Progressive Breakfast: What Obama Never Got About Education

MORNING MESSAGE

“We’ve made a lot of progress” on education, President Obama recently announced and pointed to record high school graduation rates of 83 percent as proof ... Is this a narrative Democrats should hang their hats on ... how good really are his education “numbers,” and are Democrats talking about the education numbers that matter most?

TRUMP OUTSPENT

Trump short on cash as GOP tries to save Congress. NYT: “Disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday revealed tens of millions of dollars in late donations and transfers to Republican ‘super PACs’ focused on down-ballot races … Democrats have also enjoyed a late surge of money into groups supporting Senate candidates … The few conservative billionaires who rallied around Mr. Trump appear to have closed the spigot.”
While Clinton flush. Bloomberg:Hillary Clinton extended her financial advantage in the presidential race’s final weeks, amassing a $153 million war chest that is more than twice as large as Donald Trump’s. Clinton raised $101 million in the first 19 days of October for her campaign and a pair of committees that share funds with the Democratic Party…”
Early voting goes both ways. Bloomberg: “Democrats are casting early votes with greater intensity in North Carolina and Colorado, while Republicans appear to have the early edge in Ohio and Iowa. There’s a surge of early balloting in Florida, another crucial swing state, though it’s difficult to say yet whether the advantage goes to Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump.”

WH STILL PUSHING TPP

Commerce Secretary touts TPP in LAT interview: “The anxiety we’re seeing in our country should not be ignored. I think the cause of this anxiety is not trade … Not trading will create more anxiety because it will create less opportunity for American workers and American businesses and our economy will hurt.”
“Trump Blames Ohio’s Rust Belt Woes on Clintons” reports WSJ: “Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump railed against the trade deals backed by Democrat Hillary Clinton and her husband, saying, ‘Every time you see a closed factory or wiped-out community in Ohio, it was essentially caused by the Clintons.'”

PROGRESSIVES SEEK TO SHAPE CLINTON WH

Progressives prepare list of unacceptable nominees. W. Post: “Liberal advocacy groups are preparing blacklists of candidates for appointments to a Hillary Clinton administration, with one organization even producing opposition research … At Treasury, progressives see red flags for several potential leaders, including Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and Federal Reserve Board member Lael Brainard. One potential candidate whom Warren and others on the left have signaled to be acceptable is Sarah Bloom Raskin, now deputy treasury secretary … Gary Gensler, former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, is also viewed favorably, though Gensler’s past work at Goldman Sachs has given some progressives pause.”
Wells Fargo impacts House races. W. Post: “The Working Families Party, a progressive organization founded in New York but expanding its reach with every election, is spending in three usually Republican congressional districts in an attempt to nationalize the election around something new: the Wells Fargo scandal. The ad, versions of which are running against Reps. Scott Garrett (R-N.J.), Sean P. Duffy (R-Wis.) and French Hill (R-Ark.), hammers each incumbent for supporting the Financial Choice Act [which would] would scale back the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau…”

POLICE CONFRONT DAKOTA PIPELINE PROTESTERS

“Police evict oil pipeline protesters from private land” reports Associated Press: “Law enforcement officers dressed in riot gear and firing bean bags and pepper spray evicted protesters Thursday from private land in the path of the Dakota Access oil pipeline, dramatically escalating a monthslong dispute over Native American rights and the project’s environmental impact … Though officials earlier said they planned to turn the site over to private security, [Sheriff Kyle] Kirchmeier said police would stay for now.”
Armed counter-protestor arrested. Mother Jones: “After a car chase and a standoff during which he allegedly pointed his assault rifle at a local Sioux teenager, the man, apparently an employee of Dakota Access LLC, was arrested and handed over to the FBI.”

BREAKFAST SIDES

Third quarter GDP growth accelerates. Bureau of Economic Analysis: “Real gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.9 percent … In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.4 percent … The increase in real GDP in the third quarter reflected positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures, exports, private inventory investment, federal government spending, and nonresidential fixed investment that were partly offset by negative contributions from residential fixed investment and state and local government spending.”
“EPA aims to improve environmental protections for minorities” reports The Hill: “The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set out a five-year plan Thursday to guide how it will ensure that its programs properly protect the health and environment of minority communities. The plan, dubbed the Environmental Justice 2020 Action Agenda, sets overarching goals and a framework for considering the needs of minorities in nearly all of the EPA’s work, such as enforcement of environmental laws, partnerships with local communities, writing regulations and granting permits.”
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