Progressive Breakfast: Bernie Sanders' Leverage Isn't Going Anywhere. Deal With It.

MORNING MESSAGE

Some politicians and commentators say that Bernie Sanders is losing leverage because he hasn’t conceded the Democratic primary to front-runner Hillary Clinton. To believe that is to misunderstand both the candidate and his supporters. Sanders received a mandate in “defeat” that most politicians never achieve in victory ... Sanders’ stunning margins among young voters tell us that he isn’t just speaking for a large percentage of the Democratic Party’s voters. He also speaks for its future.

The BERN STILL BURNS

“People’s Summit Attendees Leave Determined To Keep ‘The Bern’ Alive” reports OurFuture.org’s Isaiah J. Poole: “After an intense weekend of speeches and discussion about the future of the progressive ‘political revolution’ sparked by the Bernie Sanders presidential campaign, the People’s Summit ended Sunday with a charge to continue to keep ‘the Bern’ blazing through a myriad electoral and justice campaigns.”
“[M]ore Sanders staffers will be hired soon” by the Clinton campaign, reports Politico: “And talks are ongoing between both campaigns about how to deploy Sanders later this summer and fall as a Clinton surrogate. The Clinton camp wants him to make his largest splash with the young…”
W. Post’s Jared Bernstein defends Sanders’ agenda against criticism it is out-of-date: “…Sanders’s agenda, Schmitt argues, won’t take hold as it is so clearly ‘out of step with the ideas that have been emerging from progressive think tanks.’ As someone who has worked at progressive think tanks for decades, that seems to discount the positive role of Sanders’s contribution … The progressive agenda cannot move forward even incrementally if we simply rely on technocratic arguments…”
Wall Street donors try to veto VP Warren. Politico: “The dream deal for Wall Street would be a combination of targeted infrastructure spending that appeals mostly to Democrats and corporate and international tax reform that could bring Republicans along. The fear is that Warren would make such a deal more difficult.”
Congressional Black Caucus opposes Sanders’ rules reforms. Politico: “In a letter sent to both the Sanders and Hillary Clinton campaigns, the CBC is expressing its resolute opposition to … abolishing the party’s superdelegate system and opening Democratic primaries up to independents … Many African-American lawmakers, however, are loathe to give up any influence and hard-won gains in the selection of the Democratic nominee…”

#NEVERTRUMP FACTION ORGANIZES

Anti-Trump delegates plot to thwart Trump at convention. W. Post: “Supporters of a growing anti-Donald Trump movement announced plans Sunday to raise money for staff and a possible legal defense fund … organizers also said Sunday that they now count several hundred delegates and alternates … [They are] seeking to block Trump at the GOP convention next month in Cleveland by changing party rules so that they can vote however they want…”
“Clinton to Target Trump’s Business Record” reports WSJ: “Democrat Hillary Clinton will target Donald Trump’s business record on Tuesday, casting the presumptive Republican nominee as self-interested and deceptive as he prepares to provide more details about his economic proposals during the coming weeks.”
NBC does deep dive into who voted Trump: “The story of Trump … is about a committed minority of Republican voters, whose existence was routinely ignored, gradually taking over the entire party … the people who backed Trump early on – and the places they live – were markedly different than the unified GOP bloc he commands now.”

REMAIN MOMENTUM

Polls shift before Thursday Brexit vote. Bloomberg: “A poll published over the weekend showed 45 percent of voters supported the ‘Remain’ camp, while 42 percent were in favor of a secession — a turnaround from early last week…”
Trump backs Brexit. NYT: “‘I would personally be more inclined to leave, for a lot of reasons like having a lot less bureaucracy,’ Mr. Trump said … Mr. Trump is expected to arrive in Scotland on Friday, a day after the vote, for a ribbon-cutting at one of his newest golf clubs.”

BREAKFAST SIDES

No one cares about Paul Ryan’s agenda. The Atlantic’s Michelle Cottle: “…Ryan’s beloved agenda—the one his wonkish heart has been dreaming of and laboring over and counting on to define his speakership—has been something of a PR bust, yet another sad casualty of this election cycle’s Trumpsanity.”
Senate gun votes expected today. Politico: “All four proposals are reheated versions of legislation the Senate rejected in the past … there’s little indication the outcome will be any different this time … Behind the scenes, several Republicans are working with centrist Democrats on a compromise that could pass the Senate … Those negotiations continued over the weekend, and even some conservatives seemed hopeful.”

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