since 2010, nearly 300 United States residents have applied or been referred for jobs as waiters, waitresses, cooks and housekeepers there. But according to federal records, only 17 have been hired. In all but a handful of cases, Mar-a-Lago sought to fill the jobs with hundreds of foreign guest workers … As part of its applications for the visas submitted to the Labor Department, Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago attested that in the vast majority of cases it was unable to fill the positions with American workers.”
Trump is redefining the GOP, says The Atlantic’s Ron Brownstein: “Even if Trump, as the nominee, could squeeze out a narrow victory in November by mobilizing more working-class whites he might still disastrously stamp the GOP as a party of racial backlash to the minorities and Millennials irreversibly growing in the electorate.”

WH TO SQUEEZE GOP ON SCOTUS

WH sees upper hand in SCOTUS fight. The Hill: “Their strategy is to portray the Senate Republican majority as obstructionist on every level, and Democrats are certain they have the advantage … most observers expect him to select someone who would be politically difficult for Republicans to reject.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham admits GOP wants payback. NYT: “[Graham] said the court fight was payback for the 2013 decision by Senate Democrats to unilaterally change Senate rules to make it easier to break Republican filibusters against executive branch nominations.”

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