MORNING MESSAGE
Clinton vs. Sanders vs. O’Malley On Fixing Banking
How
do we fix Wall Street, a.k.a. “the banks”? How do the candidates compare? ...
The first place to look, of course, is CAF’s Candidate Scorecard ... Clinton’s
63 percent rating is primarily based on not having a position on a financial
transaction tax ... as well as opposing reinstating some form of a
Glass-Steagall Act and a lack of specific proposals related to the categories
“Break Up Big Banks” and “Affordable Banking.” Meanwhile, Sanders rates 100
percent ... O’Malley is stressing his positions on and independence from Wall
Street [and] also has a 100 percent...
Bernie Takes On Exxon
“Sanders
calls for federal probe of Exxon” reports The Hill: “Sen. Bernie Sanders
(I-Vt.) is asking the Justice Department to investigate whether ExxonMobil
Corp.’s climate change research strategy broke federal law [citing] a recent
investigation by InsideClimate News that found that Exxon, prior to its merger
with Mobil, concluded from its research in the 1970s that climate change is a
real threat but later spent millions of dollars sowing doubt about global
warming.”
Sanders
backs postal banking. The Atlantic’s Joe Pinsker: “…Sanders’s idea is quite
sensible. ‘Postal banking’—which just means that post offices run savings
accounts, cash checks, and perform other basic financial services—is common in
most of Asia and Europe … Postal banking is a really good way to reach people
who haven’t had access to standard savings accounts … in the U.S. is that
somewhere between 20 and 40 percent of the population has to rely on
check-cashing or payday-lending services…”
DNC
agrees to sponsor candidate forum. Time: “Hosted by the liberal grassroots
organization MoveOn.org, the venue will be an online forum—not a
debate—featuring questions from viewers and focusing on progressive issues … In
endorsing the MoveOn forum, [DNC Chair Debbie] Wasserman Schultz is supporting a
compromise that stops short of adding a debate to the presidential primary … But
it’s unlikely [to] satisfy Democrats angry that their candidates are not getting
equal airtime to the Republican candidates…”
Ryan Tries To Squeeze Freedom Caucus
Rep.
Paul Ryan announces speaker bid, with conditions. NYT: “…Ryan called for …
an end to the antics of ‘bomb throwers and hand wringers,’ according to members
in the room … He suggested that he wanted an answer by Friday. Mr. Ryan made it
clear that he would not accede to preconditions set by ‘one group,’ a clear
reference to the members of the hard-line Freedom Caucus…”
Freedom
Caucus resists. Politico: “They were dismissive of his Ryan’s request that
they relinquish a procedural tactic they used to threaten to strip outgoing
Speaker John Boehner of his title – one of the most potent weapons in the
group’s arsenal.”
“How
does giving Paul Ryan more power solve the problem of John Boehner having had
too much power?” Rep. Tim Huelskamp tells Bloomberg.
Senate Punts To House On Debt Limit
House
will have to move first on debt limit. W. Post: “Senate leaders have no
plans to move their own debt ceiling bill this week and will instead wait for
House Republicans to act and prove they have the votes … some Senate Republicans
have reluctantly signaled that they are willing to consider a clean bill in
order to avoid a default but they are not willing to force a series of difficult
votes if the House cannot pass an increase in the government’s borrowing
limit.”
House
Majority Leader floats conditions. NYT: “Representative Kevin McCarthy of
California, the majority leader, told reporters on Tuesday that he did not think
a debt-ceiling increase could pass the House without significant spending cuts
attached, a deal President Obama has repeatedly said he will not negotiate.”
Sen.
Ted Cruz wants to fight debt limit hike. Politico: “Ted Cruz is accusing
Republican leaders of prematurely capitulating to President Barack Obama … and
he’s urging his party to take a hard line against a ‘clean’ debt ceiling
increase even if it means flirting with a default.”
Breakfast Sides
“Blue
States Make Voting Easier as Red States Add Restrictions” reports Time: “In
Illinois, a new provision allows voters to register electronically when they
visit various state agencies. And in Delaware, some residents with criminal
records will regain the right to vote … In Republican-controlled states, the
story is different. North Carolina has instituted a new voter ID requirement.
North Dakota has narrowed the forms of identification voters can present …
Ohio’s GOP-controlled legislature has instituted … shorter early voting
hours.”
EU
carbon emissions drop. The Hill: “Greenhouse gas emissions in the European
Union are down 23 percent since 1990, but [by] 2030, when officials have hoped
to reduce emissions by 40 percent over 1990 levels, the bloc will only cut
emissions by between 27 and 30 percent … The EU’s emissions target is an
important component of an international climate change accord the United Nations
hopes to reach later this year.”
Obama
to lobby Dems on trade today. The Hill: “President Obama will host
congressional Democrats at a White House reception on Wednesday as he seeks to
build support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership …”
Progressive
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