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.”
Progressive
Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to
activists. Progressive Breakfast and OurFuture.org are projects of People's
Action. more
»