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Wait 'Til Next Year

TPP may not get a vote until after November 2016. Politico: "'I don't think this is going to come up until the lame duck, when you have a lame-duck president ... and all these other lame-duck members who can vote to support it,' said a senior House Democratic aide ... the White House is required to make the text of a trade deal public at least 60 calendar days before a deal is signed, but it's required to notify Congress a full 90 calendar days before signing a deal. Congress must approve or reject the TPP within 90 legislative days once it is formally submitted for review..."

Fed may not raise rates this year. WSJ: "The chances of a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase in 2015 are diminishing amid new signs of anemic economic activity, a disappointing development for central bank officials who have been hoping to move this year after a prolonged period of easy-money policies."

Boehner May Move On Debt Limit

Boehner eyes debt limit hike. Politico: "Boehner is in discussions with Senate leadership and the White House over a budget package that would include raising the debt ceiling, but House GOP aides do not expect the talks to produce an agreement. GOP leadership aides have discussed passing a standalone debt limit bill should the talks break down."

Rep. Paul Ryan twisting in the wind. Politico: "...there’s no organized response to a chorus of figures and groups on the activist right — from Phyllis Schlafly and Sean Hannity to the Tea Party Patriots — imploring House Republicans to oppose Ryan. Natural allies of the Wisconsin Republican such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce aren’t stepping up to get Ryan's back."

Gerrymandering disrupted the House, says Hedrick Smith: "Thanks to gerrymandering, all but two of the 45 anti-Boehner rebels are guaranteed re-election in politically engineered monopoly districts that insulate them not only from Democratic challengers but also from the dictates of their party leadership ... With protected political monopolies back home, the Republican rebels take little or no political risk and pay no political price for overthrowing a Speaker or for bringing Congress to a halt."

Sanders, Clinton Take Victory Laps

Sanders campaign touts fundraising haul, focus group reaction. Politico: "...Sanders said he had raised $2.5 million since the debate [and] focus groups across the country pronounced Sanders the victor."

Clinton follows debate with union endorsement. W. Post: "... Clinton picked up the endorsement of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. 'I’m feeling really lucky in Las Vegas,' Clinton joked after touring a union training and apprentice program."

Dems need Clinton and Sanders, says W. Post's Harold Meyerson: "In the United States, liberalism advances only when radicalism is bubbling, which is why Clinton and Sanders need each other, and why the Democrats need them both."

Historian Robert McElvaine proposes Democrats embrace "Constitutional Economics": "Democrats today should forcefully make the case that we need to apply to our economic system the wisdom the Founders employed in establishing the American political system ... utilize a set of economic checks and balances that will enable us to enjoy the abundance of the market without seeing it concentrated in the hands and financial accounts of a miniscule fraction of our people while the middle class slowly vanishes."

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