MORNING MESSAGE: State of the Progressive Union 2013
OurFuture.org's Richard Eskow: "It was as good a speech as we could possibly expect, once we accept the limits of 'centrist' liberalism. But we shouldn’t accept those limits. The country deserves visions that are bigger, more imaginative, and at the same time more practical ... To the extent that the president’s words and deeds have become more progressive, it’s because people took to the streets and spoke to our leaders with votes, emails and phone calls. But there’s more to be done. Much more."
Republicans Reject SOTU
Republicans reject pretty much everything from Obama's SOTU. Bloomberg: "Boehner dismissed the president’s proposal to raise the federal minimum wage. Republicans also gave a negative response to Obama’s call for new legislation to curb greenhouse-gas emissions that scientists say drives global warming ... The same is true for Obama’s call for guaranteeing pre- school programs for all 4-year-olds, he said. 'How do you pay for it?' [Sen. John Thune] said ..."
WH suggests it is de-emphasizing deficit reduction. W. Post: "As he begins his second term, Obama is convinced that he has gained the upper hand on fiscal issues, in part because the latest projections show the deficit is coming down from its record levels ... Though few of the proposals he mentioned in the speech were new, the president believes that his reelection has given him new momentum to pursue them, aides said. 'The politics have shifted. It was intentional,' said White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer ..."
WH releases details of its universal pre-K plan. NYT: "...the administration proposed that the federal government work with states to provide preschool for every 4-year-old from low- and moderate-income families. The President’s plan also calls for expanding Early Head Start, the federal program designed to prepare children from low-income families for school, to broaden quality childcare for infants and toddlers ... The president’s plan would provide federal matching dollars to states to provide public preschool slots for four-years olds whose families earn up to 200 percent of the poverty level. President Obama would also allocate extra funds for states to expand public pre-kindergarten slots for middle-class families, who could pay on a sliding scale of tuition ..."
Sens. Boxer and Sanders introduce carbon tax after President urges climate action. McClatchy: "It’s unlikely to draw Republican support, though Obama hinted Tuesday that Congress should consider the bipartisan work that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and then-Sen. Joe Lieberman, a Connecticut independent, did on a previous climate bill. A far more likely outcome: The president will have to make good on his pledge in Tuesday’s speech to take action in the face of congressional inaction."
"Would Raising the Minimum Wage Kill Jobs? Ask the States That Have Done It" says Demos' Ilana Novick: "In 2004, the Fiscal Policy Institute looked at what had actually happened in states where the minimum wage went up. The title of the report says it all: 'States with Minimum Wages above the Federal Level Have Had Faster Small Business and Retail Job Growth.'"
"Signing trade deals is a terrible jobs strategy" says EPI's Robert Scott: "Why is the president claiming that FTAs – especially those with no macroeconomic safeguards to keep U.S. trade deficits from blowing up – support exports and jobs? The simple answer is that he’s only telling half the story (about exports) and ignoring the bad news about imports."
"Obama aims small on infrastructure" says W. Post's Fareed Zakaria: "Having tried several times to propose infrastructure bills of around $50 billion — or just 0.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) — the president further scaled back, proposing a 'fix-it-first' plan that repairs 70,000 bridges falling down nationwide. This would apply a band-aid on America’s growing cancer of failing infrastructure. A 2009 study of all U.S. infrastructure by the American Society of Civil Engineers concluded that $2.2 trillion should be spent over five years..."
Tax Reform Dead?
GOP may give up on tax reform. The Hill: "...just three months after the party’s top tax writer vowed to pass legislation with or without President Obama’s cooperation. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has cast doubt on the likelihood of a big GOP tax push ... 'There’s a debate going on about whether we can get to the kind of tax reform we want given the outcome of the election,' ... [House Ways and Means Chair Dave] Camp told The Hill on Wednesday that he remained committed to passing a tax overhaul out of the committee this year, but whether it will get a vote on the House floor remains an open question."
Treasury Sec nominee Jack Lew suggests principles for tax reform. W. Post: "He said that he was open to lowering the tax rate paid by companies but that he was also interested in establishing a minimum international tax rate — a move that could lower taxes for some companies but raise them for firms that employ tax havens to lower their rates to the single digits."
Dem Friction Over Sequester
Progressive senators pushback against Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid's plan to replace the sequester. The Hill: "Reid ... has sided with President Obama in supporting a 50-50 split of spending cuts and tax revenues to stop the $85 billion sequester due to take effect March 1. However, a significant portion of Reid’s caucus argues the split should be 80-20, with tax increases making up the bulk of the package ... A group of 15 to 20 progressive Democrats met Monday evening to discuss its concerns ..."
"Sequester warnings are piling up" reports W. Post: "Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano on Wednesday became the latest high-level official to caution against the cuts, saying the reductions would roll back border security ... Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee [said] the required budget slashing could cut economic growth in half for 2013, trim medical-research funding by $1.6 billion, reduce education funding for at-risk students by $750 million and erase $168 million in funding to protect diplomatic personnel. ... Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said ... about 40 percent of the approximately 800,000 Department of Defense employees facing furloughs are veterans."
House won't stop sequester until Senate acts, reports The Hill.
Breakfast Sides
President resubmits NLRB appointments. NYT: "The two, Sharon Block, a former labor counsel to Senator Edward M. Kennedy, and Richard Griffin, former general counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers, have been serving on the board since January 2012, appointed by the president during a Senate break after Republicans blocked their confirmations. After a three-judge appeals panel decided three weeks ago that their recess appointments were invalid, 40 Senate Republicans issued a letter asking Ms. Block and Mr. Griffin to step down immediately from the labor board ... [The chairman] has said the labor board would continue operating, with Ms. Block and Mr. Griffin still on it, while other appeals courts also weigh cases over the constitutionality of the recess appointments."
1 Billion Rising calls for Valentine's Day pledges to end violence against women: "We are suggesting that on 14 February, everyone who rises makes a pledge to do one thing in the next year to end violence against women. It can be as simple as telling your boyfriend to use another tone or as major as assuring the certainty of your country's laws. It can be writing liberation songs or poems or it can be creating watchdog networks that zero in on crimes against women."
Progressive Majority releases guide on gun violence messaging: "Don’t say . . . Gun control. Stricter gun laws. You oppose the 2nd Amendment ... Say ... Preventing gun violence. Stronger gun laws. Support for the 2nd Amendment goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous people."
