MORNING MESSAGE
Finally, A Chance to Remake the Democratic Party
For
the first time in a quarter-century, we’re about to see a vacuum of political
and intellectual leadership in the Democratic Party. An entire generation of
leaders – including Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Bill and Hillary Clinton – will
be leaving the political stage. With them will go an entire infrastructure of
policy advisers, political strategists, associates, friends, and hangers-on. The
party will have to remake itself. The question is, as what?
SANDERS TO LEAD RALLY TODAY
People’s
Action to join Our Revolution in Washington, DC rally at 1 PM ET today:
“Join Senator U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders and broad array of labor,
environmental, healthcare, consumer and other advocacy groups in Washington DC
Thursday to promote a people’s agenda and a common commitment to stepping up
grassroots mobilizations for economic and social justice and equality as the
incoming Trump administration takes office.”
Sen.
Schumer installs Sens. Sanders, Warren and Manchin in Democratic leadership.
Time: “Sanders won a position as chair of outreach … Warren, formerly a
strategic policy adviser, was named vice chair of the conference … The more
conservative Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia won a messaging position …
[Sanders] will continue as the ranking member of the Budget Committee.”
Sanders’
role is fuzzy. Politico: “…no one could fully explain what Sanders’ new
post, announced on Wednesday, will entail … [Sanders] dropped hints about his
plans for the role in a speech at George Washington University on Wednesday
night … ‘Many Democrats will be prepared to work with Mr. Trump’ on some
priorities he talked about during his campaign, Sanders said. ‘If those promises
turn out to be hollow, nothing more than campaign rhetoric,’ he vowed, Democrats
would stand against Trump …
The
Hill explores the rules for the DNC race: “There is no set date for the
election, which is required to take place some time before March 31 … A simple
majority of DNC members, or 224 votes, is needed to win. About a quarter those
voting — 112 — are chairs or vice chars from the 50 states and six territories.
An additional 200 are elected below them at the state level, turning the contest
into a true national election that will unfold outside of Washington.”
Pelosi
formally announces bid to retain Minority Leader post. The Hill: “…Pelosi
wrote in a letter to all House Democrats[,] ‘As of this writing, I am pleased to
report the support of more than two-thirds of the Caucus.’ … there was some
grumbling on Wednesday that the letter failed to acknowledge the protest message
from the rank-and-file just the day before.”
Rep.
Joe Crowley could challenge Pelosi. Politico: “Crowley, a New York City
native, served in the New York State assembly from 1986 to 1998, when he won a
seat in the House. Once on Capitol Hill, Crowley quickly aligned himself with
[Rep. Steny] Hoyer and other moderate, pro-business Democrats.”
WALL STREET SETTLES IN
Trump
administration looks to be an “investment banker’s dream” reports Politico:
“Former Goldman Sachs banker Steven Mnuchin has been seen at Trump Tower amid
rumors that he’s the leading candidate for Treasury secretary. Billionaire
investor Wilbur Ross appears headed to the Commerce Department. Steve Bannon,
another Goldman alum, will work steps from the Oval Office. If Mnuchin drops
out, as some rumors suggest he may, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon remains a
possibility as Treasury secretary, and will serve as an outside adviser if he
doesn’t get the job … ‘You would have to go back to the 1920s to see so much
Wall Street influence coming to Washington,’ said Charles Geisst, a Wall Street
historian at Manhattan College…”
Mnuchin
once accused of racial discrimination. Mother Jones: “Two California
nonprofit housing organizations have formally asked the US Department of Housing
and Urban Development to investigate allegations of racially discriminatory
practices at OneWest Bank, now a subsidiary of CIT Bank and formerly headed by
Trump adviser Steven Mnuchin. The complaint alleges that OneWest systematically
refused to loan to people of color or to establish branches in minority
communities in California.”
House
GOP prepares Dodd-Frank rollback. NYT: “[Rep. Jeb] Hensarling introduced his
blueprint for reform, the Financial Choice Act … last summer, and he said he was
‘cautiously optimistic’ that a version of the bill could come up for a vote on
the House floor early next year … Mr. Hensarling’s bill seeks to revamp the
oversight of financial institutions and how big banks are wound down in times of
trouble, as well as make structural changes to the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau and the broader rule-making process. It would also repeal the Volcker
Rule … he conceded that Senate rules, which require 60 votes to avoid a
filibuster, will still demand some amount of compromise with Democrats…”
CORRUPT DONALD
NYT
edit board demands Trump remove conflicts of interest: “Unless he takes the
sorts of common-sense steps past presidents have relied on to preserve the
public trust, Americans will never know for certain if his actions in office are
for the public good or his family’s private gain … the cleanest path out of Mr.
