Warren Ending "Era Of Liberal Apologies"
Sen. Warren giving liberal new confidence, argues W. Post's E.J. Dionne: "Since the Reagan era, Democrats have been so determined to show how pro-market and pro-business they are that they’ve shied away from pointing out that markets could not exist without government ... Warren doesn’t back away from any of these facts ... At the end of a long liberal era, Reagan electrified conservatives by telling them they didn’t have to apologize anymore for what they believed. Now, Warren insists, it’s the era of liberal apologies that’s over."
And building a bipartisan rep. Roll Call: "Warren has worked with Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on an effort to help keep veterans from falling victim to scam artists, and she’s working with Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., on the issue of transparency when the federal government’s various enforcement agencies settle cases ... Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., co-sponsored a bill with Warren last July that would reinstate portions of the Glass-Steagall Act ..."
Click here for tickets to see Sen. Warren May 22 at The New Populism Conference in Washington, DC.
Climate Deniers Feel The Heat
Climate deniers feeling more pressure in elections. National Journal: "In 2013 Organizing for Action, the advocacy arm pushing the Obama administration's agenda, targeted climate deniers in Congress. And the League of Conservation Voters spent millions of dollars on an ad campaign to 'hold climate-change deniers accountable.' Now, there's some evidence it's paying off ... the media is increasingly asking GOP candidates about their views on climate change."
"President Obama’s big carbon crackdown readies for launch" reports Politico: "The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed rule is aimed at scaling back carbon emissions from existing power plants, the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gases. It’s scheduled for a public rollout June 2 ... Obama is expected to endorse a strategy that seeks creative ways to achieve big carbon cuts — one that could lead some utilities to help their residential and business customers reduce their demand for electricity ... A less ambitious approach would require only the kinds of modest energy-efficiency improvements that the power plants themselves could achieve but that would bring only negligible reductions in carbon output."
EPA and Energy department chiefs to hold Google Hangout at 10 AM ET. Grist: "Starting at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET, Grist be hosting a discussion with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy about President Obama’s climate change initiatives. Grist reporter Ben Adler will be moderating and asking the best questions from readers. Submit your questions in comments below or via Twitter with the hashtag #WHClimateChat."
Time Running Out For Long-Term Unemployed
Stalled unemployment insurance deal becoming stale. Politico: "The jobless aid bill that narrowly passed the Senate in early April would extend the benefits to June 1 — but barring a surprise breakthrough, there’s almost no chance the House will take up that legislation or an alternative of its own during the last two weeks of May. So, the lack of agreement between the two chambers is sending the bill’s chief sponsors back to square one ... Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who spearheaded passage of the unemployment extension in April with Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.). Heller met with Reed on Thursday to plot a path forward — which at this point looks like a fresh piece of legislation that must be paid for at a cost of about $2 billion per month ..."
Swiss voters reject record-breaking minimum wage. NYT: "Trade unions had sought a minimum hourly wage of 22 Swiss francs, or $24.65, in what they said was an effort to ensure fair salaries for workers in the lowest-paid sectors, such as retailing and personal services. Switzerland has no national minimum wage ... 'Switzerland, especially in popular votes, has never had a tradition of approving state intervention in the labor markets,' said Daniel Kubler, a professor of political science at the University of Zurich."
European Central Bank may increase monetary stimulus. Bloomberg: "Ninety percent of economists in the Bloomberg Monthly Survey predict the European Central Bank president will ease monetary policy in June after saying on May 8 that officials are 'comfortable' with acting then. While that allows investors to prepare for added stimulus and a weaker euro, it also sets them up for a bigger disappointment should he fail to deliver."
Boehner Waits To Move On Immigration
The Hill speculates on what Boehner will do on immigration: "Republican and Democratic advocates see one final, long-shot chance to pass immigration reform this summer, and its fate rests with a Speaker stuck between his party’s resistance and his search for a career-defining legacy ... Republican leaders haven’t told them if they plan to hold a vote on immigration legislation before the August recess ... Boehner has not said how Obama could restore trust among Republicans ... Aides say, however, that he could begin by working with GOP members on some of their other priorities, such as the Skills Act, which the House passed to overhaul federal job-training programs ... A House GOP leadership aide said Obama could also help his cause by publicly ruling out unilateral action to halt deportations and by promising to enforce any new immigration law fully in the way Congress intended."
Politico poll shows GOP voters support comprehensive reform: "... according to a new POLITICO poll of voters in places with the most competitive House and Senate races ... 71% of likely voters surveyed — and nine of 10 Hispanics — said they back sweeping change to immigration laws. The support spans party lines: 64 percent of Republican respondents back comprehensive immigration reform, as do 78 percent of Democrats and 71 percent of independents."
Corporations Have a Friend In The Supreme Court
Conservative majority delivering for big business. Bloomberg: "Two years after the court upheld President Barack Obama’s health-care law and a year after it bolstered gay rights, the five Republican-appointed justices are voting together again in the highest-profile cases ... Roberts, 59, now in his ninth year as chief justice, has presided over legal shifts on a host of issues. The court has jettisoned longstanding legal protections for racial minorities; allowed unlimited corporate and union spending on political campaigns; given companies more power to force arbitration of consumer and employee grievances; and shifted power away from the federal government to the states ... As has been the hallmark of the Roberts court, the majority in each case stopped short of directly overturning a precedent. That approach has given Roberts court rulings an 'ephemeral' quality in many areas of the law ..."
Chamber of Commerce scoring points against Tea Party. Bloomberg: "The Chamber has already aired television ads in more than 20 House and Senate races, and it’s expected to intervene in key districts to defend pro-business House Republicans against Tea Party opponents, or to help business-friendly challengers unseat Tea Party incumbents. The aim is to send a chilling message to the Tea Party’s most zealous members, as well as bolster Republicans who have been loyal to House Speaker John Boehner and taken tough votes, such as those to raise the federal debt ceiling ... a reduced Tea Party caucus -- now numbering about three or four dozen members among the House’s 233 Republicans -- could give Boehner greater flexibility in 2015."
