MORNING MESSAGE
...only
one candidate is bothering to offer a comprehensive set of policy proposals. As
the Associated Press reported, “Trump’s campaign has posted just seven policy
proposals on his website, totaling just over 9,000 words. There are 38 on
[Democratic candidate Hillary] Clinton’s “issues” page, ranging from efforts to
cure Alzheimer’s disease to Wall Street and criminal justice reform, and her
campaign boasts that it has now released 65 policy fact sheets, totaling 112,735
words.” The policy fight is a mismatch. You can’t beat something with nothing.
And on many fronts, Trump is literally offering nothing.
CLINTON, TRUMP FACE OFF TONIGHT
Clinton
and Trump take part in prime-time TV forum tonight 8 PM ET. The Hill: “…
Hillary Clinton will go first during Wednesday evening’s Commander in Chief
forum, hosted by the IAVA (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) and airing
on NBC and MSNBC. Clinton will take questions from moderator Matt Lauer and
members of the audience — which will largely be comprised of veterans and active
service members — for 30 minutes before Donald Trump takes the stage.”
Clinton
doesn’t attack GOP Congress. The Hill: “It’s a strategy aimed at wooing
anti-Trump Republicans, but one that dismays some Democrats who think a more
pointed attack from Clinton would help the party win back the Senate majority
and pick up a lot of seats in the House.”
Republican
donors pump money into Senate races. Politico: “Two top outside groups
designed to support Senate Republicans raised $42 million in August, a massive
haul … Donors, skeptical of Donald Trump and increasingly convinced he will lose
in November, are turning away from the presidential race in an effort to save
their legislative firewall on Capitol Hill.”
Several
liberal ballot initiatives theoretically could boost turnout. TNR’s David
Dayen: “Four states (Arizona, Colorado, Maine and Washington state) will
vote on increasing the minimum wage … California will try to lower prescription
drug prices … Colorado will attempt to install a single-payer health care
system. Maine and Nevada have background checks for gun purchases on the ballot,
while a California initiative would ban large-capacity magazines for ammunition
… Oregon would increase the corporate tax on big businesses; South Dakota would
cap interest rates on short-term loans to 36 percent. By contrast, there are
only a couple of conservative ballot measures out there … [But] if 2014 is any
guide, that won’t move the [turnout] needle.”
Kochs
hope to rebuild Republican Party after Trump. NYT: “Their secret weapon is
the Grassroots Leadership Academy … intended to groom the next generation of
conservative activists … The network hopes that these activists will learn how
to make a compelling, personal pitch to win over new converts to the cause, and
that if volunteers are grounded in a strong philosophical understanding of
free-market principles, they will be better prepared not only to explain their
beliefs but also to ward off candidates, like Mr. Trump, who do not espouse
their vision.”
CONGRESS TRIES TO FUNCTION
Water
bill with Flint aid could clear Senate soon. NYT: “[The] $9 billion measure
that would authorize spending on the nation’s water infrastructure … includes
$280 million to address the [Flint] crisis … It has wide bipartisan support, and
staff members expect it to receive more than 80 votes. However, the prospects
for combining the bill with a more modest $5 billion House measure, which
contains none of the Flint provisions, remain uncertain.”
House
GOP leadership appears to break with right-wing on keeping government open. Roll
Call: “The speaker’s comment that individual appropriations bills will be
negotiated throughout the fall suggests an interest in wrapping up those
negotiations this year, likely with an omnibus spending bill in December …
Pushing for a CR through December will nonetheless anger House Freedom Caucus
members and other conservatives who do not want to negotiate an omnibus during a
lame-duck session.”
Senate
Banking Committee chair will change next year no matter what. The Hill:
“[Sen. Richard] Shelby is expected to easily win reelection in November but
won’t be allowed to keep the Banking gavel in the next Congress due to
Republican term limit rules. That’s welcome news for Democrats and financial
services lobbyists. They say Shelby has failed to move important legislation and
nominations out of committee, ignored several potential bipartisan deals and
failed to prioritize policy and oversight issues … The committee would likely be
led in the next Congress by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) if Republicans hold the
majority, while the gavel would likely fall to [Sen. Sherrod] Brown (D-Ohio) if
Democrats take control.”
Obama
stumps for TPP in Asia. LAT: “A failure by Congress to ratify the Trans
Pacific Partnership deal would ‘call into question America’s leadership’ just as
a new administration transitions into power, Obama warned Tuesday … ‘I will
continue to push hard on the U.S. Congress to approve TPP before I leave office
because I think it is important for this entire region and it is important for
the United States,’ … In addition to reassuring leaders of the other 11
countries involved in the trade talks, Obama is signaling to domestic allies
that he’s prepared to fight campaigns to prevent a vote in Congress after the
election.”
BREAKFAST SIDES
Feds
may prosecute HSBC. Bloomberg: “Prosecutors’ fresh investigation of HSBC
brings them closer to a step that has often been threatened but rarely taken —
tearing up a deferred-prosecution agreement if a company fails to walk the road
of reform laid out by the Justice Department … It admitted in 2012 that it
helped Mexican drug cartels launder money and did business with Iran and other
sanctioned nations … If the Justice Department determines that the bank broke
U.S. law after it entered into the agreement, it could invoke a section of the
deal that says HSBC could be held responsible for the conduct it admitted to in
2012.”
College
enrollment rate dips, impacting economy. Bloomberg: “Enrollment has declined
every year since peaking in 2011 … The reasons include an aging population,
rising tuition costs and a healthy rate of hiring … central bankers largely
powerless to fix the schooling slump say something must be done to counter it to
prevent a new era of weaker growth … Among the most noticeable consequences of
weaker college enrollment is lower wages … the direct impact of less-educated
people joining the workforce has the potential to reduce productivity by 0.25
percentage point a year …”
Bloomberg
explores investigation into ExxonMobil’s campaign to debunk climate science:
“…on Nov. 4, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman opened a formal
investigation into whether Exxon had misled investors and regulators about
climate change … Schneiderman now finds himself under investigation … says
Michael Gerrard, a law professor at Columbia … ‘The government would have to
show that there were things that only Exxon knew and that were material to
investors and that Exxon kept from investors. Such evidence might be there, but
we don’t know yet.'”
Progressive
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