Dems Push Hillary To Go Populist
Sen. Warren touts to pledge implicitly urging Hillary to embrace populism. AP: "Warren's comments come a day after the Progressive Change Campaign Committee announced that 5,000 Democratic leaders had signed on to its 'Ready for Boldness' campaign. The effort urges Clinton, who is on the brink of announcing her campaign, and other potential Democratic presidential candidates to run on 'big, bold, economic-populist ideas.' ... Among the leaders who signed the boldness pledge this week was Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid."
"Higher education should be a right" says Sen. Sanders. The Hill: "Sanders argued special interests controlled the current U.S. academic landscape. It is their meddling, he claimed, that prevents momentum for free, universal higher education from taking hold."
Sanders blames Citizens United for Mayor Emanuel's re-election. HuffPost: "...he was especially disappointed by the drastic disparity between the more than $23 million in campaign cash Emanuel raised in the race ... and the $6 million Garcia challenger raised ... 'unless we overturn this disastrous Citizens United Supreme Court decision, I worry about the future of American democracy.'"
Likely presidential candidate Carly Fiorina backs repeal of Dodd-Frank. The Hill: "As the only GOP woman expected to run for the White House, Fiorina has been dubbed the 'anti-Hillary' Clinton. But as a former top executive for a major global corporation who wants to undo the Wall Street reform law, the better contrast might be to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), the financial sector’s most fierce critic in Washington. Fiorina has even invited the comparisons."
Secret TPP Hampers Debate
Australian senator questions secrecy of negotiations. Sydney Morning Herald: "Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan has blasted Trade Minister Andrew Robb for conducting Trans-Pacific Partnership talks in secret, preventing a 'contest of ideas' that could uncover unintended consequences. Despite knowing he will get 'in trouble' for speaking out, the veteran senator criticised Mr Robb for hiding the 'guts' of the soon-to-be-sealed trade pact."
Former WH economist Jared Bernstein explains his indecision over TPP: "... lack of knowledge of the deal’s content has led me to pull my punches, but it’s also why I’m quite taken aback by those writing strong endorsements of a deal that to my knowledge they’ve never seen ... I’m not convinced that our negotiators tried hard to get such a [currency manipulation] chapter in the deal. I find some of their objections overwrought."
Two House Dems defend WH on TPP. The Hill: "[Rep. Ron] Kind ... said that while 'some past trade agreements have not lived up to their expectations,' the United States needs 'a proactive, aggressive trade agenda that’s going to work for American workers, our businesses and our farmers.' ... [Rep. Brad] Ashford said, 'I stand, and I think most of my fellow Nebraskans stand, behind the TPP process and TPA process.' ... Liberal House Democrats ... have said they have enough support to deny [Obama] 'fast-track' authority ... That has left the administration seeking support from centrist Democrats such as Kind..."
Breakfast Sides
Medicare Advantage subsidies to private insurers proving hard to cut. The Hill: "The Obama administration has repeatedly proposed cuts to the program, but has twice backed away under pressure from the health insurance industry and lawmakers from both parties ... This year, officials initially only proposed a cut of less than 1 percent to the program, because they did not estimate that healthcare costs for insurers would grow at a high rate. On Monday, CMS reversed itself and proposed a 1.25 percent increase to Medicare Advantage after new data showed healthcare costs would rise more than expected this year."
No new deals after Greek PM Tsipras meets with Putin. Bloomberg: "With a payment made to the International Monetary Fund on Thursday depleting Greek cash reserves still further, it’s back to haggling with creditors in the euro region over a financial lifeline ... Tsipras’s visit to Russia, which concludes on Thursday ... didn’t yield any promises of financial assistance or specific deals, though Greece said it hadn’t requested aid ..."
Lawsuit seeks to undermine CA teachers' unions. LAT: "In the suit, four teachers ... assert that union rules and state laws violate their 1st Amendment rights to free speech because they cannot belong to the union unless they allow a portion of their dues to be spent on political activity ... Union leaders characterized the legal action as an attempt to limit what labor can accomplish against well-funded business interests and other opponents by cutting off funding."
