MORNING MESSAGE
As
I took my oldest son to summer camp on Thursday morning, we rode in uneasy
silence, listening to the news of Philando Castile’s death ... I was emotionally
wrung out ... I thought about the times I have been in similar circumstances.
More than 20 years ago, I was stopped by police late one night on Capitol Hill.
It was around 4 a.m., and I was giving my fraternity brother a ride home, when I
saw blue lights flashing behind me. The officer said she stopped me for the same
reason Castile was told he was stopped: my taillight was out ... I was lucky
that night. I drove away, with just a warning. Philando Castile
wasn’t.
SANDERS ENDORSES CLINTON TODAY
Sanders,
Clinton unite, though future relationship uncertain. W. Post: “While they
have a common enemy in Republican Donald Trump, Clinton and Sanders don’t have
much of a personal or professional relationship. And many of their supporters
remain deeply suspicious of the other candidate.”
Endorsement
only part of Clinton effort to woo Bernie supporters. Politico: “That
outreach appears to have produced material results … Fully 85 percent of
Sanders’ primary supporters said they would vote for Clinton, compared to just
69 percent of hers backing Obama after she dropped out eight years ago … the
Clinton operation prioritized winning over the loudest liberals, some of whom
are proponents of the #BernieorBust movement … A collection of Clinton’s top
aides have also gone out of their way to personally speak with Sanders’
convention delegates…”
Bill
McKibben praises platform in Politico Magazine oped: “…the platform hammered
out over the weekend in Orlando, Florida, is, … the most progressive of any
major party ever, and by a lot … Nothing in the platform guarantees
success—Clinton could decide to ignore the promises her team made. It will be up
to the movement to enforce these promises—but we’re good at doing that, in no
small part thanks to the lessons in relentlessness we’ve learned from
Bernie.”
Holding
out paid off, says Time’s Sam Frizell: “Weeks of backroom and telephone
negotiations resulted in Sanders-backed policy ideas landing on Clinton’s
platform and in the Democratic Party’s blueprint … Sanders’ moderate successes
brings him to Portsmouth on Tuesday with something of the swagger of a
victor…”
Can
Bernie bring his voters to Clinton? AP: “…many Sanders fans at a Democratic
meeting in Orlando over the weekend had clear reservations about casting a
ballot for Clinton … As of Monday, 10 permits have been issued by the city for
rallies and marches during the convention, and six of those are for Sanders
supporters … Some people said they would get behind Clinton, though they want to
hear Sanders’ reasoning.”
Obama
renews call for public health insurance option, in The Journal of the American
Medical Association. NYT: “After defending the Affordable Care Act in all
its intricacies for six years, President Obama proposed ways to improve it on
Monday, saying that Congress should provide larger subsidies for private health
insurance and create a public plan like Medicare to compete with private
insurers in some states. At the same time, he accused the pharmaceutical
industry of trying to protect its profits by opposing any constraints on drug
prices.”
OBAMA TO ADDRESS SHOOTINGS IN DALLAS
Obama
to speak at Dallas service. NYT: “This will be the 11th time in his
presidency that he has sought to comfort a city after a mass killing, and the
second time in a month that such a killing grew out of bias.”
Obama
meets law enforcement leaders. W. Post: “[Obama said] that he considered the
killing of the five police officers in Dallas on Thursday ‘a hate crime’ and
that he would work actively to serve as an intermediary between minority
activists and police. ‘I’m your best hope,’ Obama remarked at one point,
according to the Fraternal Order of Police’s James O. Pasco … ‘I don’t
disagree,’ said Pasco, who has criticized aspects of the administration’s
gun-control policy. ‘We’re all in this together.'”
Trump
declares “I am the law and order candidate” reports Politico.
BAYH BOOSTS DEMS BID FOR SENATE CONTROL
Evan
Bayh jumps into Indiana Senate race. Politico: “The surprise entry by the
former two-term senator and governor instantly upended the Senate landscape by
putting in play a red state … Democrats have circulated internal polling that
shows Bayh with a double-digit lead … ‘This was done single-handedly by Chuck
Schumer,’ [Sen. Harry] Reid said in an interview … Bayh and his wife, Susan,
have also come under criticism for her work on boards for corporations that
lobby Congress…”
House
Dems campaign arm expands ad buys. Roll Call: “The House Majority PAC
reserved broadcast and cable airtime in seven new media markets Monday, covering
six congressional districts that are either Tossups or Republican-leaning seats
the party hopes to put in play this fall. The PAC’s reservations for the fall
now exceed $24 million across 30 media markets.”
CONGRESS CONSIDERS ENERGY BILL
House
and Senate move towards energy bill compromise. The Hill: “…Senate leaders
have agreed to restrict the negotiated bill and take out provisions that Obama
would veto … The Senate passed its broad, bipartisan energy bill in April. The
bill would modernize numerous energy policies, with an eye toward improving the
electric grid, encouraging energy efficiency, easing exports of natural gas and
other priorities. The House’s bill, passed last year, was far more
partisan…”
WH
threatens veto of House EPA bill. The Hill: “. The legislation would cut
spending for the departments by $64 million from current spending levels and is
$1 billion less than what President Obama requested in his budget. The bill also
contains policy riders designed to block administration rules on water, power
plant emissions and coal mining.”
Natural
gas industry tries to contain methane leakage. NYT: “Southwestern is helping
to lead an industry group, One Future, which aims to reduce methane leakage to
less than 1 percent of total national gas production. Some estimates put the
current amount at nearly twice that level or more. Other members of the group
include Apache, BHP Billiton, Hess, Kinder Morgan and AGL Resources … Mark K.
Boling, executive vice president of Southwestern, which is based in Houston
[said,] ‘The Paris climate accord tells us we have got to do something about
this.’'”
BREAKFAST SIDES
Jamie
Dimon gives his workers a raise, announces in NYT oped: “Over the next three
years, we will raise the minimum pay for 18,000 employees to between $12 and
$16.50 an hour for full-time, part-time and new employees … Wages for many
Americans have gone nowhere for too long. Many employees who will receive this
increase work as bank tellers and customer service representatives. Above all,
it enables more people to begin to share in the rewards of economic growth.”
NLRB
allows unions to organize offices with indirect workers. American Prospect:
“…the board announced a decision … ruling that unions that want to represent
bargaining units including direct employees as well as ‘permatemps,’ contract
workers, and other indirect workers that share a ‘community of interest’ are no
longer required to get permission from the parent company. The old standard,
established by George W. Bush’s NLRB in 2004, which required unions to gain such
parent-employer consent, allowed companies to use staffing agencies and
subcontractors as a barrier to organizing drives.”
“
6.4M children rely on Social Security. Bloomberg: “More children are being supported by Social Security as the American family heads back to a living arrangement more akin to the early 20th century, with multiple generations living under the same roof … Many Americans aren’t just using Social Security—and any paltry savings they’ve accumulated—to support themselves. Now, some also bear the burden of caring for grandchildren.”
“
6.4M children rely on Social Security. Bloomberg: “More children are being supported by Social Security as the American family heads back to a living arrangement more akin to the early 20th century, with multiple generations living under the same roof … Many Americans aren’t just using Social Security—and any paltry savings they’ve accumulated—to support themselves. Now, some also bear the burden of caring for grandchildren.”
Vote
suppression laws could “tilt the scales” in November, says Hedrick Smith:
“Republican control [of state governments] generated new restrictions on voters
and voting that go into effect for the first time in this year’s elections in 16
states … the bluntest instrument in the GOP arsenal is the strict new legal
mandate in 11 states that a government-issued photo ID is required to register
and vote …”
Progressive
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