MORNING MESSAGE
Among
the “establishment” – the people “in charge” of our “system,” including the news
and opinion elites who serve as gatekeepers of information – there is willful
blindness to how things have been getting worse for millions of Americans and
their communities. They tell the voters they are wrong, that our trade policies
are actually good for them ... Elites: You’re not going to stop Trump by telling
his voters how wrong they are about the economy and the effects of our country’s
trade policies. They’re not wrong. You are.
ARIZONA, UTAH and IDAHO VOTE TOMORROW
Dems
joust in AZ. USA Today: “[Bill Clinton] appeared at an afternoon rally at
Central High School in Phoenix after he was scheduled to appear at a Tucson
event with former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords … [Sanders] invested heavily in
TV advertising and personal campaign time in Arizona…”
Trump
divides Arizona GOP over immigration. Bloomberg: “For many in Arizona’s
Republican business community, the rhetoric is an unwelcome return to the
state’s own 2010 feud over a law requiring police to check the citizenship of
those they suspected of being in the country illegally. “
Bernie
rallies 30K in three Washington State rallies. W. Post: “The crowd at Key
Arena in Seattle was so large that it became impossible for the Secret Service
to provide security checks in time for the venue to fill … He has stops planned
Monday in Idaho, Utah and Arizona.”
Bernie
fundraising champ of February. W. Post: “Sanders outraised Clinton for the
second month in a row, pulling in $43.5 million to her $30.1 million … Sanders
has raised just under $140 million, powered by nearly 2 million donors …
Clinton, who this month secured her 1 millionth donor, has brought in nearly
$161 million overall for her bid.”
COULD TRUMP FLIP HOUSE?
Dems
could retake House if Trump an anchor. Politico: “Democrats already had
reasonable odds of flipping a dozen or so House seats. But DCCC Chairman Ben Ray
Luján recently started highlighting ‘reach’ districts, like those of Rep. John
Mica in Florida and Rep. Steve Knight in California, that broaden Democrats’
target list enough to take back the chamber…”
Republican
convention won’t have superdelegates, but will have “unbound” delegates. The
Hill: “…many delegates — potentially close to 200 — are not bound by those
rules. A handful of states and territories — Colorado and North Dakota among
them — chose not to hold a [presidential] vote at all … And in some states, the
delegates who were bound to candidates no longer in the race … are unbound as
well [meaning] Ted Cruz and John Kasich could win enough delegates to block
Trump from a first-ballot victory.”
Clinton
campaign and allies plot Trump strategy. W. Post: “Implicit in the effort is
real worry [that] Trump could compete for some of the blue-collar voters who
have flocked to Sanders … Yet, they also believe that, although Trump has …
limited ability to expand [his] support once the Republican field clears.
Because of the litany of controversial pronouncements he has made, they expect a
Trump nomination to make it easier to rally women, Latino and African American
voters to turn out for Clinton.”
2000
China trade vote led to Trump, suggests W. Post: “The 2000 [permanent normal
trade relations] vote effectively unleashed a flood of outsourcing to China …
Over the next 10 years, economists have concluded, the expanded trade with China
cost the United States at least 2 million jobs. It was the strongest force in an
overall manufacturing decline that cost 5 million jobs … Economic evidence
suggests the North American Free Trade Agreement, which passed on a bipartisan
vote in 1993, did not cause anywhere near the same level of factory layoffs or
wage losses.”
CLINTON-TRUMP FACEOFF AT AIPAC
Trump
to give formal address to AIPAC conference. Politico: “… Donald Trump has
yet to step to a podium and read from a script. That changes Monday … He’s also
looking to surprise the crowd with something else: substance … There will be a
walkout by rabbis who plan to study passages of the Torah focused on tolerance
while Trump is speaking.”
Clinton
seeks to score points with AIPAC crowd. Bloomberg: “In a direct rebuke to
comments Trump made last month suggesting he was ‘neutral’ in the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Clinton will say that the United States can never
be neutral about defending Israel or consider the U.S.-Israeli relationship to
be negotiable … she will also say that the United States can never be neutral in
the face of bigotry.”
OBAMA IN CUBA
Obama
meets with Cuban President Raul Castro today. AP: “…President Barack Obama
and Cuban President Raul Castro will sit down Monday at Havana’s Palace of the
Revolution for a historic meeting, offering critical clues about whether Obama’s
sharp U-turn in policy will be fully reciprocated … His visit was to continue
Tuesday with a major speech that Cuban officials said would be carried on TV.
Before departing for Argentina, Obama planned to meet with political
dissidents…”
Cubans
welcome Obama. Politico: “[Rain] didn’t stop the Cubans from turning out to
see him, standing by the side of the road as the motorcade passed or cheering as
they lined the square outside the cathedral, where the president briefly put
down his umbrella to shake some hands in the crowd.”
Obama’s
Cuba trip a signal that the embargo will eventually end. Politico: “…to the
already publicly supportive members of Congress who joined this trip, but more
importantly to those back home who’ve privately indicated support and those who
say they’ll never stop fighting the embargo, Obama’s point is clear: The
question is only when, not if.”
Progressive
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