MORNING MESSAGE
Bernie’s Right. Wall Street’s Business Model Really Is Fraud.
...Bernie
Sanders’ often-repeated refrain [is] that “the business model of Wall Street is
fraud.” A “business model” is a plan for making money. Is fraud really an
essential part of the way Wall Street banks make money? When it comes to retail
banking – serving ordinary customers – they’ve already all but admitted it ...
But that’s not the only line of business where banks commit fraud. The major
offenses committed by our largest banks include “price fixing, bid rigging,
market manipulation, money laundering, document forgery, lying to investors,
sanctions-evading, and tax dodging.” ... As long as they can commit fraud
without suffering personal consequences, fraud will be the business model for
Wall Street.
BURNING ISSUES: The ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT
Daniel
Kalik, the chief of staff at J Street, a progressive Jewish “pro-peace”
organization, discusses which 2016 presidential candidate is best positioned
to help Israel and the Palestinians reach a peace agreement, in the latest
Burning Issues video installment.
SANDERS TOUTS PATH TO VICTORY
Team
Sanders makes it case that it can win enough delegates. Politico: “‘We have
a very good chance of beating her in every state where we compete with her,’
said [strategist Tad] Devine, blaming Clinton’s wins in Texas, Alabama,
Virginia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and Arkansas on Sanders’
lack of investment there … Nonetheless, Sanders has to win 57 percent of the
remaining pledged delegates — which will come primarily from primaries, not
caucuses …”
Sanders
hopes to build on Zephyr Teachout’s bid for NY governor. Politico:
“…Teachout managed to capture an impressive one-third of the vote — and even won
some regions by large margins … Sanders’ plan is to target the congressional
districts where Teachout won – including some Upstate and across New York’s
Southern Tier — thanks in large part to activists opposed to fracking … they
also plan to dispatch high profile African-American surrogates like Harry
Belafonte, Cornel West, Spike Lee and Erica Garner …”
Clinton
campaign resists another debate. WSJ: “Joel Benenson, a top strategist and
pollster for Mrs. Clinton, said in an interview on CNN, ‘Sen. Sanders doesn’t
get to decide when we debate, particularly when he’s running a very negative
campaign against us.’ Should Mr. Sanders shift to what Mr. Benenson described as
a more positive message, ‘then we’ll talk about debates.'”
Sanders
leans on superdelegates to flip. The Hill: “… Sanders strategist Tad Devine
noted the importance of superdelegates and said that more party leaders will
defect from Clinton because, he said, Sanders is better positioned to win the
general election. For now, Clinton does not appear to be bleeding any
superdelegates.”
TRUMP HITS ROUGH WATERS
Trump
gets rude welcome to Wisconsin by conservative radio host Charlie Sykes.
Politico: “‘Is this your standard, that if a supporter of another candidate,
not the candidate himself, does something despicable, that it’s OK for you,
personally, a candidate for president of the United States, to behave in that
same way?’ Sykes asked. ‘I mean, I expect that from a 12-year-old bully on the
playground.'”
Trump
tangles with Louisiana GOP. WSJ: “…Donald Trump’s campaign argued on Monday
that [convention] posts were chosen at a ‘secret meeting’ to which Trump
delegates weren’t invited … One big wrinkle: Mr. Trump’s two Louisiana state
co-chairmen both attended the ‘secret meeting’ – which was in fact a gathering
at the Louisiana state GOP convention March 12, according to Jason Doré, the
state party’s executive director.”
Trump
hires delegate strategist. NYT: “[Trump] has enlisted the veteran Republican
strategist Paul J. Manafort to lead his delegate-corralling efforts … As a young
Republican operative, he helped manage the 1976 convention floor for Gerald Ford
in his showdown with Ronald Reagan…”
SCOTUS BATTLE TESTS GRASSLEY
Senate
Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley feeling Supreme Court heat at home. Politico:
“…Grassley [got] an earful from voters on the Supreme Court obstruction at two
town halls on Monday, even in this corner of Iowa represented by Rep. Steve
King, one of the most conservative members of Congress. ‘It’s not fair for this
man to not get a hearing,’ said Randy Waagmeester, 62, an independent from Rock
Rapids … Glenda Schrick of George [said] even though she’s a Republican she
believes her party is making a mistake by not holding hearings for Garland.”
Grassley
expects Democrats to force a vote. Roll Call: “[Grassley] said Democrats
will likely try a maneuver known as a motion to discharge to move the nomination
out of the committee and onto the Senate floor … The maneuver would subject to
debate, thus setting off a procedural path that could require 60 votes to move
forward.”
Clinton
talks SCOTUS in Wisconsin. NYT: “‘As scary as it might be, ask yourselves,
what kind of justice will a President Trump appoint?’ Mrs. Clinton asked, to
gasps from the audience … she noted that two Supreme Court justices will be
older than 80 when the new president takes office, and she urged voters to
‘please make sure the court factors into your decision.'”
DEAL FOR $15 IN CALIFORNIA
Gov.
Jerry Brown embraces deal for $15 minimum wage in California. Reuters: “‘I’m
hoping that what happens in California will not just stay in California but will
be exported to the rest of the country,’ Brown said … passage of the proposal is
not guaranteed without support from more moderate members of the
Democrat-controlled legislature.”
Economists
debate if California is moving too fast. NYT: “‘Just as the benefits of this
policy are likely to be greater because it covers a greater share of the work
force than for past minimum wage increases, the risk of these costs is also
higher,’ said Ben Zipperer, an expert on the minimum wage at the liberal
Washington Center for Equitable Growth … in lower-wage, inland cities like
Bakersfield and Fresno, the effects could play out in much less predictable ways
… push[ing] the wage floor much closer to the expected pay for a worker in the
middle of the wage scale … ‘This is a big experiment,’ said Arindrajit Dube, an
economics professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst … ‘In areas
like Fresno, a majority of workers are likely to be directly or indirectly
affected.'”
BREAKFAST SIDES
Urgent
need to stop building dirty power plants. Bloomberg: “A new study by
researchers from Oxford University’s Institute for New Economic Thinking [says]
we have only a year or so to stop investing in new fossil-fuel power stations.
After that, the expected emissions from those plants over their economic
lifetime will commit us — barring other exceptional changes — to shoot past the
2 degree limit.”
AZ
election official claims November will be different. NYT: “‘I apologize
profusely — I can’t go back and undo it,’ said Helen Purcell, the Maricopa
County recorder … Ms. Purcell had already said that her office would make new
plans for November, presumably adding more polling sites.”
Progressive
Breakfast is a daily morning email highlighting news stories of interest to
activists. Progressive Breakfast is a project of the Campaign for America's
Future. more
»