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: 4 Reasons Romney Might Win
Robert Reich: "1. Between now and Election Day come two jobs reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics … 2. Also between now and Election Day are three presidential debates … 3. During the next 7 final weeks of the campaign, the anti-Obama forces will be spending a gigantic amount of money … 4. As they’ve displayed before, the Republican Party will do whatever it can to win — even if it means disenfranchising certain voters … don’t be complacent. The hard work lies ahead, in the next seven weeks. And even if Obama is reelected, more hard work begins after Inauguration Day – when we must push him to be tougher on the Republicans than he was in his first term, and do what the nation needs."
47% May Deny Romney Majority
Obama defends the 47%. NYT: "Mr. Obama said that in his travels around the country he was convinced that 'the American people are the hardest-working people there are. And their problem is not that they’re not working hard enough, or that they don’t want to work, or they’re being taxed too little, or they just want to loaf around and gather government checks.' … The president acknowledged that some people abused government largess, but he noted that 'there are a whole bunch of millionaires who aren’t paying taxes.'"
Reliance on big-donors hurting Romney. NYT: "While Mr. Romney’s combined fund-raising apparatus began September with $168.5 million in cash, much of it was sitting in the accounts of the Republican National Committee, which reported cash on hand of about $76.6 million. While an estimated $42 million remains in his joint account with Republican Party committees, only some of it will be available to Mr. Romney for his general election campaign. Mr. Obama and the Democrats, by contrast, began the fall campaign with less money over all, about $125 million. But federal law guarantees candidates, not parties, the lowest available ad rate in the days leading up to a general election. Thanks in part to his army of small donors, Mr. Obama gathered more money in his own campaign account than Mr. Romney, whose advantage lies in raising large checks that primarily benefit the R.N.C."
Ryan prepares to regurgitate ObamaCare lies in AARP speech today. CNN: "'The first step to a stronger Medicare is to repeal Obamacare, because it represents the worst of both worlds. It weakens Medicare for today’s seniors and puts it at risk for the next generation,' according to Ryan’s prepared remarks. 'First, it funnels $716 billion out of Medicare to pay for a new entitlement we didn’t even ask for. Second, it puts 15 unelected bureaucrats in charge of Medicare’s future.'"
President defends efforts on immigration reform, points to GOP obstruction. LAT: "He said his inability to pass it was not for 'lack of trying or desire.' 'What I confess I did not expect — and so I'm happy to take responsibility for being naive here — is that Republicans who had previously supported comprehensive immigration reform — my opponent in 2008, who had been a champion of it and who attended these meetings — suddenly would walk away.' … Obama said. Obama went on to promote his support for the Dream Act, which would provide an avenue for some young illegal immigrants to remain in the country legally, and to point out Romney's positions on immigration."
Congressional GOP Signals Surrender On Taxes
Republicans admit they will "retreat" on taxes if Obama is re-elected. W. Post: "Senior Republicans say they will be forced to retreat on taxes if President Obama wins a second term in November, clearing the biggest obstacle to a deal with Democrats … if Obama wins, the GOP would have no leverage — political or procedural — to force him to abandon his pledge to raise taxes on family income over $250,000, according to senior Republicans in the House and the Senate … But it could also mean major changes to Medicare, which many Republicans said could quickly become the new front in the partisan battle over the budget."
House votes to block HHS program that allows states to experiment with welfare-to-work strategies. The Hill: "…the Obama administration's change to the implementation of the welfare law will remain in effect until the Senate approves the resolution, which is not expected to happen … Democrats argued repeatedly that several 'fact checkers' in the media have found that GOP claims that the change would gut the welfare reform law are not true."
"Unusual coalitions clash over wind energy tax credit" reports W. Post: "The wind power industry boasts enviable political assets in its fight to preserve a prized tax benefit. Republican and Democratic governors trumpet the benefits of wind energy; industry officials can identify manufacturing jobs at risk in crucial presidential election swing states if the tax credit expires; and a phalanx of lobbyists and consultants are working to ensure it stays in place for at least one more year. But now an unusual coalition is fighting the extension, including tea party followers, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney and the electric utility most closely associated with President Obama. The result is an unpredictable and intense lobbying fight … In an interview with Radio Iowa, the state’s governor, Terry Branstad, a Republican, called Romney’s aides a 'bunch of East Coast people that need to get out here in the real world to find out what’s really going on.'"
Senate Prepares To Push Volcker Rule
Senate subcmte nearing end of JPMorgan Chase investigation, findings may bolster Volcker Rule. Bloomberg: "[Sens.] Levin and Merkley are hoping that JPMorgan’s troubles will persuade the regulators to restrict hedging in the final language, said Mark Calabria, director of financial regulations studies at the Washington-based Cato Institute and a former top Republican aide on the Senate Banking Committee. 'The Volcker process has been slower than they hoped and it’s not as strong as they hoped,' Calabria said."
Three conservative AGs join lawsuit challenging constitutionality of Dodd-Frank reports Bloomberg.
Warren Hits Brown's Voting Record In First Debate
First debate between Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Scott Brown. Boston Globe: "For Warren, the goal was two-fold: to highlight votes Brown has cast that she believes have broken faith with the Massachusetts electorate, and also to underscore the consequences if he is reelected and helps tip the Senate into a Republican majority. 'Senator Brown can say all he wants. But he has voted,' she said at one point, reprising a comment she made throughout the evening."
Sen. Scott Brown loses nice-guy facade, says W. Post's E. J. Dionne: "The fact that he opened the encounter by dredging up a story that had been in hibernation since the spring about Warren’s claim of having some Cherokee background suggests that Brown is far less confident now than he had reason to be last summer … Brown also gave what I, at least, thought was an obnoxious answer when he began explaining his vote against the confirmation of Justice Elena Kagan … 'I’m sorry I didn’t vote for your boss.' … Warren clearly had one central strategy in the debate: to remind Massachusetts voters of the votes Brown cast with the Republican minority in the Senate for various tax breaks for the wealthy and for corporate interests, including Big Oil…"
