MORNING MESSAGE
In
2008 Wall Street got in over its head, and the U.S. government and Federal
Reserve stepped in with trillions of dollars to bail them out. Now Puerto Rico
has debt that it cannot pay. Instead of helping, though, Republicans in Congress
are demanding increased austerity and an unelected “oversight board” that sets
aside democratic governance – the same way Republicans imposed unelected
government on Michigan cities like Flint. (We know how that turned
out.)
BURNING ISSUES: OUR FAILURE IN AFGHANISTAN
Retired
Lt. Col. Daniel Davis, who has done two tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan
explains in this Burning Issues video his view of what the United States has
gotten wrong in Afghanistan.
WARREN LAUNCHES "TAKE ON WALL STREET" CAMPAIGN
OurFuture.org’s
Isaiah J. Poole reports on major effort to rein in Wall Street: “Sen.
Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) helped kick off the ‘Take On Wall Street’ campaign on
Tuesday by detailing the work that remains undone by the Dodd-Frank financial
reforms that were signed into law six years ago … Reinstate the Glass-Steagall
wall … close the ‘carried interest’ loophole … eliminate the tax deduction for
CEO ‘performance’ bonuses, crack down on payday lenders … and [levy] a financial
transactions tax … “
Take
On Wall Street assembles broad coalition. ThinkProgress: “The group includes
lawmakers like Warren, Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY),
labor leaders like the AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka and the AFT’s Randi Weingarten,
as well as civil rights groups, community groups, and the organizing giant Move
On. It aims to put pressure on lawmakers at all levels to pass stricter rules
governing the financial system.”
TRUMP SLAMMED ON HOUSING
Trump
retorts after Clinton hits 2006 endorsement of profiteering on housing troubles.
Time: “‘I feel badly for everybody, what am I going to do,’ Trump said. ‘I’m
in business.’ Later he said his business success during that turbulent period
should serve as a credential. ‘That’s the kind of thing we need in this
country,’ he said.”
Warren
steps up Trump attack. Mother Jones quotes: “Donald Trump was drooling over
the idea of a housing meltdown, because it meant he could buy up a bunch more
property on the cheap … Donald Trump didn’t get rich on his own … his businesses
rely on the roads and bridges the rest of us paid for. His businesses rely on
workers the rest of us paid to educate and on police forces and firefighters who
protect all of us and the rest of us pay to support.”
RNC
tries to quell fears about Trump to corporations. The Hill: “A top
Republican National Committee official sought to soothe business leaders worried
about Donald Trump’s influence on the party, saying at a private meeting on
Tuesday that its presumptive presidential nominee would not dictate the party’s
platform … several of those attending the meeting offered knowing smiles in
response to the comment.”
Right-wing
giddy that Trump is trafficking in Clinton conspiracy theories. NYT: “Trump
[Rush Limbaugh said] is ‘doing the job the American media and the Republican
Party won’t do.’ The Drudge Report was downright gleeful, running a ‘Vince
Foster Lives!’ banner headline on Tuesday.”
Speaker
Paul Ryan wants to close rift with Trump. Bloomberg: “…Ryan has begun
telling confidants that he wants to end his standoff with Donald Trump in part
because he’s worried the split has sharpened divisions in the Republican Party …
Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, told a small group of Republican
lawmakers Thursday that he expects Ryan to endorse the party’s nominee as early
as this week…”
But
Ryan spokeperson tells ABC: “we’ve not told the Trump campaign to expect an
endorsement.”
CLINTON, SANDERS STUMP IN CA
Dems
criss-cross California. NYT: “Clinton continued to try out different attacks
against the billionaire businessman … ‘You can’t say to the senator from some
state, “You’re fired … That’s not the way the government works.”’ … ‘What choice
do Californians have in this election?’ Mr. Sanders asks in [a new] ad. ‘The
biggest one of all. You have the power to choose a new direction for the
Democratic Party.'”
“Sen.
Bernie Sanders aims to maximize impact on Democratic platform” reports USA
Today: “‘There still are deep differences,’ said Jim Zogby, a Palestinian
rights activist and DNC official who will represent Sanders on the drafting
committee. ‘I think that they’re all bridgeable.’ .. [Clinton pick Rep. Luis]
Gutierrez said[,] ‘I’m sure the party will get better on economic and wage
disparity and taking on Wall Street.'”
Sen.
Harry Reid defends Sanders. Roll Call quotes: “”I think we should kind of
lay off Bernie Sanders a bit, OK? … He has done, I think, some really good
things. The party has changed during his tenure here. And we’ll see what happens
… I think Bernie’s a good man, he tries to do the right thing, and everything
will work out well.”
Dems
chatter about switching DNC chairs. The Hill: “Democrats on Capitol Hill are
discussing whether Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz should step down as Democratic
National Committee (DNC) chairwoman before the party’s national convention in
July … ‘There have been a lot of meetings over the past 48 hours about what
color plate do we deliver Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s head on,’ said one
pro-Clinton Democratic senator.”
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
»