MORNING MESSAGE
As
this election season comes to full boil, we should remember the importance of
civil disobedience to our history. It is one of the few tools ordinary people
still have to organize for change. With corporations spending unlimited campaign
cash, and states requiring photo ID at voting booths, it’s through protest that
we loudly proclaim that we won’t be silenced ... We must all confront a
challenger aiming to make racism mainstream. We are called at this moment to
make sure that never happens. Decency will defeat hate, but we must speak up and
speak publicly.
CONGRESS RETURNS, CLOCK TICKS
Congress
returns with hopes of avoiding government shutdown. W. Post: “Lawmakers have
four weeks to hammer out a spending deal before the fiscal year ends Sept. 30 …
Conservatives want to pass a six-month CR that would kick the larger budget
fight into next year … The opposition to a lame-duck spending deal in the House
is being led by the approximately 40-member House Freedom Caucus with the
backing of several prominent conservative groups.”
Republican
leaders face additional challenges from right-wing congresspeople. Politico:
“…they’re already making merciless demands on Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) that
will put him in a real pinch. One is to force an impeachment vote against IRS
Commissioner John Koskinen … The GOP is also under pressure from Florida
Republican lawmakers to approve a Zika rescue package — even if it means caving
to some Democratic demands.”
BERNIE BACK ON THE TRAIL
Bernie
stumps for Hillary in NH. W. Post: “Clinton, he said, would ‘nominate
Supreme Court justices who will overturn Citizens United’ and ‘fight for real
criminal justice reform, something that has never occurred to Donald Trump.’
After adding that Clinton would fight to make public college affordable, he
noted that his campaign had moved her toward that position.”
Not
all Bernie supporters are persuaded. NYT: “… remaining tensions were plainly
on display. A woman waved a sign that said ‘No Corruption, No Clinton,’ while
another held a painting of Mr. Sanders that said ‘#StillBernie … Still, polls
show that the majority of Mr. Sanders’s former supporters … plan to vote for
Mrs. Clinton.”
Sen.
Elizabeth Warren prepares to shape Clinton administration. Politico:
“Warren’s coalition is developing a hit list of the types of people they’ll
oppose … nominees with ties to big banks, and … corporate executives assuming
government roles in regulating the industries that made them rich … Rohit
Chopra, who was hired by Warren at the CFPB, is joining Clinton’s transition
team. And Heather Boushey, popular among progressives because of her focus on
income inequality, was recently chosen as the team’s chief economist.”
DEMS EYE DOWN BALLOT
Dems
hope to flip state legislatures. The Hill: “[Today,] Republicans control 69
of the 99 state legislative chambers in America … Democrats have decent chances
to win eleven Republican-held legislative chambers. Six of those chambers, state
Senates in Colorado, Nevada, New York, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia,
would change hands if Democrats are able to win only a single seat. Democrats
hope to make more substantial gains in the Maine Senate, and in state House
chambers in Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico and
Pennsylvania.”
Voting
rights advocates make gains with Supreme Court. W. Post: “… the death of
Justice Antonin Scalia has removed the Supreme Court as a crucial conservative
backstop for [restrictive] measures … Texas and North Carolina are now under
judicial order to shelve comprehensive voting laws … In Wisconsin, federal
courts restored some early-voting opportunities …”
BREAKFAST SIDES
One
subprime lender trying to avoid CFPB regulation. NYT: “…the nation’s largest
subprime installment lender, OneMain Financial, may well avoid the new [payday
lending] regulation. OneMain caps its loans at 36 percent interest and would
arguably gain an advantage from federal rules that rein in its higher-cost and
more aggressive competitors … OneMain is not currently lobbying the federal
consumer agency, it regularly writes legislation introduced at the state level.
OneMain did not win every battle, but it already helped change laws this year in
… Arizona, Mississippi and Florida.”
CA
court ruling opens door to public pension cuts. Bloomberg: “…a state
appellate court said benefit cuts are permissible if the pensions remain
‘reasonable’ for workers … The Marin Association of Public Employees … will ask
the state’s Supreme Court to overturn the ruling … While the California court
case has no impact beyond the state, it could inspire challenges elsewhere by
local governments seeking to push through changes over the objections of
workers.”
Denver
airport shows the value of infrastructure investment, says Bloomberg’s Matthew
Winkler: “…elected officials of both parties trace an economic boom to a
decision 27 years ago to spend more than $2 billion on a new Denver airport … It
was assailed as a boondoggle [at the time] by some local businessmen in a
campaign led by Roger Ailes … the DIA’s annual economic impact today exceeds $26
billion … the city’s and state’s unemployment rates remain among the lowest at
3.8 percent…”
Progressive
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