Trump’s tangle of conflicts would be for him to sell his holdings and put the
proceeds into a blind trust operated by independent managers.”
Zephyr
Teachout says “Trump’s Foreign Business Ties May Violate the Constitution” in
NYT oped: “Several provisions of the Constitution were designed assuming
that foreign powers would actively try to gain influence. President-elect Trump
may be on the verge of violating one of them, known as the ’emoluments clause’ …
an antibribery rule, which forbids public servants from accepting anything of
value from foreign powers without explicit congressional approval.”
INFRASTRUCTURE BILL MAY BE LIMP
GOP
open to infrastructure bill. The Hill: “But even the most optimistic
lawmakers caution that conservative support for his plan will hinge on the
details, such as how the package is paid for and whether it’s coupled with other
GOP priorities … Lawmakers acknowledged that coming up with a palatable budget
offset would be a herculean task … increasing the federal gas tax to pay for
infrastructure is a nonstarter. There’s more appetite for … “repatriation” … But
Republicans have also floated repatriation as a way to finance tax reform …
other components of the plan that may be important to conservatives are whether
it ensures dollars are distributed fairly across the country and whether it
rolls back certain regulatory hurdles to getting projects off the ground…”
“Donald
Trump’s infrastructure plan wouldn’t actually fix America’s infrastructure
problems” argues Vox’s Brad Plumer: “All Trump has right now is an
idiosyncratic proposal for Congress to offer some $137 billion in tax breaks to
private investors who want to finance [projects] … But this private financing
scheme, experts across the political spectrum say, wouldn’t address many of
America’s most pressing infrastructure needs — like repairing existing roads or
replacing leaky water mains in poorer communities like Flint … If high user fees
and tolls are required to help private investors recoup their investments, then
a lot of infrastructure in America will simply never get funded.”
An
infrastructure bill “could take several months” reports Politico: “Writing
legislation of that size and complexity is extraordinarily challenging and time
consuming … But one thing is clear: Trump’s dream of a $1 trillion
infrastructure bill is that — a dream. It’s likely to be smaller — a lot
smaller.”
Trump’s
economic plans suffer from a “glaring contraction” says NYT’s Neil Irwin: “A
centerpiece of Mr. Trump’s campaign was the United States’ trade deficits. He
pledged to eliminate them and create a resurgence in American manufacturing. He
has also pledged tax cuts, infrastructure spending and deregulation … That, in
turn, is driving the value of the dollar higher on currency markets … A pricier
dollar makes it harder for American manufacturers to compete overseas [and] tend
to make the trade deficit higher…”
Fed
poised to raise rates. Bloomberg: “A rate hike ‘could well become
appropriate relatively soon if incoming data provide some further evidence of
continued progress toward the committee’s objectives,’ Yellen said in the text
of testimony she is scheduled to deliver Thursday in Washington before
Congress’s Joint Economic Committee … Yellen’s remarks will serve to cement
expectations, barring a significant negative shock, for an increase in interest
rates when the Federal Open Market Committee gathers in Washington Dec.
13-14.”
Obamacare
strategy may be “repeal and delay.” The Hill: “A Republican plan to quickly
repeal most of ObamaCare but delay the effects for up to two years is gaining
steam on Capitol Hill … But there’s a problem: If insurers know the law is going
away, they might drop out immediately, causing chaos for enrollees before any
replacement plan has time to take shape.”
Coal
CEOs excited for Trump. The Hill: “…Trump has promised to revive the
industry and bring back the thousands of jobs that it once provided … Experts
and even industry officials say Trump’s policies are likely to make a marginal
difference, potentially increasing profit margins. Beyond that, the future of
coal remains cloudy.”
Obama
admin plows ahead on climate. Time: “The White House presented a plan
Wednesday to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% below 2005 levels by 2050,
announced a finalized regulation to reduce methane gas emissions from oil and
gas operations, and has continued to push for strong multi-lateral action in
ongoing negotiations at an international climate change conference in Marrakech.
The administration is also reportedly planning to block oil and gas drilling in
the Arctic through 2022 … Trump could take aim at any of the new plans or rules
when he takes office in January, but announcing them formally will make
reversing them much more challenging.”
Progressive
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