MORNING MESSAGE
The
Democratic Party establishment has recently found itself discomforted by Sen.
Bernie Sanders’ campaign to return the party to its modern roots of New Deal
social democracy. The establishment’s response has included a complex coupling
of elite media and elite economics opinion aimed at promoting an image of
Sanders as an unelectable extremist with unrealistic economic policies ... Every
progressive knows about the opposition and tactics of the Republican Party. Less
understood are the opposition and tactics of the Democratic Party establishment.
Speaking metaphorically, that establishment is a far lesser evil, but it may
also be a far greater obstacle to progressive change.
CONTESTS IN AZ, UT, and ID Today
Clinton
and Sanders jockey for position on immigration in Arizona. NYT: “Hillary
Clinton sharply denounced Sheriff Joe Arpaio, saying the Maricopa County
sheriff, who became the face of hard-line anti-immigration policies because of
his tactics here, had treated his fellow human beings with disrespect and
contempt.’ … As Mrs. Clinton spoke here, the Sanders campaign blasted out an
editorial in The Arizona Republic blaming Bill Clinton’s signing of the 1996
Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act for the current deportations.”
Trade
remains in forefront of Democratic primary contests. The Hill: “Global trade
is looming large as Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders needs wins in a slew of
union-heavy states with upcoming primaries: Washington, Hawaii, New York,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Oregon, New Jersey and California.”
Krugman
defends Clinton’s trade record: “I very much doubt that many Ohioans knew
about Clinton’s anti-CAFTA vote, or even what CAFTA was. But I did. In fact,
CAFTA was an important part of my education on modern ‘trade’ agreements,
helping to make me a lukewarm opponent of TPP … her record in the Senate was in
general one of caution about and selective opposition to to trade deals.”
Blacks
perceive economy better than whites in CBS/NYT poll. NYT: “[An] explanation
for Mr. Sanders’s divergent performance is that while African-Americans and
white working-class Democrats are experiencing broadly similar economic trends,
they interpret them differently….African-Americans rated the economy as good by
a ratio of about four to one, versus about two to one for white Democrats and an
even narrower margin for white Democrats without a college degree … there is
anecdotal evidence suggesting that African-Americans and Hispanic voters are
more likely to use the economy’s recent low point, in 2008 and 2009, as the base
line for their judgment than are whites…”
TRUMP EMBARRASSES REPUBLICANS
“Most
Republicans Feel Embarrassed by Campaign” finds CBS/NYT poll: “…broad
majorities of Republican primary voters view their party as divided and a source
of embarrassment … Forty-six percent of primary voters [still] said they would
like to see Mr. Trump as the party’s nominee, more than at any point since he
declared his candidacy in June … Mr. Sanders performs slightly better than Mrs.
Clinton in hypothetical general-election matchups against Mr. Trump: The senator
beats the real estate developer by 15 percentage points, while Mrs. Clinton
prevails by 10 points.”
W.
Post editorial board slams Donald Trump after meeting with him: “…his
answers left little doubt how radical a risk the nation would be taking in
entrusting the White House to him. There was … a breezy willingness to ignore
facts and evidence … no one can match the chasm between his expansive goals and
the absence of proposals to achieve them …”
Trump
could turn Arizona blue. Time: “Though the Sun Belt state has gone for
Republican presidential candidates by wide margins since 2000, advisers from
both parties see putting the real estate mogul at the top of the ticket as
throwing that into limbo, thanks to a growing Hispanic population and a large
bloc of moderate women.”
CANDIDATES STUMP AT AIPAC CONFERENCE
Most
candidates woo AIPAC. NYT: “Mrs. Clinton promised she would stand
unwaveringly with Israel while accusing her potential Republican rival, Mr.
Trump, of being an unreliable partner for one of America’s closest allies …
[Trump] declined to answer Mrs. Clinton’s criticisms, offering a standard appeal
to a pro-Israel audience … Trump … focused heavily on Iran, promising to
dismantle the nuclear deal negotiated by Mr. Obama … Mrs. Clinton reaffirmed her
support for Mr. Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, but she repeated her warning
that she would use military force, if necessary, to punish Iran for violating
the terms of the agreement.”
Sanders
expounds on Israel-Palestine policy while campaigning in Utah. W. Post:
“Bernie Sanders pledged Monday that if elected president he would be ‘a friend
not only to Israel but to the Palestinian people’ … ‘Peace has to mean security
for every Israeli from violence and terrorism,’ Sanders said during a speech
here. ‘But peace also means security for every Palestinian.'”
GARLAND PUSH CONTINUES THROUGH SENATE RECESS
Senators
keep spotlight on Merrick Garland during recess. NYT: “On Tuesday, Judge
Merrick B. Garland will meet with Senator Bob Casey, a Pennsylvania Democrat,
and Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat … On Wednesday, Judge Garland
will meet with Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat. When the Senate
returns, he will meet with Senator Susan Collins of Maine, a Republican.”
The
American Prospect reviews Merrick Garland’s labor record: “During his D.C
circuit judgeship Garland wrote 22 majority opinions involving appeals of NLRB
decisions. In all but four he fully upheld the agency’s finding of an employer’s
unfair labor practices … [But that] is more likely a signal of his ‘strong views
favoring deference to agency decisionmakers,’ as SCOTUSBlog’s Tom Goldstein puts
it…”
BREAKFAST SIDES
Obama
“set a trap” for Raul Castro, says Politico: “President Barack Obama jokes
that he likes news conferences … That tends to be less the case at the White
House than abroad, when Obama’s trying to make a point about a repressive regime
… he did it to Raúl Castro, right in the Revolutionary Palace, letting him be
pressed with questions for the first time — ever … He had to answer for the
political prisoners whom the government rounds up almost daily — yet denies even
exist. Cubans watching on state television, which broadcast the whole thing live
and in full, had never seen anything like this.”
House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi accuses GOP of increasing deficits in NYT oped:
“THE long-endangered Republican Deficit Hawk is now extinct. In December, the
Republican Congress passed into law a huge permanent package of tax measures
[but] refused to pay for the legislation, thereby adding a thunderous $2
trillion to the deficit over the next two decades … As House Republicans prepare
to leave for two weeks of recess without passing a budget for next year, the
cost of this tax package is casting a long shadow over America’s future,
threatening to crowd out essential investments for hard-working American
families.”
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
»