MORNING MESSAGE
If
you’re a billionaire who wants to manipulate public opinion, that means you’ll
keep feeding it stories that serve your ideology and self-interest. Hedge fund
billionaire Peter G. “Pete” Peterson is a master of the art ... [His new effort]
is called “The Coalition for Fiscal and National Security,” and they’ve
assembled a list of prominent figures to promote it ... the most prominent name
on the list is Henry Kissinger’s. Is Kissinger credible?...
CLINTON Takes AIRWAVES NOW
Clinton
on the air in swing states. W. Post: “Clinton has purchased advertising time
on television stations in Florida, Virginia, North Carolina, Iowa, New
Hampshire, Ohio, Colorado and Nevada … She is expected to follow her pattern
from the primary, in which she mixed sharp attacks on Republicans with
soft-edged biographical ads that told the story of her upbringing and history of
advocacy.”
And
Trump is not. NBC: “…the ad blitz demonstrates Clinton’s financial
superiority right now. How long will she have the battleground-state airwaves to
herself?
Many
Sanders supporters still not ready for Hillary. USA Today: “Some polls in
recent months show anywhere from about 25% to 50% of Sanders backers weren’t
ready to support Clinton either as the nominee or in a matchup with the
presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump.”
TRUMP EYES NEW NETWORK LATER
Trump
reportedly planning TV network. Vanity Fair: “Trump is indeed considering
creating his own media business … Trump, this person close to the matter
suggests, has become irked by his ability to create revenue for other media
organizations without being able to take a cut himself People around him have
looked to the Oprah Winfrey Network—partly owned by Winfrey’s Harpo Productions
and Discovery Communications—as a possible model…”
House
Republicans prepare for Trump meeting next month. Roll Call: “They can
confront Trump with unambiguous and unified anger and aggression, vowing to
disavow his candidacy en masse unless he categorically and immediately abandons
his tempestuous, nativist, divisive, ideologically erratic and
fascistic-sounding rhetoric … The alternative is to permit this singular moment
for assertiveness to pass them by, which will commit House Republicans for the
rest of the campaign to acquiescing in Trump’s unprecedentedly inflammatory way
of being. “
DEMS PROMPT GUN VOTE
Democrats
seize Senate floor for 15 hours, force Republicans to hold gun vote. W.
Post: “Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) ended a blockade of the Senate floor
after nearly 15 hours Thursday, announcing that Republican leaders agreed to
hold votes on Democrat-backed measures to expand background checks and prevent
suspected terrorists from acquiring guns … A spokesman for Senate Majority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said early Thursday morning that votes can be
expected on amendments to the bill but that there is no formal agreement on what
those amendments will be.”
Sen.
Murphy optimistic. Politico quotes: “My instincts certainly tell me they’re
moving. If you listened over the course of the day yesterday, there were a
number of Republicans madly scrambling to find some common ground.”
FED STANDS PAT
No
interest rate hike. CNN: “The decision was in line with expectations after a
brutal May jobs report. The Fed cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth in
2016 to 2%, down from 2.2% earlier. [Chair Janet] Yellen pointed to ‘headwinds
blowing on the economy’ as a factor in this reduced outlook.”
Still
could happen this year. NYT: “All 17 top officials of the Fed expect an
interest rate increase to happen this year, according to projections they
released Wednesday. Yet financial futures markets price in only about a 40
percent chance that it will happen.”
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
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