Progressive Breakfast: The Presidential Race: The West Weighs in

MORNING MESSAGE

Sanders gained in the delegate count by swamping her in the Idaho and Utah caucuses, generating recorded turnouts that overwhelmed caucus sites. The press will discount his victories as expected and his delegate gains as insufficient, but what’s clear is that Sanders continues to generate growing excitement and support on the trail. The press says his only hope is to win by large margins in the remaining states. Well, in Idaho and Utah, he did just that.

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BERNIE WINS 2 OF 3

Sanders nets slightly more delegates with wins in Idaho and Utah. AP:Bernie Sanders has won two out of three states holding presidential contests on Tuesday … but he isn’t cutting much into Hillary Clinton’s big delegate lead … due to a loss in Arizona — the biggest delegate prize of the night. For the evening, Sanders stands to win at least 55 delegates to Clinton’s 51…”
Clinton presses Trump on terrorism. Politico: “In a series of television interviews and campaign appearances … Clinton took thinly veiled shots at the real estate mogul. And the typically combative Trump … appeared less eager to engage in a war of words with Clinton … ‘How high does the wall have to be to keep the Internet out?’ Clinton said.”

TRUMP ADDS TO DELEGATE LEAD

Trump, Cruz each collect delegates. NPR: “…Trump claimed all 58 Arizona delegates thanks to his victory in the winner-take-all primary. It was by far the biggest prize of the night and a further complication for Republicans hoping to stop … [But] in Utah, [Cruz finished] above the 50 percent threshold which would give him all 40 of the state’s delegates … That also means John Kasich would net zero delegates from Tuesday’s contests.”
Trump and Cruz debate NATO. WSJ: “The New York businessman on Monday in an interview with the Washington Post editorial board questioned the need for American involvement in NATO … ‘Donald Trump is wrong that America should retreat from Europe, retreat from NATO, hand Putin a major victory and while he’s at it, hand ISIS a major victory,’ Mr. Cruz told reporters.”

BREAKFAST SIDES

Wall Street fights financial transaction tax. The Hill: “The Investment Company Institute (ICI), which represents mutual funds, wrote to House Budget Committee ranking member Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) last week, urging him not to include a transaction tax in any Democratic budget plan. Van Hollen floated the idea last year to help pay for middle-class tax relief … Sanders would use the tax on trading to make public colleges tuition-free … Hillary Clinton, has proposed a tax on high-frequency trading, where transactions are made on the same securities repeatedly and rapidly. Taxing high-frequency trades would be a more narrow approach…”
Congress set to do nothing for the rest of the year. Politico: “…GOP leaders all but conceded they won’t be able to pass a budget … It’s gotten so small-ball that one congressman, a chairman of a highly influential committee, introduced legislation last week to recognize the national significance of magic … odds [are] that lawmakers will be forced to pass a patchwork spending bill in September — just to keep the government open.”
Obama urges Cuba to change. NYT quotes: “…I believe my visit here demonstrates that you do not need to fear a threat from the United States … I’m also confident that you need not fear the different voices of the Cuban people and their capacity to speak and assemble and vote for their leaders.”

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