Progressive Breakfast: The Left Matters – Now, More Than Ever

MORNING MESSAGE

It’s a paradoxical situation: within the Democratic Party, those who have most often been right continue to be held at arm’s length by those who – at least in most cases – were so often originally wrong ... Democratic Party insiders will sometimes remind independent leftists that they are few in number, and that most Democrats are happy with their leaders. That’s missing the point ... The activist left isn’t important because of its numbers. It’s important because its members are the canaries in the coal mine for an unresponsive political process. A Democratic Party that patronizes them will also fail to reach the disaffected majority.

Iowa Working Families Summit Sends Message

Communications Workers of America President Larry Cohen says Iowa Working Families Summit sent message to ’16ers: “We were labor and green, students and seniors, farmers and community organizers, urban and rural, immigrants and native-born, all realizing that more than ever, we have a common narrative based on democracy and economic justice that goes beyond our organizational silos, as important as those silos may be … Democratic presidential contenders campaigning in Iowa need to step up now and tell us ‘which side they are on.'”
In Iowa, Hillary Clinton nods toward “debt-free” college. HuffPost: “‘We have to deal with the indebtedness — to try to move toward making college as debt-free as possible,’ Clinton said on the Iowa campaign trail. The statement brings her a step closer to endorsing so-called debt-free college … Sanders’ more specific proposal to eliminate tuition (though not other college expenses), entitled the College for All Act, would allot $70 billion to cover the total cost of tuition at the nation’s public colleges and universities…”

Los Angeles Goes For $15

LA approves $15 minimum wage. W. Post: “The Los Angeles City Council voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to raise the city’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2020, up from the current $9 an hour, becoming the largest American city to set a target that has gone from almost absurdly ambitious to mainstream in the span of a few years.”
OurFuture.org’s Robert Borosage explains the lesson from the LA win: “This dramatic change comes only because workers organized to demand it … A $15 minimum wage had little support from political leaders (Sen. Bernie Sanders a rare exception). It had little support from progressive economists who were more comfortable defending a raise to $10.10 or to $12 … This is entirely a victory for workers, the movement that fought for $15, and the unions and community organizations that supported them.”

McConnell Fast Tracks Fast Track

McConnell moves toward Thursday fast track vote. Politico: “McConnell said that’s ‘not the end of the story’ and he will try to accommodate more amendment votes … As of Tuesday night, the Senate had taken two amendments votes on the bill, though a handful more are in line to receive a vote later this week. Reid said if that’s all the amendments that get votes, it will be ‘really unfair.’ Asked if he will again whip his caucus to block the fast-track bill if McConnell moves to cut off debate on Tuesday evening, Reid demurred: ‘A decision will be made at a later time.'”
Few amendments are expected to get votes. The Hill: “Senators have offered more than 150 amendments, but only a handful will receive votes, far fewer than Reid and Schumer wanted. Yet they are unlikely to be able to keep the caucus unified against proceeding to a final vote on Thursday because the leaders of a group of about 15 Democrats who support free trade, Sens. Ron Wyden (Ore.) and Patty Murray (Wash.), are expected to vote for cloture, Democratic staffers say.”
“White House Threatens to Veto Trade Bill Over Currency Measure” reports WSJ: “Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew called the bipartisan currency measure a ‘poison pill’ that could sink the proposed 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership pact if it is included in legislation needed to complete and win passage of the deal … [GOP Sen. Rob] Portman rejected the ‘poison pill’ label Tuesday, saying the amendment was ‘a vitamin’ that would strengthen the U.S.’s negotiating objective on currency…”
Obama pushes for separate currency bill. NYT: “With bipartisan momentum building for a currency amendment to the trade bill, President Obama on Tuesday publicly backed a pledge by the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee and Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, to complete a trade policy enforcement bill by next month. That bill, which passed the Senate last week, contains its own tough currency measure, but Republicans are quietly working to water it down if not remove it altogether.”
Warren pushes Clinton in Bloomberg interview “Warren’s comments came hours after Clinton, in Iowa, broke a long silence on the trade deal to say that she has not yet made up her mind about supporting it. “I want to judge the final agreement,” she said. That prompted Warren to note that even the former secretary of state has not been able to see details of the proposed trade agreement with Asian nations. Noting that Clinton is already opposed to some proposed provisions that could undermine U.S. regulations, Warren pushed her to go further. ‘She’s always said that she is opposed to that, but I’d like to see her be clearer on that,’ Warren said.”

Two More Months Of Transportation Funding

House approves two-month extensions of Highway Trust Fund. NYT: “The extension, which passed in a 387-to-35 vote with one member voting present, would maintain funding for the Highway Trust Fund through July 31. The bill now goes to the Senate, which has just two legislative days left before a scheduled weeklong Memorial Day recess.”
Dems get on board. Roll Call: “…23 Democrats voted against the two-month extension, a number that’s likely to rise if another short-term patch gets put on the floor to meet the July 31 deadline. Opponents included Reps. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and John Carney, D-Del., two of the most vocal critics of proverbial can-kicking who were spearheading a letter at one point wherein members could pledge not to support another stopgap.”

Breakfast Sides

Progressive victory in Philly mayoral race. Philadelphia Magazine: “Jim Kenney won the Democratic mayoral primary in dominating fashion … his rhetoric on schools moved to the left … Kenney locked up union support early … [Opponent Anthony] Williams came into the campaign as the most well-known Democratic champion for charter schools and vouchers in all of Pennsylvania …”
Wind power could be generated in all 50 states. NYT: “The industry, which has spread to 39 states, has at the same time been moving skyward with taller turbine towers and larger blades … In roughly the last six years, that has taken robust wind development to states like Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, where wind power can often be as inexpensive as conventional sources like coal. Now, energy officials and executives are pushing toward machinery that would reach 360 to 460 feet high. That would increase the wind development potential in an additional 700,000 square miles — more than a fifth of the United States…”
House conservatives predict they will kill Ex-Im Bank. Politico: “The bank’s charter is set to expire at the end of June. “I believe the momentum is in our favor,” said House Financial Services Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) … Democrats want to reauthorize the bank and say it would pass if the speaker allowed a vote, but that would mean defying the wishes of a majority of the GOP conference.”
Rail safety costs money. NYT: “…analysts say that if there’s one lesson from abroad for preventing accidents like last week’s, which killed eight and injured more than 200, it is this: You get what you pay for. By a global standard, the United States has not been paying much. For the size of its economy, it lags far behind many of the world’s most developed countries in spending on rail networks.”
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