MORNING MESSAGE
Trump’s Five Worst Tax Secrets, Revealed
Donald
Trump tweeted that “someone should look into who paid for” the “small” rallies
demanding that he release his tax returns. The real question is, who pays for
all the tax breaks that are given to people like Donald Trump? The answer is, we
all do.
Bernie Fortifies His Position
Establishment
Dems increasingly comfortable with Bernie. The Hill: “More than a dozen
Democrats interviewed by The Hill say the Vermont Independent has become a
powerful and welcome voice … While misgivings remain about giving too much
leadership to a politician who technically isn’t a Democrat, a clear warming
trend is on the rise … [Sanders and DNC Tom Perez] will hit the road in April
for a unity tour dubbed ‘Come Together and Fight Back.’ They will appear at
rallies in seven states over six days.”
Pro-charter
school Democrats risk being tied to Betsy DeVos. Politico: “… publicity
surrounding her controversial appointment has allowed a new line of attack on
members of the party who … have embraced charter school expansion and other
education policies opposed by unions and traditional public school advocates.
Labor-backed Democrats are seizing on the DeVos issue as an opportunity ahead of
the 2018 primary elections.
Cordray Out?
Politico
explores whether CFPB chief will be fired or resign to run for OH governor:
“Gary Cohn gave Richard Cordray, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau, an ultimatum over dinner a few weeks ago: Go the easy way, or go the
hard way. Cohn … had heard the rumors that Cordray wanted to run for governor in
Ohio. He left dinner that night thinking that they were true … So the White
House decided to hold off on firing Cordray. Trump didn’t want to cause a
sensation that could boost his candidacy and juice his fundraising.”
Barney
Frank warns GOP against eliminating CFPB. The Hill: “[Frank] said that it
would be ‘very unpopular’ [because] the CFPB has ‘saved consumers a lot of
money.’ … Frank said he hopes that lawmakers can reach an agreement on ‘minor
changes’ to Dodd-Frank ‘that make it easier for the smaller and middle-sized
banks without weakening the rules against great losses that people can’t deal
with.’ … such as changing some of the rules that apply to small banks and
increasing the $50 billion threshold for systematically important financial
institutions to about $100 billion to $125 billion.”
Trump
to name Wall Street insider to key Fed post. Politico: “…Trump is expected
to nominate former Treasury undersecretary Randy Quarles as the Federal
Reserve’s top bank regulator … a clear signal that the administration is looking
to take a pragmatic approach to paring back bank regulation, rather than
choosing an ideologue who would seek to eviscerate the rules … [He] is a
managing partner at equity investment firm The Cynosure Group … [The] Fed vice
chairman of supervision [position] has never been formally filled since it was
created [by Dodd-Frank.]”
Special Election Tests Trump
Georgia’s
6th gets ready to vote tomorrow. Atlanta’s 11Alive News: “…all [his] money
and national attention caused some race watchers to wonder if Ossoff could win
without a runoff. However, over the campaign’s last two weeks, his polling
numbers have leveled off in the mid-40s; no poll has ever shown him higher than
45 percent. Also, his top Republican opponents, namely Karen Handel, are hitting
Ossoff – hard – over his fundraising sources and his support from some of the
nation’s top liberal leaders … Ossoff’s ground game is arguably the strongest in
the race; his base seems to be the most energized…”
“Trump
Voters in a Swing District Wonder When the ‘Winning’ Will Start” reports NYT
from PA swing county “‘Just like any other damn president,’ sighed Theresa
Remington, 44, a home-care worker … She wondered aloud how Senator Bernie
Sanders of Vermont might have fared … Many still trust him, but wonder why his
deal-making instincts do not seem to be translating …”
“Appalachia
Needs Big Government” argues TNR’s Laura Reston and Sarah Jones: “Like much
of rural Appalachia, Hancock … relies on federal funding for even the most basic
services. Almost a third of the population lives in poverty … Hancock … owes its
sewage system, hospital, even its sidewalk maintenance to a little known federal
agency called the Appalachian Regional Commission, or ARC. ARC is on the
chopping block in the skinny budget President Trump released on March 16 [but]
ARC is an example of big government at its best…”
Immigration
could be Trump’s “undoing” says Prof. Philip Klinkner in LAT oped: “…did he
win despite his aggressive rhetoric, or because of it? Data from the recently
released American National Election Study has finally provided an answer … Trump
won in 2016 by mobilizing the minority of Americans with anti-immigration views
— but only because he avoided an offsetting counter-mobilization by the majority
of Americans with pro-immigration views. Now that he is president and his
immigration views can’t be dismissed as mere campaign rhetoric, that
counter-mobilization may finally be manifesting itself.”
Breakfast Sides
Hesitation
on health care complicates tax reform push. WSJ: “Republicans had planned to
pass the health bill using a 2017 reconciliation bill and then use a 2018
reconciliation bill for taxes. When the first health care effort collapsed in
March, they began exploring revising or repurposing the 2017 bill for tax
policy. But Mr. Trump’s re-pivot to health care puts those plans on hold … the
strategy and sequencing also leaves the tax overhaul waiting behind a messy
health care bill and a 2018 budget resolution, which is necessary to trigger a
reconciliation bill. Republicans on Capitol Hill worry that they may not be able
to adopt a 2018 budget resolution because of intraparty disagreements on
spending.”
Mansplaining
rampant on Supreme Court, finds study of interruptions. NYT: “‘Even though
female justices speak less often and use fewer words than male justices,’ the
study found, ‘they are nonetheless interrupted during oral argument at a
significantly higher rate.’ … The study considered 7,239 interruptions in
arguments from 2004 to 2015. Of those, 32 percent were of women, and just 4
percent were by women … Male lawyers also interrupt female justices more often
than male ones. (Female lawyers, it seems, never interrupt anyone.)”
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