MORNING MESSAGE
It
began with the two contenders refusing to shake hands. And spiraled down from
there ... The brief and rare exchanges on ideas were revealing ... But the clash
of ideas was a sideshow. This “debate” was an exchange of insults, egged on by
the moderators. The only redeeming feature is that it will be hard to get lower
than that.
GOP CIVIL WAR BREAKS OUT
Speaker
Paul Ryan could still un-endorse Trump. Politico: “…Ryan has personally been
on the edge of pulling the plug but has held out because his decision is about
more than just his personal feelings: It’s about saving his massive 60-seat
majority … Many of his closest allies say left to his own devices, he’d dump
Trump … [But] the base could revolt or stay home on Election Day, damaging GOP
House candidates.”
Trump’s
sexual assault comments put Senate at risk for GOP. USA Today: “Among the
GOP senators and candidates in competitive races who have rescinded their
endorsements of Trump: Sens. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire, John McCain of
Arizona and Rob Portman of Ohio. Rep. Joe Heck, who is running for the open
Senate seat in Nevada that is being vacated by retiring Minority Leader Harry
Reid, also took back his support of Trump [and] was booed by some Trump
loyalists. ‘They called him traitor,’ [U. of NV’s Eric] Herzik said. ‘That’s the
risk you take.'”
More
from NYT: “Paula Barche Rupnik, a Republican from Scottsdale, Ariz., was
planning to vote for Senator John McCain in his re-election campaign this year.
But she changed her mind this weekend, after he rescinded his support for Donald
J. Trump … She has never voted for a Democrat before. ‘I want to send a message
to John McCain,’ said Ms. Rupnik…”
Clinton
Super PAC turns to Senate. CNN: “The fact that they may use their resources
to also promote Democratic candidates in down-ballot races suggests how
increasingly confident they are in a Clinton victory … Priorities USA is
currently producing television ads to potentially air in Senate contests in
North Carolina, Nevada, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.”
ECONOMY MIA IN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES
Almost
no questions about the economy. The Hill: “The economy was nearly missing in
action during the second presidential debate Sunday night, when just one of 23
questions touched on the economy by covering tax policy [even though the] CBS
News/New York Times poll found the economy and jobs to be the top issue for most
voters …”
Clinton
proposes expanded child tax credit. Roll Call: “The Democratic presidential
candidate is set to outline a new proposal Tuesday that would eliminate a $3,000
earned income threshold before parents can get money through a refundable child
tax credit … Clinton wants to double the credit available to $2,000 per child
through the age of four. In addition, her campaign pointed to a push to expanded
child tax credits for people whose children are older, as well.”
BREAKFAST SIDES
Dakota
Access Pipeline opponents lose court case. NBC: “…the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the tribe’s request for a
permanent injunction … The ruling allows Energy Transfer Partners — the
Dallas-based company funding the project — to move forward with construction of
the pipeline on all privately owned land up to the Missouri River … The court’s
ruling acknowledged that it was ‘not the final word,’ noting that the final
decision lies with the [U.S. Army] Corps of Engineers … That decision, the court
said, ‘is likely weeks away.'”
Power
shift inside Wells Fargo. NYT: “The changes, to take effect on Nov. 1, will
place a number of top executives directly under the purview of [Timothy] Sloan,
a 29-year company veteran who was promoted last November to Wells Fargo’s No. 2
spot, becoming the bank’s president and chief operating officer. Mr. Sloan, who
has been head of Wells Fargo’s wholesale banking division — which does business
with companies and organizations, not personal account holders — has been
largely insulated from the scandal engulfing the company’s retail banking
group.”
Climate
change is worsening wildfires. NYT: “In a new study published Monday in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists from the University
of Idaho and Columbia University … state that, since 1979, climate change is
responsible for more than half of the dryness of Western forests and the
increased length of the fire season. Since 1984, those factors have enlarged the
cumulative forest fire area by 16,000 square miles, about the size of
Massachusetts and Connecticut combined … Every degree that temperatures warm has
a much bigger effect on the fire area than the previous degree did.”
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