Each morning, Bill Scher and Terrance Heath serve up what progressives need to effect change on the kitchen-table issues families face: jobs, health care, green energy, financial reform, affordable education and retirement security.
MORNING MESSAGE: Romney And Republicans - Keeping Blacks In The Red
OurFuture.org's Terrance Heath: "Romney rattled off the usual dismal statistics on African-Americans and employment and education. And then Romney said what Gingrich and Santorum would likely have said. The conservative solution to do the unemployment crisis in African-American communities is simple: Everybody get married … How many of the jobs Romney made millions outsourcing, or helping other companies outsource, while at Bain Capital belonged to African American men, who were over represented in those jobs, and thus disproportionately impacted by the loss of those jobs?"
Romney Loses Blacks, Wins Wall Street
Romney tells NAACP he's better for African-Americans, gets booed. NYT: "His assertion was met with cackles and boos — as well as tepid applause — and was emblematic of his entire speech, in which he tried to appeal to blacks while offering tough policy prescriptions that are unpopular with them."
Romney campaign primarily funded by Wall Street. USA Today: "More than 300 people — or nearly a quarter of the roughly 1,200 individuals USA TODAY has identified as Romney fundraisers — come from the world of finance, more than any other sector. More than a dozen come from the ranks of a single company, investment powerhouse Goldman Sachs, which spent nearly $4.4 million to influence Washington policymakers last year. By comparison, 77 of Obama's 532 fundraisers work in the securities and investment industry…"
Romney misfires with wind power attack. CNN: "A website put up by the Republican Party lists case after case of international companies that received federal money aimed at building up a domestic renewable energy industry or developing electric vehicles … But the programs the GOP paints as 'outsourcing' have contributed to a boom in wind and solar energy projects in particular … That led to the creation of between 52,000 and 75,000 jobs in the sector between 2009 and 2011 … the plan was to encourage those [overseas] companies to locate in the United States, a plan that has worked to some extent."
House GOP Votes To Repeal Health Reform … Again
GOP votes again to repeal, fails to keep promise to "replace." Politico: "Flash back to the campaign promises of 2010: GOP leadership told voters they would 'enact medical liability reform,' allow Americans to buy health insurance across state lines, expand health savings accounts, 'ensure access for patients with pre-existing conditions' and 'permanently prohibit taxpayer funding of abortion.' Eighteen months after taking the majority, they’ve passed only two of those: an abortion bill and liability legislation."
Republican vote both ways on Medicare cuts. W. Post's Jonathan Bernstein: "This vote came after a parade of Republicans went to the House floor today bashing Barack Obama, the Democrats, and the health law for cutting $500 billion from Medicare — one of their central attacks on Dems for two straight cycles now — despite supporting those very same cuts in their own budget, the Paul Ryan plan."
GOP governors pressured to accept federal offer to expand Medicaid. W. Post: "The National Governors Association kicks off its 104th annual meeting in Williamsburg, Va., this Friday … In the political hotseat this weekend are likely to be those GOP governors who have yet to announce their positions on the issue – including Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal."
"Flexible" Volcker Rule In Works
Key regulator suggests "flexible" Volcker Rule. W. Post: "As the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, [Gary Gensler] is among a team of regulators racing to meet a July 21 deadline … Gensler cautions against crafting a Volcker rule that presumes regulators can understand and anticipate every trading circumstance in advance. 'We also want to leave some flexibility as markets change, or as different institutions have different circumstances,' he says."
Could Geithner have stopped Libor scandal? Daily Beast's Matthew Zeitlin: "…had he known rates were being deliberately rigged, he had at least two options open to him in order to prevent LIBOR falsification … the New York Fed could have either 'jawboned' the banks or referred the matter to the Justice Department and CFTC, which could then investigate and prosecute the banks."
Breakfast Sides
House Ag Cmte passes deep cuts to food stamps. WSJ: "[Republicans] advanced a measure on Wednesday that would cut $16.5 billion over 10 years from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP … The liberal-leaning Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has estimated that the changes could lead to cutting up to three million people from the program … Washington and state governments have moved in recent years to expand access to food stamps, making it easier for low-income beneficiaries to qualify without having to sell off all their assets or belongings first."
Spain takes turn toward austerity. NYT: "The round of measures, the fourth from Mr. Rajoy in seven months, is devised to reduce Spain’s budget deficit by $80 billion over the next two and a half years. The additional budget measures could make it even harder to revive the country’s economy. But Mr. Rajoy finds himself in an increasingly tight bind between angry Spanish voters and anxious European officials, and this leaves him with few options."
