Progressive Breakfast: Clinton's Defense of Big Money Won't Cut It

MORNING MESSAGE

Hillary Clinton’s heated defense of the money she has raised from Wall Street and other interests won’t cut it. Her protests contradict the basic case that virtually all Democrats and reformers have made for getting big money out of politics. It is vital that voters not be misled by them.

BURNING ISSUES: PROTECT CIVILIAN CONTROL OF THE MILITARY

In our latest Burning Issues video, Retired Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell in the George W. Bush administration, explains that the fundamental principle of civilian control of the military is under threat.

NORTHEAST VOTES TOMORROW

Candidates swarm 5 northeast states. NYT:Donald J. Trump, never known for his ambitious schedule on the trail, will cram in three events on Monday … Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont will spend the day in Pennsylvania. He has scheduled events in two of the state’s biggest cities, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. As Hillary Clinton heads to Indiana, before the May 3 voting there, her husband, former President Bill Clinton, will hold rallies on Monday in New Haven and Hartford, Conn…”
Sanders eyes party platform. NYT: “Aides to Mr. Sanders have been pressing party officials for a significant role in drafting the platform for the Democratic convention in July, aiming to lock in strong planks on issues like a $15-an-hour federal minimum wage, breaking up Wall Street banks and banning natural gas ‘fracking.’ … Democratic leaders are wary of steering the party too far left, but do not want to alienate the Sanders supporters whose votes Mrs. Clinton needs in November, or risk losing the vast new donor base Mr. Sanders has created.”
Bernie committed to stopping GOP. WSJ: “Asked on ABC’s ‘This Week’ whether he would become an enthusiastic supporter of Mrs. Clinton if she wins the nomination, Sen. Sanders said: ‘You know, I can’t snap my finger and tell people what to do. But what I will do is do everything that I can to make sure that somebody like a Donald Trump, or some other right-wing Republican, does not become president of the United States.'”
Bernie still drawing big crowds. W. Post: “More than 14,000 people gathered in [New Haven] for a Sanders rally on Sunday night … just hours after more than 7,000 people streamed to an outdoor event in Providence, R.I. … In Providence, he barely mentioned [Clinton’s] name … [In New Haven,] Sanders was back to mocking the former secretary of state for giving paid speeches on Wall Street…”

CRUZ AND KASICH TEAM UP

Cruz and Kasich make “Stop Trump” pact. CNN: “…the pair issued statements late Sunday saying they will divide their efforts in upcoming contests with Cruz focusing on Indiana and Kasich devoting his efforts to Oregon and New Mexico. The strategy — something the two campaigns have been working on for weeks — is aimed at blocking Trump from gaining the 1,237 delegates necessary to claim to GOP nomination this summer.”
Trump response: Sad! Politico quotes: “It is sad that two grown politicians have to collude against one person who has only been a politician for ten months in order to try and stop that person from getting the Republican nomination … They are mathematically dead and this act only shows, as puppets of donors and special interests, how truly weak they and their campaigns are.”
Cruz winning with unbound delegates. Time: “Of the 63 unbound delegates who have already been named, 26 have told TIME or other news outlets that they are either committed to support Cruz, lean towards supporting Cruz or refuse to support Trump on the first ballot. By contrast Trump has the public support of only one delegate in North Dakota.”

BREAKFAST SIDES

Obama advocates for European TTIP trade deal while in Germany. The Hill: “‘People naturally are going to worry more about what’s lost than what’s gained in response to trade agreements,’ Obama said. … ‘people are unsettled by globalization … People see a plant moving and jobs lost, and the narrative develops that this is weakening rather than strengthening the positions of workers.’ Obama said in a BBC interview on Sunday that it’s unlikely Congress will ratify the deal before he leaves office but added that it’s important to finish negotiations before the end of the year.”
After one year, Seattle’s $15 minimum wage not raising prices. UW Today: “The interdisciplinary Seattle Minimum Wage Study team … surveyed employers and workers and scanned area commodity and service prices. The team’s report found ‘little or no evidence’ of price increases in Seattle relative to other areas … Under the law, businesses with fewer than 500 employees will reach the $15 an hour wage in seven years, or 2021. Employers with 500 or more employees (either in Seattle or nationally) will reach that level in three years.”
MIT Technology Review’s Richard Martin lists “The 5 Dumbest Things in the U.S. Energy Bill”: “The government has already poured billions of dollars into so-called clean coal projects, including the ill-fated FutureGen plant, with basically nothing to show for it … The most controversial amendment to the bill designates the burning of trees for power generation as ‘carbon neutral,’ on the theory that growing new trees offsets the CO2 released by burning old ones. That claim has been refuted by many scientists…”
Prescription drug fight on CA November ballot. Politico: “Drug companies are expected to pour $100 million into an effort to squash the referendum [which] would require the state to pay no more for prescription drugs than the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs … ‘This is the crack in the door’ on drug pricing, said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog … ‘If any Democrat in America wants bulk purchasing in Medicare, it will start with bulk purchasing for the most liberal state government in America.'”
Speaker Paul Ryan hosts a Georgetown town hall today on his policy agenda. NYT: “In advance of that event, his office has rolled out its latest video holding up Mr. Ryan as a man with a plan, though the details of that plan, obliquely intended to distract from the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, are very much a work in progress.”
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 »